Check out Bruce Springsteen’s full Ivors speech: “While I was stone-cold born in the USA, at 16 I desperately yearned to be British”
nme.comBruce 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.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.“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’.
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