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Born in the U.S.A. Tour

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Born in the U.S.A. Tour
Tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Promotional poster for the show of June 15, 1985 in Frankfurt
Associated albumBorn in the U.S.A.
Start dateJune 29, 1984
End dateOctober 2, 1985
Legs4
No. of shows
  • 122 in North America
  • 8 in Australia
  • 8 in Asia
  • 18 in Europe
  • 156 in total
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert chronology

The Born in the U.S.A. Tour was the supporting concert tour of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. album. It was his longest and most successful tour to date. It featured a physically transformed Springsteen; after two years of bodybuilding, the singer had bulked up considerably. The tour was the first since the 1974 portions of the Born to Run tours without guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who decided to go solo after recording the album with the group. Van Zandt, who was replaced by Nils Lofgren, would appear a few times throughout the tour and in some of the music videos to promote the album. It was also the first tour to feature Springsteen's future wife, Patti Scialfa.

The tour started in June 1984 and went through the United States and to Canada. In March 1985 the tour went to Australia, Japan and Europe. It then headed back for a second leg of the U.S. tour in which Springsteen and the E Street Band played to sold-out professional football stadiums. The tour finished in October 1985 in Los Angeles.

The tour grossed $80–90 million overall.[1] Of that, $34 million came from Springsteen's summer 1985 stadium dates in North America.[1] The Born in the U.S.A. album was inside the top 10 of the Billboard 200 during the entire tour. Springsteen also was enjoying a hit single from the album (there were seven in total) during any moment of the tour. The album along with Springsteen's previous album, Nebraska, which he did not tour to promote, were performed in their entirety throughout the tour. Total attendance was 3.9 million.

Tour highlights

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  • June 29, Saint Paul, Minnesota–First show of the tour, including the filming of the iconic "Dancing in the Dark" music video. Patti Scialfa and Nils Lofgren make their E Street Band debuts.
  • July 12, East Troy, Wisconsin–A Born in the U.S.A. outtake called "Man at the Top" was played live for the first time. It would be officially released 14 years later, on the Tracks album, in a different arrangement.
  • August 5, East Rutherford, New Jersey–Springsteen played the first show of a ten-night stand at the Brendan Byrne Arena.
  • August 6, East Rutherford, New Jersey–The versions of "Nebraska" and "No Surrender" played here appeared on Live/1975-85.
  • August 19, East Rutherford, New Jersey–"Reason to Believe" appeared on Live/1975-85.
  • August 20, East Rutherford, New Jersey–"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out", with the Miami Horns, appeared on Live/1975-85. Steve Van Zandt also made his first appearance with Springsteen since leaving the E Street Band, playing on the song "Two Hearts" and a cover of "Drift Away".
  • August 25–29, Landover, Maryland–Springsteen played four shows over six nights here. "Be True" made its first live appearance on August 26. George Will attended one of these shows, inspiring him to write a column extolling Springsteen as an exemplar of patriotic values.
  • September 14, Philadelphia–Springsteen played the first show of a six-night stand at the Spectrum.
  • October 15, Vancouver, British Columbia–The show had to be stopped temporarily when unruly fans rushed the stage.
  • October 19, Tacoma, Washington–For the first time since 1974, the Springsteen classic "Rosalita" was not played. It would be played infrequently on the rest of the tour.
  • October 25, Los Angeles–First of seven concerts at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
  • November 16, Ames, Iowa–The Born in the U.S.A. outtake, "Sugarland", made its debut. Its only other appearance on the tour (and in concert overall) came two nights later in Lincoln, Nebraska.
  • December 6, Birmingham, Alabama–The Birmingham, Alabama show at the BJCC Coliseum is notable for being the only show of the entire Born in the U.S.A. tour to not sell out.
  • December 14, Memphis, Tennessee–Steve Van Zandt once again played on "Two Hearts".
  • January 18, Greensboro, North Carolina–Gary U.S. Bonds and Robbin Thompson made an appearance on "Twist and Shout".
  • January 26, Syracuse, New York–Springsteen played his first true stadium show at the Carrier Dome, in the final U.S. show until August.
  • March 21, Sydney, Australia–Springsteen played the first of eight Australian concerts.
  • March 31, Brisbane, Australia–Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played their first stadium show at QE2 Stadium.
  • April 10, Tokyo, Japan–The first of eight Japanese shows, the only time Springsteen and the E Street Band have fronted a tour in Japan.
  • June 1, Slane Castle, Ireland–The first European show of the tour included the one and only time Springsteen has covered "When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)" by the Beach Boys.
  • August 5, Washington, D.C.–Springsteen began his first stadium tour at R.F.K. Stadium. "Man at the Top" was played for the second and final time on the tour after premiering one month and one year earlier at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre, before it reappeared nearly 30 years later on the closing night of the European leg of the Wrecking Ball World Tour in 2013.
  • August 11, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania–This show at Three Rivers Stadium was seen by 65,935 fans, the largest concert in Pittsburgh history.
  • August 18, East Rutherford, New Jersey–Springsteen played his first concert at Giants Stadium, a venue he would visit many more times throughout his career, and which would eventually become the subject of his song "Wrecking Ball" 25 years later. This show was the first of six at the stadium on this tour.
  • August 19, East Rutherford, New Jersey–"Working on the Highway", "Born to Run", "Johnny 99", and "I'm on Fire" all appeared on Live/1975-85.
  • August 21, East Rutherford, New Jersey–"Bobby Jean" appeared on Live/1975-85.
  • September 27, Los Angeles–A four-night stand at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum began. "Janey, Don't You Lose Heart" and "War" were played for the first time, with "War" being included in the Live/1975-85 set and released as a single in 1986.
  • September 30, Los Angeles–"Born in the U.S.A.", "Seeds", "The River, "Darlington County", "The Promised Land", "Cover Me", and "My Hometown" all appeared on Live/1975-85.
  • October 2, Los Angeles–Final show of the tour.

