1985-06-01 Slane Castle, Slane, Ireland

Scheduled: 17:00 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

Springsteen's first ever appearance in Ireland. The actual location was not Dublin (a common error) but the small village of Slane in County Meath, about 30 miles north of the city. Held in the daytime in a picturesque outdoor amphitheatre setting – and the temperature was unseasonably hot! This was the largest crowd Bruce had played to up to this point, with 90,000 to 100,000 in attendance. Prior to the show there was much concern amongst locals that the influx of Springsteen fans would result in disturbances and violence similar to the previous summer when Bob Dylan performed at the same venue. These concerns led to hundreds of police officers descending on the town for extra security and to try to seal off the town. In the end, the day passed without any major problems. However Bruce did show some concern for the safety of the crowd during the show, the rhythmic swaying and movement meant there was real danger of crushing at the front. Springsteen was led to make a request for calm before "Johnny 99". News reports suggest that Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend joined Bruce on stage. First appearance of the River Boyne on the big screens during "The River" - this shot would continue to appear on the screens throughout the rest of the tour. Slane Castle overlooks the river. This was Bruce's first full concert as a married man – consequently the crowd was treated to a special (and still never repeated) performance of the Beach Boys 'rite-of-passage' classic "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)". "Twist And Shout" features an unusual sung introduction. European debuts for "Born In The U.S.A.", "Johnny 99", "Atlantic City", "Working On The Highway", "Glory Days", "My Hometown", "Cover Me", "Dancing In The Dark", "Downbound Train", "I'm On Fire", "Pink Cadillac", "Bobby Jean", and "Do You Love Me".

Intro to "Johnny 99"
´´Hello, nice to be in Ireland….oh….what you gotta do down here is if you can….push back a little bit from the barrier so the people that are crushed up against the barrier here won´t hurt themselves….make sure everybody´s up on their feet there….and if you can, try and stay in one place and not sway around….if anybody needs help to get out of there, raise your hand ….and somebody will pull you out (chuckles)….what you gotta do is you gotta stop that swaying back and forth ´cause it´s knocking people down, ok ?…”

Intro to "The River"
´´This is a song, uh….when I was a kid, my old man used to sit in the kitchen….and uh….late at night he´d lock up the frontdoor so we couldn´t come in the front, we had to come around, come around the back porch….and pass by him…..and some nights if you were coming in too late….you were better off waiting till the morning so I used to have this sleeping bag I used to stash….out on the side of these woods….I´d sleep in somebody´s car, on somebody´s porch….and uh….guess those places felt more like my home than my own house did….this is for everybody….´cause you need some place you can go when you can´t go home…..”

Intro to "Glory Days"
´´Are you alright right now ? (cheers)….are you sure ? (cheers)….alright….now, this is a song about old times…it´s sentimental (chuckles)….it´s kind of nostalgic….it´s about, uh, now I got my share of old times….but now the Big Man, Clarence….he´s got quite a few more old times than me….but as you can see, he has maintained his youthful beauty…every time you go out on a Friday night, you go to a bar, there´s always somebody comes up to you and says ´Hey, remember me ? We went to high school together…back, back in high school, you know….remember the guy that, that, the guy that dumped the pizza on your shirt in study
hall ? yeah, that´s me, that´s me´, you go ´Oh, oh, oh, how you doing ?´…everybody always tells you what a great time you had in high school and stuff….but like I hated high school…. I couldn´t stand no high school….I mean I didn´t like it….every time 8 o´clock comes at night I´m still glad I don´t have to do my homework and stuff….well, in high school I was only interested in two things….one was playing the guitar….and the other one was….was….uh,was ….you know, that one, that one, that one…..anyway….the only one I became really good at was the guitar….the other one I´m still practising, practising, practising….anyway, this is a song about time´s winged chariot, Father Time, how all things must pass….”

Intro to "My Hometown"
´´This next song is a song, I guess….well….when I wrote it, I thought I was writing about the town I grew up in, grew up in a real small town….it was kind of small-minded…..I guess everybody kind of has a love-hate-relationship sometimes with the place that they was born ….I know when I was 17, I couldn´t wait to….wait to get out of there and I was sure when I left….that I´d never miss it…..I wouldn´t miss the friends I had there, my folks…..I would never wanna go back….so I got a chance to go out on the road and for a long time, I really didn´t miss it….then as I got older, I started to come home and get in my car and drive back through the streets I grew up on and….see what my old friends´ lives were like…..and I guess one of the things that I was….afraid of when I was younger was I was afraid of belonging to something….´cause if you belong to something, that means you got some responsobility towards it….well, uh….I guess it´s hard to find some place that you can….you can call your home very easily….anyway, this is uh….from my hometown to your hometown…..”

