Bruce Springsteen: The Day I Was There

Bruce Springsteen had his say in his Born To Run autobiography. Now it’s his fans’ turn in this lavishly illustrated, memorabilia-festooned treasure trove of chronological reminiscences of encounters and concerts from Child (aka Steel Mill) shows to this year’s Broadway residency… there are some draw-dropping tales. Surely this is the very book Springsteen might wish to read about himself.

This is a book you want to keep on your coffee table for a few months and browse whenever the mood strikes you or when you’ve got some Bruce on the stereo. You want to look up entries about shows, locations, or periods in Bruce’s career that most interest you and read those. Perhaps the highlight of the book is a story by Jane Shapiro about the 1980 St. Louis show. Or, it’s about her friend Steve and how he invited Bruce to come home and visit his family. The story is legendary among fans, but this is the first time I remember reading it from other than Bruce’s point of view and getting the whole background story. The worthwhile contributions, fortunately, are in the clear majority, which makes “The Day I Was There” an entertaining and often emotional read, especially at a time like this when your last show is but a memory and you really, really start to feel the itch to be out there again among other fans, following the man and his band.

Bruce Springsteen, The Day I Was There has an advantage over the dozens of books published in recent years: it is not a rehash where repeated biographical data are shown, illustrated with some more or less known photos. It is in this case a compilation of stories written by the fans themselves, who tell their experiences at the Springsteen concerts, with a passion rarely seen. They accompany the texts a good handful of photos taken by the protagonists of the book: the fans. Pictures of concerts, tickets, posters, passes, meetings with Bruce, etc. An endearing book , that hooks and read in a few nights and transports you mentally to the best nights of a splendid career.

As with previous books in the series, it’s the early tales that interest me most, and while Bruce never seems to have lost that personal touch with an adoring audience, recollections of those formative gigs are all the more compelling.

The accounts are very personal, covering a career-spanning timescale and it's great to hear first-hand accounts from fans in their own words. For me, this format really works and the varied writing styles throughout make it very difficult to put down. Highly recommended.

Fantastic book, it was like being at a show again, brought back so many great memories.

The hundreds of personal recollections of people seeing ’The Boss’ and the wonderful E Street Band over the years and their stories makes a really interesting read. Added to that the book has some lovely photos from fans. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to see Bruce live, you should buy this!