Broadcasts and recordings

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Nearly half of Live/1975-85 consists of songs from the Born in the U.S.A. Tour, incorporating songs from the August 6, August 19, and August 20 shows in 1984, and the August 19, August 21, and September 30 shows in 1985.

Several shows have been released as part of the Bruce Springsteen Archives:

Tour dates

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Date City Country Venue Attendance Revenue
North America
June 29, 1984 Saint Paul United States St. Paul Civic Center — —
July 1, 1984
July 2, 1984
July 5, 1984 Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum
July 6, 1984
July 8, 1984 Richfield Richfield Coliseum 37,512 / 37,512 $562,680
July 9, 1984
July 12, 1984 East Troy Alpine Valley Music Theatre — —
July 13, 1984
July 15, 1984 Rosemont Rosemont Horizon 54,550 / 54,550 $779,325
July 17, 1984
July 18, 1984
July 21, 1984 Montreal Canada Montreal Forum — —
July 23, 1984 Toronto CNE Stadium 68,187 / 68,187 $1,279,420
July 24, 1984
July 26, 1984
July 27, 1984 Saratoga Springs United States Saratoga Performing Arts Center 30,000 / 30,000 —
July 30, 1984 Detroit Joe Louis Arena 39,430 / 39,430
July 31, 1984
August 5, 1984 East Rutherford Brendan Byrne Arena 210,840 / 210,840 $3,373,440
August 6, 1984
August 8, 1984
August 9, 1984
August 11, 1984
August 12, 1984
August 16, 1984
August 17, 1984
August 19, 1984
August 20, 1984
August 25, 1984 Landover Capital Centre 76,608 / 76,608 $1,158,752
August 26, 1984
August 28, 1984
August 29, 1984
September 4, 1984 Worcester Worcester Centrum — —
September 5, 1984
September 7, 1984 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 32,000 / 32,000 $503,583
September 8, 1984
September 11, 1984 Philadelphia The Spectrum 109,250 / 109,250 $1,748,000
September 12, 1984
September 14, 1984
September 15, 1984
September 17, 1984
September 18, 1984
September 21, 1984 Pittsburgh Civic Arena 34,517 / 34,517 —
September 22, 1984
September 24, 1984 Buffalo Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 34,800 / 34,800 $499,045
September 25, 1984
October 15, 1984 Vancouver Canada Pacific Coliseum — —
October 17, 1984 Tacoma United States Tacoma Dome
October 19, 1984
October 21, 1984 Oakland Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 27,267 / 27,267 $436,272
October 22, 1984
October 25, 1984 Los Angeles Los Angeles Sports Arena 111,139 / 111,139 $1,694,674
October 26, 1984
October 28, 1984
October 29, 1984
October 31, 1984
November 2, 1984
November 4, 1984
November 8, 1984 Tempe Arizona State University Activity Center — —
November 11, 1984 Denver McNichols Sports Arena
November 12, 1984
November 15, 1984 St. Louis St. Louis Arena
November 16, 1984 Ames Hilton Coliseum
November 18, 1984 Lincoln Bob Devaney Sports Center 13,910 / 13,910 $219,744
November 19, 1984 Kansas City Kemper Arena 17,672 / 17,672 $280,150
November 23, 1984 Austin Frank Erwin Center 17,959 / 17,959 $271,603
November 25, 1984 Dallas Reunion Arena 37,516 / 37,516 $647,482
November 26, 1984
November 29, 1984 Houston The Summit 33,392 / 33,392 $580,744
November 30, 1984
December 2, 1984 Baton Rouge LSU Assembly Center 14,715 / 14,715 $241,305
December 6, 1984 Birmingham Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center — —
December 7, 1984 Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center 12,970 / 12,970 $207,520
December 9, 1984 Murfreesboro Murphy Center — —
December 11, 1984 Lexington Rupp Arena 23,292 / 23,292 $369,632
December 13, 1984 Memphis Mid-South Coliseum 23,257 / 23,257 $364,516
December 14, 1984
December 16, 1984 Atlanta The Omni 34,170 / 34,170 $525,408
December 17, 1984
January 4, 1985 Hampton Hampton Coliseum — —
January 5, 1985
January 7, 1985 Indianapolis Market Square Arena 35,396 / 35,396 $601,732
January 8, 1985
January 10, 1985 Louisville Freedom Hall
January 13, 1985 Columbia Carolina Coliseum 12,389 / 12,389 $206,142
January 15, 1985 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum 11,439 / 11,439 $381,735
January 16, 1985
