The Boss UK pay tribute to legendary Springsteen
Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – [email protected]
When it comes to genuine rock stars, Bruce Springsteen is as authentic as they come. The New Jersey native continues to sell out stadia across the globe with shows that last three hours and longer. Celebrating Springsteen’s music, and tapping into the demand for it, The Boss UK comes to Monroe’s Live on Friday, next June 30.
The band is led by Doug Freeman, who has set himself a massive task in trying to capture the verve and power of a Springsteen show.
“It’s fun, really,” says Doug. “We’re not there to beat Bruce, we’re not there to replace him by any means. We could never do that. We enjoy being able to play the songs he’s written over the years, it’s just amazing to be able to do that.”
Two years ago, Doug decided that maybe he too was born to run, and set about getting The Boss UK on the road.
“I’d been out of music, doing a few business things and finding out what it was like on the other side of the fence, so to speak,” he says. “But I found that music was a bit more fun for me! I decided to get back into it and thought what would be the best way to go about it, the most enjoyable? We went ahead and did it, and it’s taken off quite well.”
The band has bookings well into 2018, and recently played the fantastically titled GlastonBudget in Leicestershire.
“Yeah, it’s a great title but it’s a great festival,” Doug says. “So well organised, so well-run. It was a lovely experience, we played to about 12,000 people.”
Getting Springsteen’s marathon live show into a 90-minute festival slot must have been tricky, though.
“Yeah, we’d play for longer if we could,” Doug says. “People say to us ‘you can’t be much of a Springsteen tribute if you’re only playing for 90 minutes’. Well, we’d love to play for four hours but name a club in Europe that’ll let us do that – it’s highly unlikely.”
Other band members include Marco Cape, who with his bandana and guitar skills, does an impressive job stepping into the shoes of Springsteen’s sideman, Stevie Van Zandt.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.