Intro to "I´m on Fire"
´´I remember my dad….he was sitting around thinking about everything he wasn´t ever gonna have….till he´d get you thinking like that too….I can remember standing down on the corner…watching the girls….in the cars go by….waiting for one of ´em to stop … and lying in my bed at night….I remember lying in my bed at night….feeling like I was just gonna….like someday I was just gonna….I was just gonna….”

Intro to "Pink Cadillac"
´´Wait a minute, stop all that hussling around down there….wait just a minute….well, now, this is a song about the conflict…..between worldly things and spiritual health …. between desires of the flesh….and spiritual ecstasy….you can´t have both….it´s a song about temptation….now, where did this conflict begin ?…..well, it began in the beginning in a place called the Garden of Eden….that´s right….now, the Garden of Eden was originally believed to have been located in Mesopotamia….but the latest theological studies have found that its actual location was ten miles south of Jersey City, off the New Jersey Turnpike….that´s right….but, now, understand….in the Garden of Eden , there were none of the accoutrements of modern living….they didn´t have no TV, you couldn´t go home and crawl up in your little bed, put your head on that little pillow and turn on that television and watch it all night long….they didn´t have no hamburgers, you couldn’t go out on to the highway and buy a cheeseburger if you wanted one….they didn´t have none of that, uh, uh, that shepherd´s pie !…no Sir! ….in the Garden of Eden there was no sin…there was no sex…..man lived in a state of innocence ….now, when it comes to no sex, I prefer the state of guilt that I constantly live in ….but just before the tour, I decided to hitchhike out to the location of the Garden of Eden to find out the answer to some of these mysteries…so I got on out there….and that place is now occupied by Happy Dan´s Celebrity Used Car Lot….I walked in, the man said to me ´Son, you need a yellow convertible , a four-door DeVille with a Continental spare, wide chrome wheels, air-conditioning, automatic heat, fold-out bed in your backseat, eight-track tapedeck , TV and a phone so you can speak to your baby when you’re driving all alone’…I said ‘I’ll take two’….then I said ´But Dan, that´s not the reason why I came….you see, I wanna know the answer to this temptation….why does my soul pull me one way and my flesh pull me the other way ….why do I feel this guilt all the time….and he said ´Well, son, that´s easy ….because right here on these ten beautiful commercially-zoned acres was the sweetest little paradise that man had ever seen, in the Garden of Eden there were many wonderous things : there was a Tree of Life, there was a Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, there was a man, Adam, there was a woman, Eve, and she looked so fine ….and when Adam kissed her, it was the first time that a man had ever kissed a woman ….and she had legs that were long and soft to the touch….and when Adam touched her, it was the first time that a man had ever touched a woman…and then they walked out into the green fields….and then they lay down….and when Adam….let´s just say it was the first time….but there was something else in the Garden of Eden on that day, old Satan came slithering up on his belly and somehow he turned their sweet love into a betrayal and sent them driving down into the darkness below….but that´s alright because right here today on this backlot for 99.95 and no money down and don´t worry if you´ve got bad credit, it´s good here, I´ve got the keys to their getaway car….and if you´ve got the nerve to ride….to the first….pink….Cadillac….”

Intro to "When I Grow Up to Be a Man"
´´Thank you, ah….I´d just like to take a minute and thank everybody for coming down to the show today…thanks so much….this is the first time we´ve….been in Ireland….I had a grandmother from here, McNichols (chuckles)….and uh….I don´t know how to thank you, this is, I guess, this is the biggest crowd we´ve ever played to….sure is a lot of youse….and you guys gotta be a little gentler with each other down there….well…. I´m thinking a lot of different things standing here today (chuckles) I guess this song kind of sums it up….”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

