She regaled me of tales of the burning sun, being crushed at the front and the bizarre start time of 4pm in Yorkshire. I listened to Born in the USA but what intrigued me more were the B-sides on the singles, the live recordings and rarities that showed a depth way beyond the commercial appeal of the hits. I was hooked.

My first live experience came at Villa Park on the 22nd June 1988 and here I was 12,777 days later stood in almost exactly the same spot, but things have changed. My, how they have changed. The controversy over ticket prices, Springsteen’s frankly arrogant response, the abandoning of the egalitarian arrangements that ensured those with the most dedication rather than the most money took the best positions in front of the stage, the static set lists and disillusionment of the most hard-core fans, culminating in the closure of Backstreets, the long running fanzine/website and fans resource meant that there was (for me at least) a cloud over this, my eighth gig.

Is he just like all the others? Was that which set him apart a myth? An act? Or a magic trick as he himself described during his Broadway shows? As the sun set behind the North Stand Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band took to the stage….

An hour or so later, in a rare quiet moment a third of the way into the gig, he said four words: “This is for Birmingham” blew the first notes of The River on his harmonica and that magic did the trick once again. The emotional title track from his 1981 album tells of love, loss and regret coming immediately after a poignant reading of My Home Town made for a memorable double as dusk descended in North Birmingham. For those of us who are regulars in this part of the Second City it was a moment of parochial indulgence and for my older sibling, the first outing for The River on this tour came as a surprise and delight. Everyone has a favourite, don’t they?

Either side of this Springsteen lead his band through a 28 song set spanning his lengthy career, right up to his latest release, an album of soul covers represented here by Nightshift, a Commodores original. As many as eight songs were plucked from Born In The USA and while us hardcore fans might have wished for some more obscurities, the man from New Jersey knows how to entertain a stadium audience and when the house lights come on during the encore the whole of Villa Park resembled one big party.

We got straight readings of classics such as Born to Run and No Surrender, free form jazz during Kitty’s Back and “ E Street Shuffle and the ubiquitous and fulsome tribute to departed E Streeters Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici during Tenth Avenue Freeze Out. There was a constant joy in the air throughout the gig, the main protagonist appearing to enjoy it as much as we were, aided and abetted by his companions on stage, swelled by a brass section and backing singers creating a glorious noise in crescendo.

And then in total contrast, floodlights extinguished, Bruce Springsteen stood alone with his guitar, acknowledged the march of time with a solo rendition of I’ll See You In My Dreams and took his bows. Even without that behemoth of a band behind him, he held us all in the palm of his hand, captivated by his presence and the emotion of the moment. One final wave and he was gone, on went the lights and we all shuffled off to join endless queues for public transport or to leave car parks but the glow of a wonderful evening kept the smiles on faces.