For the first time in 10 years, Bruce and the E Street Band embarked on a tour with a different lineup. Steve Van Zandt had left to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Nils Lofgren, and Patti Scialfa was added as a backup singer. The tour soon proved to be Bruce’s most successful ever, solidly backed by the monster sales of the Born in the USA album. The album attracted millions of new fans who were more than eager to witness the phenomenon live. While always relying heavily on the new commercial songs, the shows to begin with also featured a good chunk of reworked Nebraska songs. Those, however, became fewer as the crowds consisted more and more of new fans who were there for the party rather than less accessible message songs.

In the beginning of 1985, Bruce and the band went on their first tour to Australia and Japan. This was followed by a tour of Europe, which saw the band’s first real outdoor stadium shows, culminating with three shows at Wembley Stadium in London, each attended by upwards of 70,000 fans. The stadium tour continued back in the US in the late summer and fall of 1985 with even bigger shows that, for a while, turned Bruce into the biggest rock star on the planet.

With 156 shows and grossing more than $80 million, the Born in the USA Tour became one of the biggest tours in rock ‘n’ roll history by anyone and will forever stand as the highwater mark of Bruce’s career, from a commercial viewpoint.

Roy Bittan: Piano
Clarence Clemons: Saxophone
Danny Federici: Organ
Nils Lofgren: Guitar
Bruce Springsteen: Vocals, guitar
Patti Scialfa: Vocals
Garry Tallent: Bass
Max Weinberg: Drums