Sinead	This concert was actually played in Slane, Co Meath even though Bruce kept referring to Dublin. It was the first major concert I went to at the age of 17 - still can't believe my parents let me head away to it. It was a very long but very worthwhile day - Bruce's first time to Ireland and he just keeps coming back. Even though I had been a fan for a few years at that stage it was the real start of the love affair with Bruce. The crowd went absolutely crazy - start to finish it was fantastic - no-one wanted it to stop. Bruce announced that he an Irish grandmother.
Barry Hingston	Slane Castle - my first Bruce concert… this show is legendary in the history of Rock in Ireland. Bruce was just coming to the peak of his world-wide 'general public' popularity. It seemed that the whole of Ireland had arrived in County Meath for this show - it was the place to be, the ticket to have, the concert of the year. It was also reputed to be the hottest day ever on record in Ireland. My cousin gave me a castle guest pass - the concert was being held in the grounds of Lord Henry Mount Charles' stately castle. My guest pass left me walking bewildered through crowds of rock stars also attending the gig of the year, with free beer at my finger tips! It was unbelieveable!! I ended up sitting out on the grassy hill to the right of the stage, in front of the castle, with all the room in the world, looking down on the E Street Band, listening to the set above… I was 19 & in heaven - definitely one of the formative experiences of my life. And here I am, 24 years later, having just witnessed one of the best Bruce shows ever, again! - Dublin 2009-07-12. Thanks Bruce, please come back again soon.
Noel McGillian	I can't believe there are no reviews of this concert. I was there and I will tell my grandchildren about it (if I ever have any). This was the first Springsteen concert I went to and I think a significant portion of the Irish population were there. Glorious weather (fairly rare in Ireland) with a legendary set list - just take a look at it every song an absolute classic. I recall the concert starting explosively with "Born in the USA". The crowd went crazy as the distinctive opening notes rang across the natural amphitheater that the Slane Castle site is. At the end of the song Bruce said that "things were getting kinda crazy at the front" and he didn't want anyone to get hurt so he asked if everyone in the audience could take one step backwards. Yep, you guessed it all 65,000 or whatever people took one step back (even the ones half a mile back from the stage). That was a measure of the stage presence. From start to finish the performance was faultless. Bruce and all were on top form, enjoying themselves every bit as much as the audience. I've still got the tour Tee shirt but 21 years later there is no way it will ever it will ever fit.
Jarlath Madine	Just chatting to my 21 year old son about this concert… What a day that was… Just finished the exams at uni, sun was out, shirt was off… Shame there is no footage… would live to share that.
Eoin O'Conaire	My first concert at 16. Brought to it by my 22 year old sister and 30 years later I still can remember the excitement. Memories to last a lifetime.
Martina	My first Bruce concert. Brought my sister and a friend. I will never forget it. I can still remember feeling like I was in heaven. Over 30 years ago and I still feels like yesterday.
Brian G. Watt	Best time ever, went with my two best Irish friends (I'm Scots), not much in my life beets that day. Now going to The River Tour gig in Den Haag, June this year (2016), just hope I have the same energy!

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Springsteen Opens Tour At Castle in Ireland

To the strains of his hit song ''Born in the U.S.A.,'' Bruce Springsteen opened his European tour before 60,000 fans in a tiny Irish village Saturday.

The police said the open-air concert at the idyllic grounds of the 13th-century castle in Slane, 25 miles north of Dublin, got off to a ''magnificent'' start despite the arrests of a dozen people for drug offenses.

Several swooning fans had to be carried out on stretchers as the New Jersey-born rock star, known as ''The Boss,'' appeared on stage. The police said the crowd of more than 60,000 fans, who had each paid $15 each to see Mr. Springsteen, gave him a deafening, but ''extremely good-humored'' welcome.

As the fans began invading the village of 600 residents, the police turned the local school into a jailhouse and set up roadblocks to guard against crowd trouble. At a Bob Dylan concert in Slane last year, several thousand fans rampaged for hours, wrecking shops and homes.

A dozen people were arrested for drugs offenses Saturday and four others detained for selling forged tickets. The police said 20 teen-agers were admitted to a hospital, mainly suffering from sunstroke.

Mr. Springsteen was being paid a reported $500,000 for the concert.

