Stadium Breaker: Bruce Springsteen Busts Out ‘Twist & Shout’ In Sweden By Request

On June 8, 1985 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band brought the Born In The U.S.A. Tour to the Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. Over 60,000 fans filled the stadium and left it broken … literally. The Boss returned to Ullevi last night for his third and final 2023 show in Gothenburg, where he picked out a sign recognizing the 1985 incident and then dusted off a cover of “Twist And Shout” — the same song that shattered the venue 38 years ago.

Nearly $2.5 millon worth of damage was done to Ullevi on June 8, 1985 thanks to the rhythmic vibration caused by concertgoers dancing to Springsteen’s “Twist And Shout.” The venue almost collapsed and moved on its clay soil foundation during the incident. Concrete cracked leading officials to close the stadium for two weeks. Repairs were made to the city’s main stadium which is still in use today. Springsteen’s three-show 2023 run followed additional visits from The Boss in 2003, 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Bruce Springsteen reached for a sign last night after finishing “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” that read “It’s Time To Break The Stadium.” The Boss showed the poster to the audience and then lit into his first “Twist And Shout” with the E Street Band since February 4, 2017. Penned by Phil Medley and Bert Berns, the rock classic was originally recorded in 1961 by The Top Notes. Both The Isley Brothers and The Beatles put out memorable versions of “Twist And Shout” in 1962 and 1963 respectively.

“Twist And Shout” was the penultimate song of Wednesday’s concert. Springsteen closed, as he does each show this tour, with a solo acoustic “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” Bruce proclaimed “We will be back!” before stepping off stage. The rest of the concert had a similar setlist to other stops with five songs each from Born In The U.S.A. and Born To Run as well as a smattering of tunes off 2020’s Letter To You and 1978’s Darkness On The Edge Of Town along with other favorites.

Watch fan-shot footage of the “Stadium Breaker,” aka “Twist And Shout,” from last night below:

View a mini-documentary put together by Jan Jelle explaining why Gothenburg has a special place in Bruce Springsteen history:

Setlist (via BruceBase)

Set: Night, No Surrender, Ghosts, Prove It All Night, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, The Promised Land, Out In The Street, Kitty’s Back, Nightshift, Trapped, Johnny 99, The E Street Shuffle, The River, Last Man Standing, Backstreets, Because The Night, She’s The One, Wrecking Ball, The Rising, Badlands

Encore: Born In The U.S.A., Born To Run, Bobby Jean, Glory Days, Dancing In The Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Twist And Shout, I’ll See You In My Dreams