Bruce Springsteen slaps back at retirement “farewell tour bulls**t” rumours

27 August 2024, 13:53

He's suffered from bouts of ill health in recent years.

Notably, after Bruce Springsteen was forced to cancel a run of concerts in 2023, when he was diagnosed with peptic ulcer disease.

This led his millions of fans worldwide to believe that time would finally be catching up with the seemingly ageless music icon.

But after taking a step back to fully recover, the 74-year-old blue-collar rocker is powering on like a steam train once again.

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Whilst rumours of retirement loom large over Springsteen at present, the 'Born To Run' legend has clapped back in emphatic fashion.

At a recent concert in Philadelphia on 23rd August, Bruce batted away any misinformation by stating he's not "goin' anywhere" and is in no way planning for "no farewell tour bullsh*t".

Springsteen said: "We’ve been around for fifty f*ckin’ years, and we ain’t quitting! We ain’t doing no farewell tour bullsh*t!"

"Jesus Christ! No farewell tour for the E Street Band!" Adding: "Farewell to what? A thousand people screaming your name? Get the hell out. I ain’t going anywhere!"

The 'Dancing In The Dark' rocker mirrored sentiments recently made by Billy Joel, who stated something similar in a recent interview.

He even referenced Bruce's endless energy and desire to keep performing till he drops, saying: "I’m not gonna stop doing shows. That’s what I do. I asked a couple of contemporaries - [Don] Henley, [Bruce] Springsteen - ‘What are you gonna do now?'"

"They said the same thing: ‘Keep performing.’ Why? ‘Because that’s what I do.’ … Good idea!" Joel added.

'The Boss' is showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to his concerts either, frequently performing for a whopping three hours at a time.

Whenever you go and see Bruce in the flesh, you know you'll get value for money at least.

Prior to Springsteen's on-stage outburst about retirement, his E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt also poured cold water on retirement plans.

"I don’t see the end anywhere in sight, to be honest, especially in Europe, where we’re bigger than we’ve ever been. I think we can play every summer for evermore."

He compared Bruce and his band's drive to The Rolling Stones, who look like they'll never take their foot off the gas.

"I love that the Stones are still out there. Because as long as they’re out there, man, we’re still the new kids on the block, right? So I’m good with that."

Bruce batting away retirement rumours comes after his two epic Wembley Stadium concerts, which were lauded as some of his greatest ever live performances.

As it stands, he'll be back in the near future for those unfortunate enough not to catch him on British shores last time around.

For anyone not able to see Bruce in concert will however get to see him on the silver screen in the near future. Well, in the form of a biopic.

Deliver Me From Nowhere is set to delve into Springsteen's mindset and troubles during the writing and recording of his celebrated 1982 album, Nebraska.

The biopic is set to feature the star of FX series The Bear and A24 wrestling drama Iron Claw, Jeremy Allen White, as Springsteen, with no release date earmarked at the time of writing this article.