^{Via United Press International.}

Born in the U.S.A. rolls into Europe

Greetings Facebonkers. I really couldn't let today pass without acknowledging that 35 years ago, I was one of 15 intrepid Springsteen fans who headed west for an adventure that we remember fondly, even though we were effectively risking our lives. I speak, of course, about Slane. If you don't know what that is, you obviously weren't there. It's hard to say "you had to be there" because those of us who actually were there are still recovering from the

early-startin'
country lane hikin'
sun-bakin'
alcohol-soakin'
health and safety challengin'
geographically-slopin'
river-flowin'
hard-rockin'
era-definin'
physically exhaustin'

megagig played by Bruce Springsteen on 1st June 1985 in the picturesque grounds of Slane Castle, 30 miles north of Dublin, for a crowd estimated to be in the region of 100,000. It was the opening show of his European tour, supporting the multi-million-selling "Born In The USA" album, his first gig in Ireland and his first massive, outdoor, festival-style, million dollar bash, which celebrated his ascension to the pantheon of rock and roll megastars. Not something that those who'd followed his career for several years already were necessarily happy with. We'd wanted him to reach a wider audience so others could be aware of his talents, but a price had been paid for that success. In 1981 we'd felt that Wembley Arena and Birmingham NEC were as big as it was going to get, but we were proved spectacularly wrong when BITUSA started selling by the bucketload and spawned seven hit singles.

The gig took place in a field that sloped down to the river Boyne, with the castle in the background. An idyllic setting for a picnic, but fill that field with thousands of tanked-up fans (many had been drinking all night in Slane village) and fail to install barriers on the hill or a pit in front of the stage and you're asking for trouble. Come showtime, the pressure from behind was enormous and a constant stream of limp bodies were being pulled over the front barrier and dragged to the first aid tent, suffering from sunstroke and alcohol poisoning, basic exhaustion and other such ailments. The area in front of the stage was a heaving sea of rolling-eyed drunks, swaying dangerously from side to side. Enjoying the show became less important than maintaining your balance and attempting to avoid being swept into the melee. We were protected from the worst of it because we stood in front of the mixing desk tower, but it was still a massive struggle.

With hindsight, it would have been safer to be further up the hill, watching from a distance.

During the show, Jon Landau stood at the side of the stage looking concerned, a feeling that was obviously shared by Bruce. In his autobiography, he later admitted, "I thought somebody was going to get killed and it'd be my fault" and described his feelings as "pure rage and simmering panic". In the mid-show break, he was "seething" and apparently had a "highly-charged debate" with Landau about cancelling the entire tour. It didn't happen of course. From his point of view, the crowd settled in the second half, their exuberance waning as they drifted into an alcoholic haze and evening set in. From our perspective however, the day had become more about basic survival than rock 'n' roll. Bruce said that he never forgot his experience at Slane. "When a crowd of that size gathers, danger is always in the air. It's simply a matter of the math. An unexpected mishap, a little hysteria, and the day can shift very quickly." He wasn't wrong. Slane was a very good example of how not to organise a big outdoor gig. It was later reported that many people got in without tickets, thus increasing the crush. The combination of alcohol, heat and the lack of crowd control could easily have been lethal. Luckily, we had a reasonably good time and got out alive. Despite the hardship, I'm still glad that I was there. I shared the experience with a bunch of people I'd only known for a few months or had met on the way to Ireland and we remain close friends. At the end, we all felt like we'd survived the second battle of the Boyne. We'd arrived at Slane around 6am to begin queueing and didn't escape from the field where we'd left our minibus until early the next morning, so it was an extremely long day. The other shows on the tour took place in stadiums, where crowd numbers were restricted and much easier to control. The final gig at Leeds Roundhay Park was also a big outdoor event but without the sloping hillside and hordes of drunks, it passed uneventfully.

The reason that we remember Slane so fondly has a lot more to do with the initial planning, the journey to Ireland, the fun we had in Dublin (and driving down the east coast) and the sunny atmosphere at the site (until an hour before Bruce hit the stage) than the gig itself, which was hard to focus on in the circumstances. Bruce's set was a typical one for that era, its distinguishing feature being his solo encore of the Beach Boys' "When I Grow Up To Be A Man," which he's not played since. Slane was the first time we'd seen Bruce performing in daylight, which took a while to get used to. It was a very long way from the darkness of the arenas and smaller halls back in 1981. The next time Bruce played indoors in Europe with the E Street Band was on the Reunion tour 14 years later. We were there too, but that's another story.

Saunders over and out.

^{By Mike Saunders via Facebook.com.}

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