Bruce Springsteen reveals he “thought somebody was going to get killed” at famous Slane gig

“It was a sight too hairy for my tender eyes.”

Bruce Springsteen has revealed that he thought somebody was going to die at a famous gig in Slane in 1985, arguably the most memorable of his many concerts in Ireland. Approximately 95,000 people gathered to see the Boss in action on June 1, 1985 at Slane Castle on the Born in the USA tour, easily the biggest crowd he had ever performed in front of to that point. It is a concert that has since achieved legendary status, although, as Springsteen himself admits, it could have been remembered for far more unfortunate reasons. Springsteen recalled the Slane gig in his autobiography, Born to Run, which was published last week and revealed that so affected was he by what he saw that he considered cancelling the rest of the European tour during the intermission. “I thought somebody was going to get killed and it’d be my fault,” Springsteen wrote. “The crowd closest to the stage: an immediate couple of thousands, were deeply into their Guinness and dangerously swaying from left to right. “They were opening up gaping holes amongst themselves as audience members by the dozens fell to the muddy ground, vanishing for unbearable seconds until righted once again by their neighbours. “Then, once standing, they’d slosh back the other way and the whole interminable, nerve-grinding exercise would be repeated again, ad infinitum. It was a sight too hairy for my tender eyes.” During the interval in the gig, Springsteen engaged in a “highly-charged debate” with manager Jon Landau and considered cancelling the remaining European legs of the Born in the USA tour. Explaining why he considered doing so, Springsteen said: “I could not face what was happening in front of the stage at Slane on a nightly basis. It was irresponsible and violated the protective instinct for my audience I prided myself on. “Fans were pouring, red faced, soaked in booze and heat exhaustion, over the front barriers to be taken to the medical tent or to flank the crowd, throw themselves back in and take another crack at it.” Thankfully, there was a more controlled atmosphere when the Boss returned to the stage after the interval and Springsteen says that the Slane gig is still mentioned to him by people in Ireland to this day. “In the end, Slane joined a rising number of our other performances to attain ‘legendary’ status and, despite my distraction, turned out to be a solid show,” he wrote. “On the streets of Dublin, it is often mentioned to me. If you were there, you were there. I was certainly there.” Born to Run is currently available on Bruce Springsteen's official website.