1981-06-07 Birmingham International Arena, Birmingham, England

Scheduled: 19:30 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

The show was rescheduled from March 27. Last two tracks feature The Who's Pete Townshend, and Bruce dedicates "The Promised Land" to him. European debut of "Drive All Night" and the last performance known until 2005 (solo) and 2008 (band). Roy plays "Once Upon A Time In The West" as a prelude to "Badlands". "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" includes a snippet of "Sweet Soul Music". "Detroit Medley" includes "I Hear A Train", "Shake", and "Sweet Soul Music".

Pete Townshend (Guest)

07.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to ‘Independence Day ‘:
‘‘I….I wrote this song about 19….1977 , I guess….And…I used to sit around at home and I’d think about when I was growin’up…how…when I was 17 or 18 years old….and I was havin’all the fights that I guess everybody has with their folks….how my old man was only about…he was only about 35…36….only a few years older than I am right now….and uh….and the kinda town that….that I grew up in was a small town….was like an old factory town….’bout 20 miles inland from the coast….and was one of those places where you could….you could stay there forever and ever, it seemed…..and never….never be able to get out….and there was nothing that could….that could give you….give you the knowledge that you needed….to be able to…to have, to get the strength ….to change the way that you were livin’….’cause I remember in school….like all those things that….the way they taught you, they seemed to….they seemed to miss your heart….they used to try and beat it into your head…..(?) …out on the street nobody knew what they were doing ….and at home, nobody ever said anything….uh….and I watched a lot of friends of mine that were….that were good…..and that were strong people when they were young….and as they got older, they lost….they lost the strength that they had inside….from getting run over too many times….or disappointed too many times….and they got a certain bitterness ….and a certain hardness…that blinded ‘em to….to the things that….that give….I guess that give….give life….a meaning that it has….and …I was lucky, I was about 16 and I was listening to the radio….and that was the only place that I heard….that I heard….that there was a different life, there was people living differently than I was and that my old man did and that his old man did…..and….it wasn’t in the words, it wasn’t in what people were saying but it was in…..it was just in the sound…..sound of the singers’ voices….and it just sounded like they knew some place that was better….and….I guess there’s nothing you can do but try and find it…..”

07.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to ‘This Land Is Your Land’:
(people are shouting out requests) ”We’ll get to those for you later, don’t miss them (chuckles)……This is a song …..there´s a book out called …’A Life’….Woody Guthrie, it’s by a fella named Joe Klein….and ….this is a song that he wrote….it’s a song that….that’s been misused a lot….’specially in the States….where it seems they, uh….. it’s popular around girls’ scout campfires (chuckles)….which is good, but (chuckles)… but, it’s sort of been….used for phony flag-waving and stuff like that…..and it’s one of the most beautiful songs ever written…..”

07.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to ´I Wanna Marry You´
´´Sometimes….you'll be walking down a street…..and you'll see some….somebody ride past in the car…..and….for some reason they stay with you…..somebody that you don't know and that you'll never…..never see again……there used to be this girl……that used to walk by every day, I used to live on this street called South Street…..and every day she used to walk by my house, home from work…….so….so me and Clarence and Steve, we used to sit out there …. we used to try and impress her all the time…..we were pretty young, Clarence used to…. ride by on his bicycle, playing the saxophone, no hands…..yeah….never paid attention, never paid attention to any of us…..I used to imagine that I would go, I would be back where I grew up ….and like she would be walking down the street, I would like run in the house and get all my albums, right ? (chuckles)…..and I would run…..and I would like bump into her and say 'Ups ! Excuse me, Miss, my albums !' (chuckles)…..but that stuff…..I guess you can't go back ….once you miss your first chance……remember that girl, Steve ?…."

07.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to ´Drive All Night´
"Yeah, we're gonna get to that….we're gonna do that for you……we take our time, you see (chuckles)….this is a song that we haven't ever done on this tour, you know……how many of you guys been to some of the other shows that we done ? (cheers)….yeah ? (chuckles)….
this is, uh (chuckles)….this is uh….this is called Drive All Night….and uh…..there´s this Marvin Gaye-Tammy Tarrell song called It Takes Two and…..and it says that ´It takes one to dream but it takes two to make a dream come true´ and…..I guess……that's what this is about ….so I need a little quiet for this song, thank you…..´´

07.06.81 Birmingham, England, middle of ´Rosalita´
"Alright people now…..now comes…..the most exciting…..part of the show….I'm talking about the band introductions…..now, we've got here in Birmingham tonight, a celebrity of superstars……galaxy of wild strange individuals……beginning over at the far left of the stage ….the man on that thing that we like to call a piano…..Professor Roy Bittan….he's good too, he's good……and now we got with us…..right over here, to the left, a man….poet of the soul, master of rock'n'roll , a man who brought you such great hits as 'I Don't Wanna Go Home' ….'Sweeter Than Honey'…..'This Time It's for Real'…..'Some Things Just Don't Change´…. 'Daddy's Come Home'…….on the guitar, Miami Steve Van Zandt….and there on the bass, we got a man….dare I say his mother was a Tallent, his father was a Tallent, his great-grandfather was a great, great Tallent……on the bass guitar, MISTER ! Garry W.Tallent…. and now we go back to the drums we got….(?)….The Mighty Max Weinberg on the drums (Max pounds the drums) that's why he's mighty…..and now we got over here…..on the far right, a man from Flemington, New Jersey, do we have anybody from Flemington here tonight ?…..that's what I thought (?)…. we've got a man, Phantom Dan Federici on the organ ….and now last but not least….you know who I'm talking about now…..I don't tell you who I'm gonna introduce next…..just let me say….that his friends like to call him….king of the world…..the master of the universe……he's the emperor of all things…..he's faster than a speed boat….more powerful than a roaring locomotive….able to leap tall women, I mean tall buildings in a single bound…..is it a bird ?….is it a plane?…..it's….it's….it's….it's….Spotlight on the Big Man….."

07.06.81 Birmingham, England, intro to ´Born to Run´
"I'd like…..I wanna thank everybody for coming down to the shows, thank you very much….. and I'd like…..I'd like to apologise for having to cancel out on you the first time, hope it wasn't too much of a inconvenience…..and all you guys who been to a couple or more and more shows, thanks a lot…..and here's to you…..Pete are you ready ?…."

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi

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