The night of April 21, 1981 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Group made its debut in Spain. They did it at the Palacio Municipal de Deportes de Montjuic, in Barcelona. The hall was not nearly full, but about 7,000 enthusiasts gathered there. Fans. This day has already passed 42 years old.
By the early 1980s, Bruce Springsteen had already harvested great worldwide success with his third album, born to run (1975), and with the fourth, Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978), but its popularity in Spain was still not as high as it already had in Anglo-Saxon countries.
That night there were over three hours of songs from his first five albums, with a particular focus on River(1980) without forgetting some versions which are still part of his repertoire today.
Now the best snapshots of this historic night can be seen in Barcelona, from the Palau Robert hosts until May 14 an exhibition of the photographer Francesc Fabregas focused on this event: Bruce Springsteen. Barcelona 1981.
Organized by Fàbregas himself, the graphic exhibition in the gardens of the Palau Robert is accompanied by comments from various personalities who attended Springsteen’s performance, as indicated in a press release, where he also said that during this concert, he noticed a great concentration and responsibility he had in his hands, since he was the only authorized photographer. The artist’s record company has hired the photographer of the legendary music magazine vibes to be in charge of carrying out this work and distributing the photographs to all interested media. “My legs were shaking”highlighted.
Those who frequent the to show they left more than satisfied on the first date of The boss in our country and, through the press, the compliments to the musician of New Jersey were also unanimous. So they arrived important titles as “The best concert of the year” (in El Diario de Barcelona), “The great example of the best rock” (world news), “The emotion and the truth of rock” (The country), “Bruce Springsteen was the life” (The poop), “Return of the Heroes” (ABC), “The concert of the century” (The Great Musical), “A Night to Remember” (Disco Actualidad magazine) and “Unforgettable” (Review Vibrations).
Columnists at the time say that a Springsteen surprised by the public reaction promised never to forget this night and to return to town, something that has complied and continues to conform to the letter. Indeed, in just four days he is back on stage in the Catalan capital, since the singer will perform on the days April 28 and 30 at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelonathe city where he will begin his European tour, and all this despite the fact that on April 14 tested positive for covid.