January 18, 1985 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum — —
January 19, 1985
January 23, 1985 Providence Providence Civic Center 26,848 / 26,848 $443,037
January 24, 1985
January 26, 1985 Syracuse Carrier Dome 72,000 / 72,000 —
January 27, 1985
Asia/Australia
March 21, 1985 Sydney Australia Sydney Entertainment Centre 50,000 —
March 23, 1985
March 24, 1985
March 27, 1985
March 28, 1985
March 31, 1985 Brisbane Queen Elizabeth II Stadium 45,000
April 3, 1985 Melbourne Royal Melbourne Showgrounds 50,000
April 4, 1985
April 10, 1985 Tokyo Japan Yoyogi National Gymnasium 25,000
April 11, 1985
April 13, 1985
April 15, 1985
April 16, 1985
April 19, 1985 Kyoto Kyoto Furitsu Taiikukan 5,000
April 22, 1985 Osaka Osaka-jo Hall 10,000
April 23, 1985
Europe
June 1, 1985[A] Slane Village Ireland Slane Castle — —
June 4, 1985 Newcastle England St. James' Park
June 5, 1985
June 8, 1985 Gothenburg Sweden Ullevi Stadium 126,000 / 126,000
June 9, 1985
June 12, 1985 Rotterdam Netherlands Feijenoord Stadium —
June 13, 1985
June 15, 1985 Frankfurt West Germany Waldstadion (Frankfurt) 53 000
June 18, 1985 Munich [[Olympiastadion (Munich) 37 000
June 21, 1985 Milan Italy San Siro 65,000
June 23, 1985 Montpellier France Stade Richter 20 000
June 25, 1985 St. Etienne Stade Geoffroy-Guichard 25 000
June 29, 1985 Paris Parc de La Courneuve 60 000
June 30, 1985 60 000
July 3, 1985 London England Wembley Stadium
July 4, 1985
July 6, 1985
July 7, 1985 Leeds Roundhay Park
North America
August 5, 1985 Washington, D.C. United States Robert F. Kennedy Stadium 52,866 / 52,866 $925,155
August 7, 1985 Cleveland Cleveland Stadium 71,808 / 71,808 $1,256,640
August 9, 1985 Chicago Soldier Field 71,222 / 71,222 $1,228,500
August 11, 1985 Pittsburgh Three Rivers Stadium 65,150 / 65,150 $1,140,125
August 14, 1985 Philadelphia Veterans Stadium 108,000 / 108,000 -
August 15, 1985
August 18, 1985 East Rutherford Giants Stadium 396,936 / 396,936 $6,946,380
August 19, 1985
August 21, 1985
August 22, 1985
August 26, 1985 Toronto Canada Exhibition Stadium 137,171 / 137,171 $2,771,257
August 27, 1985
August 31, 1985 East Rutherford United States Giants Stadium [a] [a]
September 1, 1985
September 4, 1985 Pontiac Pontiac Silverdome 69,844 / 69,844 $1,222,270
September 6, 1985 Indianapolis Hoosier Dome 52,127 / 52,127 $899,938
September 9, 1985 Miami Miami Orange Bowl 146,458 / 146,458 $2,563,015
September 10, 1985
September 13, 1985 Dallas Cotton Bowl 126,707 / 126,707 $2,194,492
September 14, 1985
September 18, 1985 Oakland Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 100,279 / 100,279 $1,754,873
September 19, 1985
September 23, 1985 Denver Mile High Stadium 133,400 / 133,400 $2,347,840
September 24, 1985
September 27, 1985 Los Angeles Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 331,892 / 331,892 $5,688,445
September 29, 1985
September 30, 1985
October 2, 1985
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
A This concert was part of Slane Concert

Songs performed

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Originals
Cover songs
Soundchecked/on setlist but not performed

Sources[2][3][4] [5][6][7]

Personnel

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Special guests

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Fricke, David (February 27, 1986). "The Long and Winding Road". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009.
  2. ^ "The Official Bruce Springsteen concert CD & DVD collection". Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  3. ^ "Brucebase 1984". brucebase.
  4. ^ "Brucebase 1985". brucebase.
  5. ^ "Backstreets.com: 2017–2018 Setlists". backstreets.com.
  6. ^ "Bruce Springsteen Setlists | Greasy Lake". Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  7. ^ "Helsinki '03". www.brucespringsteen.net.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b The score data is representative of the all shows at the Giants Stadium on August 18–19, 21-22, 31, and September 1 respectively.
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