Bruce Springsteen honours Joe Strummer at Glastonbury 2009

The Boss promises to 'build a house of love' at Worthy Farm

Bruce Springsteen closed the second night of Glastonbury festival tonight (June 27) by paying tribute to the late Clash frontman Joe Strummer.

The star’s headlining show on the Pyramid Stage, his first ever festival appearance in the UK, was one of the most eagerly-awaited sets of the weekend.

Springsteen, a huge Clash and Strummer fan, chose to open the set with a solo rendition of Strummer‘s track ‘Coma Girl’.

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Originally recorded with The Mescaleros, the song’s lyrics were inspired by the festival, with Strummer a regular visitor up until his death in 2002.

A visibly moved Springsteen told the packed crowd: “We’re so pleased to be here at the rain-free Glastonbury! I’ve heard about it. I’ve heard about it! And now I can see it. The E Street Band are here to honour the solemn vow to rock the house tonight!”

He then went on to deliver a motivational sermon, announcing: “We’re not just gonna rock the house, we’re gonna build a house tonight! We’re gonna take away all the fear that’s out there and build us a house of love!”

An excited and energetic Springsteen spent the show running to hug fans in the front row of the audience, and taking placards bearing song requests from them.

Though packed with old favourites, the set was also heavy on material taken from recent album ‘Working On A Dream’.

Having made a surprise appearance with fellow New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem earlier on today, Springsteen returned the honour, welcoming frontman Brian Fallon onto the stage midway through the set to share vocals on ‘No Surrender’.

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Although crowds spent much of the show chanting for ‘Born In The USA’, that was one classic that they were not treated to.

Instead, Springsteen returned for the encore with his version of the Stephen Foster-penned 1855 standard ‘Hard Times’ before storming through favourites ‘Thunder Road’ and ‘Glory Days’.

The epic show finally reached its climax with his 1985 UK top five hit ‘Dancing In The Dark’.

Blog – Springsteen at Glastonbury was hard work, but brilliant

Bruce Springsteen played:

‘Coma Girl’
‘Badlands’
‘Prove It All Night’
‘My Lucky Day’
‘Outlaw Pete’
‘Out In The Street’
‘Working On A Dream’
‘Seeds’
‘Johnny 99’
‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’
‘Raise Your Hand’
‘Because The Night’
‘No Surrender’
‘Waiting On A Sunny Day’
‘Promised Land’
‘The River’
‘Radio Nowhere’
‘Lonesome Day’
‘The Rising’
‘Born To Run’
‘Hard Times’
‘Thunder Road’
‘American Land’
‘Glory Days’/’Louie Louie’
‘Dancing In The Dark’

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NME.COM is coming live from Glastonbury throughout the 2009 festival. Stay tuned for the latest news, pictures, blogs and video interviews.

Head to our NME Festivals section for the latest Glastonbury picture gallery, and check out the NME Festivals Glastonbury blog for dispatches straight from Worthy Farm. For all of our coverage go to the Glastonbury 2009 homepage now.

Plus make sure you get next week’s issue of NME, on UK newsstands from July 1, for the ultimate Glastonbury 2009 review.

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