Bruce Springsteen delivered a moving speech while at the Ivor Novello Awards last night (May 23), and recalled how music from the UK inspired him since he was a teenager.
READ MORE: Bruce Springsteen live in London: the heartland hero remains firmly at his majestic peak
The Boss became the first international songwriter to receive the Fellow of the Ivors Academy at Grosvenor House in London last night, following in the footsteps of Elton John, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Paul McCartney.
Becoming an Academy Fellow is the highest honour the organisation bestows, and with it, the iconic singer, songwriter and guitarist becomes the first American songwriter that the Academy has inducted into Fellowship in its 80-year history.
He was presented the award by Beatles legend Paul McCartney, who took the opportunity to jokingly roast him before introducing him to the stage. As he arrived, Springsteen delivered a moving speech to the crowd, recalling both what the honour means to him and his long-lasting love of the UK music scene.
He also recalled his nerves when first coming to London back in 1975, and what it is like to be performing in the country again, nearly 50 years down the road.
Read the full speech from The Boss below.
Bruce Springsteen & The East Street Band performs at Principality Stadium on May 5, 2024 in Cardiff, Wales CREDIT: Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns/Getty
Bruce Springsteen, Ivor Novello Awards speech:
“Back in 1975, I went on the long flight from New Jersey to the UK, with two different guys who had never been on an aeroplane. The aeroplane food was not so great, and my first thought when we landed at Heathrow was, ‘Where’s all the cheeseburgers?’… The cheeseburgers had either been hidden or replaced by something called fish and chips. I knew what a fish was, but I didn’t know what a chip was. It was a little disconcerting.
“Our next stop was the Hammersmith Odeon, where I was greeted by a huge sign announcing: ‘London is finally ready for Bruce Springsteen’. And all I thought was, ‘If London isn’t ready for a cheeseburger, they may not be ready for me.’
“Me and my 25-year-old American cousins, who were visiting the land of the musical giants, The Beatles, The Stones, The Animals. They all met us, took us to school, told us their deep appreciation of our own American roots and music. Taught us the right way to dress and wear our hair. For a young New Jersey rocker, you came to Mecca. We thought we had died and gone to heaven. Youth, loud, hipness, girls. And while I was stone-cold born in the USA, at 16 I desperately yearned to be British. I had a pretty good fake British accent – that’s what the checkout girls at the local supermarket thought.
“But I have had a lot of wonderful history here. Next year is going to mark 50 years that I’ve been coming here to entertain you and win your trust and confidence, I hope. A lot of those fans have been with me since that first night at Hammersmith, all the way to those great gigs we did in Hyde Park last summer. Their depth of knowledge of my work and their dedication constantly keeps me invested here. It keeps me coming back to these shores so I can deal more faithfully with my audience’s joys and their concerns.
“I want to be at the top of my game. Thanks for the inspiration that I see from so many musicians and writers that hail from the UK. I’ve met many folks over the last 50 years, who work at all levels at Sony Music, one thing they all have in common is the dedication and respect that they’ve shown me, my songs and my work. To each and everybody that saw me, I mean, I sold all my music and they still treat it like it’s mine.
Bruce Springsteen performs with The E Street Band at MVP Arena on April 15, 2024 in Albany, New York. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)
“To be the first international artist to be granted this Fellowship – especially as an American, who I always suspect the British to be suspicious of our strange ways – it makes today a meaningful experience to me.
“As we flew towards the UK in 1975, I was wondering, ‘What do I have that I could conceivably give back to those people who gave me so much?’ And the answer is, everything I’ve got.
“We just came out of playing Sunderland last night… hellacious weather. A driving rainstorm, wind blowing, but standing in front of me in the rain, I realised ‘These are my people’. Some of them were young, some of them were children, and some of them weren’t. Many wore lines on their faces of life, hard-weather and well-lived. Those are my people here in the UK, and I love them.
“They’re the people I’ve written for and about, and that I can still find standing in front of me – as the clock strikes 74, that remains one of the greatest privileges and honours of my life as a musician. I want to thank you for taking my music into your hearts and into your souls. I want to thank you for including me in the challenging and beautiful cultural life of the UK.
“Once it was only a dream I had. Today it’s real. I want to thank you for looking after each other… I guess London is finally ready for cheeseburgers.”
With the award, Bruce Springsteen is the 27th Fellow of the Academy, joining a variety of songwriting icons including Sting, who received the award last year.
During the ceremony he also played ‘Thunder Road’. Elsewhere, RAYE, was crowned Songwriter of the Year for having “the voice of a generation” as described by the judges, while Yussef Dayes landed a win for Best Album for his record ‘Black Classical Music’.
Other winners included Lana Del Rey – who won the Special International Award and later told NME about her new album ‘Lasso’ – and KT Tunstall who took home the trophy for Outstanding Song Collection’.
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