The Boss is just one the lads
06:00, 20 May 2025Updated 07:57, 20 May 2025
Salford Lads Club members meet Bruce Springsteen
Barely 30 minutes before he was due onstage for another sold-out night at Co-op Live, Bruce Springsteen played a flying visit to see members from a legendary Greater Manchester spot.
The Boss has been hitting headlines during a three-night residency at the 23,500 capacity venue, the first of his 16-date Land of Hope & Dreams Tour.
Always outspoken, the US rock legend took aim at President Donald Trump with a fiery barb at the first show of his stay in Manchester – describing ‘dangerous times’ currently being faced in the USA.
And days later, the New Jersey “boy” took the time to met the lads and lasses of Ordsall’s Salford Lads and Girls Club with just half an hour to spare before taking to the stage on May 17.
For some of the young people the gig would be the first time they had ever attended a rock concert. One of them, musician John Denton, 15, gave the superstar a club T-shirt and a CD of his own music.
As Glory Days go it could not have been better. The group knew they had tickets for the gig at Co-op Live arena. But not until shortly before were they told they would be meeting Bruce, who at 75, still puts on three-and-a-half hour concerts.
Members of Salord Lads and Girls Club meet Bruce Springsteen backstage before his concert at Co-Op Live on May 17th.
The chance to meet him stemmed from a partnership between the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs and World Youth Clubs, which work to connect youth organisations worldwide and provide life-changing cultural experiences for young people.
For some young people who attended, music is a huge part of their lives, but the cost of live events can often be a significant barrier. Thanks to the partnership, they were given tickets, and backstage access.
Laura Slingsby, Chief Executive Officer of Salford Lads and Girls Club, said: “Watching the faces of the young people as the night unfolded was pure magic. From the size of the venue to the noise of the crowd, it was a new experience for many of them. One they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MAY 14: Bruce Springsteen performs during the first night of ‘The Land of Hopes and Dreams’ tour at Co-op Live on May 14, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images)(Image: Getty Images)
“We’re so grateful to World Youth Clubs and the National Association of Boys and Girls Club for making it happen. Bruce was so lovely and spent his time chatting with the young people and answering some of the questions they had about his musical history. This is exactly what great work looks like. Creating the kind of moments that change lives, open doors, and let young people dream bigger.
“There were a lot of jealous parents that night when the kids got home. Bruce was very enthusiastic and shook hands with every one of our members. John was so excited at being able to give him a demo of his music.”
Andy Hamill, National Director of the National Association of Boys & Girls Clubs, said: “More than anything else this was the most wonderful of experiences for the young people taking part. It is the experience of a lifetime that will be both memorable and inspirational as well as potentially life changing for these young people.
“It also demonstrates the power of well-established relationships between local, national and global partners to create life enhancing and life changing opportunities for young people.
“Our thanks must be expressed to World Youth Clubs founders Rick and Susan Goings who set this opportunity in motion and made it happen. Also, thanks to Patti Springsteen who arranged the backstage passes, some wonderful gifts and finally to Bruce Springsteen himself, who met with everyone a mere 30-minutes before taking to the stage.”
John Denton gives Bruce Springsteen at Salford Lads Club T-shirt, and a CD of his own music.
At the show, The Boss reignited his fiery rhetoric against US president Donald Trump for the second night of his “Land of Hopes and Dreams” tour in Manchester. Trump had retaliated after Bruce made a stinging assessment of the President’s policies. But Trump branded Bruce an “obnoxious jerk,” a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker,” and posted that he should “keep his mouth shut.”
Springsteen ignored Trump’s advice. In a second speech from the stage of Co-op Live he thanked the audience for letting him talk about the state of America, and said: “Things are happening right now that are altering the very nature of our country’s democracy, and they’re too important to ignore.” Springsteen plays his last of three Manchester shows on this tour tonight. (Tuesday)
For John, it was another unforgettable step in his career which began by busking on rain-drenched streets of Manchester.
The T-shirt which the Lads club gave to Bruce Springsteen.
Guitar legend, Johnny Marr, who along with fellow members of The Smiths posed for an iconic picture at the Club in Ordsall, then chose John to be the first recipient, two years ago, of an award he sponsors to help young people from Salford with potential to make it in the music industry.
John has covered songs by classic Manchester bands including The Smiths while playing to shoppers on Market Street, with videos of his performances gaining thousands of views on social media.
John, from Swinton, said: “I got my grandad to print off a CD of four of my own songs to give to Bruce. My band broke up in October and I have been a sinnger-song writer since. I think lately I have become a lot better.
“i have been playing everywhere, London, Liverpool, Manchester. I could only fit four songs on the CD, but I guess that gives Bruce less to think about. I was in the group (from Lads Club) and I was nominated to give Bruce a T-shirt and have a conversation with him.
John Denton performing
“I said ‘hello I’m John’ and he said ‘Hi John, I’m Bruce’ which was quite funny. I found out about half an hour before that I was going to meet him. That was the longest half hour of my life. I told him that The River out of all his songs was my favourite. He was a nice guy.”
In an earlier interview after John had wowed shoppers with his city centre performances, he told the Manchester Evening News: “I’d love to be the next Johnny Marr and just keep going to see where music can take me, It all started when my dad took me to a birthday party for one of his friends, and there was a karaoke machine. People were singing Highway to Hell by AC/DC.
“I went home and just listened to them over and over and it all came from there. I started singing, took guitar lessons and then did my first gig at a coffee shop in Eccles when I was nine, where I also sang two of my own songs.”
The young guitarist was awarded £1,000 by Johnny Marr, funding to pay for extra singing and guitar lessons to progress to the next level in his performances. John started playing at the age of eight when he received his first guitar as a Christmas present
This special night at the Bruce concert marks the start of a growing partnership between Salford Lads and Girls Club, Your Music CIC, World Youth Clubs and the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs, with plans in motion to explore how music, creativity and international exchange can inspire and empower more young people in Salford and beyond.