Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to the late Tom Petty as he opened his run of Broadway shows on Tuesday night (04.10.17).
The ‘Born to Run’ singer joined people around the world in paying his respects to the legendary rocker, who tragically died on Monday (02.10.17) aged 66 after having his life support turned off following a cardiac arrest.
Springsteen – who will be performing for 18 weeks at New York City’s Walter Kerr Theater – opened his ‘Springsteen on Broadway’ preview show on Tuesday night ( 03.10.17) by dedicating the concert to his fallen friend
Writing on Twitter ahead of the performance, ‘The Boss’ – famous for playing with The E Street Band – remembered Petty by posting: "Down here on E Street, we’re devastated and heartbroken over the death of Tom Petty. Our hearts go out to his family and bandmates.
"I’ve always felt a deep kinship with his music. A great songwriter and performer. Whenever we saw each other … it was like running into a long lost brother. Our world will be a sadder place without him."
Springsteen, 68, played 13 tracks, opening with ‘Growin’ Up’ and ‘My Hometown’, and highlights included ‘Born in the U.S.A’., ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and closing number ‘Born to Run’.
Since Petty died a host of musical artists have used their live shows to remember the ‘I Want Back Down’ hitmaker.
Coldplay performed in Portland, Oregon, on the night of his passing, and frontman Chris Martin brought R.E.M guitarist Peter Buck on stage as they played a rendition of ‘Free Fallin”.
Imagine Dragons shared a more low key cover as they recorded ‘I Won’t Back Down’ on acoustic guitars in their dressing room before a Mountain View, California show.
The National and Wilco also remembered Petty, performing ‘Damaged By Love’ and ‘The Waiting’ respectively live.
Petty found fame in 1976 when he and his band the Heartbreakers dropped hits ‘Don’t Do Me Like That’ and ‘Here Comes My Girl’.
He also spent time in the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys – also comprised of Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne – in the 1980s.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
Bruce Springsteen dedicates concert to Tom Petty
