A Backstage Glimpse at Bruce Springsteen's Legendary 1980-81 Tour for "The River"

Locations vary (Germany, England, and the United States), ca. April-August, 1981. Archive of material related to the North American and European tour for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s album, The River. From the collection of Harry Sandler, then tour manager for the band. Comprising over 150 printed and/or manuscript items, including internal tour production booklets, day sheets, internal tour documents related to schedules, travel, and hotel accommodations for the band and crew, venue information, official backstage and all access passes, publicity material, and more; many with manuscript notations, presumably by Sandler, and others. Condition and sizes vary, generally very good. Comprising:

1. Five original printed internal production tour booklets, including day sheets: one booklet for the third leg of the tour, in Europe, ca. April 7-June 8, 1981 (Thrill Hill Productions, Inc., New York); one travel and accommodation booklet for the first part of the U.K. segment of the European tour, ca. March-April, 1981 (Trinifold Travel Ltd, London, etc.); one booklet for the April 18-24, 1981 shows in Paris and Lyon (KCP Promotions); two booklets (in duplicate) for the fourth, and final, leg of the tour, in the United States, ca. July 2-August 3, 1981. Each in original stiff stapled, plastic comb, and bound wrappers.

2. Thirty-four manuscript and/or photocopied internal tour documents, being detailed daily band and crew itineraries (nine in manuscript on yellow lined paper, presumably by Sandler; 25 in photocopy, several of these in duplicate); covering the Hamburg, Berlin, Zurich, Frankfurt, Munich, Gothenburg, Oslo, Stockholm, and Wembley shows, dated April 6-May 30. Listing travel arrangements, hour-by-hour schedules in preparation for shows, etc., for the band and crew; many with mounted newspaper or printed slips and cut-outs.

3. Forty-five sheets of various internal production tour records and documents, including day sheets, production crew checklists and worksheets, hotel arrangements, press releases (including for the European tour's rescheduled dates), various documents from Thrill Hill Productions, photography-related contracts, venue seating charts; documents related to ticket sales, etc.; in manuscript or photocopy, some photocopies with annotations.

4. One partially-printed setlist for the April 21, 1981 Barcelona show, on "Sociedad General de Autores de Espana 'Seccion Musical' stationery; accomplished in manuscript by American music critic and author David Marsh, and listing 28 songs.

5. Nineteen printed pieces of various promotional material for The River, including 13 portrait photographs of Springsteen (all in duplicate, by Joel Bernstein), three promotional posters for the album, etc.

6. Fifty-one printed "All Access" passes (for the London and Birmingham shows); 15 printed "After Show" passes (for the London, Birmingham, and Brighton shows).

7. One issue of Point Blank Springzine (1981, No. 3; original stiff printed blue pictorial stapled wrappers; 4to).

8. One 45 RPM record Dutch printing of the lead single "Hungry Heart / Held Up Without a Gun"; in original printed pictorial sleeve.

A fascinating behind the scenes look at Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s legendary 1981 tour for his fifth studio album, The River—the tour that would catapult Springsteen to international acclaim. From the collection of the band’s then tour manager, Harry Sandler.

Following on the heels of his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town, The River was released in October 1980 and was Springsteen's first double-album and his first to reach number one on the Billboard charts. Capturing the band’s iconic live sound alongside Springsteen’s expansive storytelling, the album led with the hit single "Hungry Heart"—Springsteen's first song to reach the top five on the Billboard charts. The album was a critical and commercial success, selling over 1.5 million records in the first three months alone, and brought Springsteen national recognition as one of rock music's rising stars and unique voices. In the fall of 1980, to promote the new album, Springsteen and crew set out on a four-part North American and European tour, playing 140 shows in over 75 cities over a grueling near year-long period. It was during this time that Springsteen and crew pushed the limits of their performative capabilities by nightly playing 30-plus song sets for over three-plus hour-long marathon shows—a defining feature of Springsteen’s live and rapturous acts that took hold during this time.

This large archive covers multiple aspects of this tour—from planning, scheduling, and accommodations and travel, including the band's daily movements, to details covering ticket sales, venue sizes, as well as bootleg recordings and concert photography. In particular, it largely covers intimate details of the European leg of the tour, the band’s first major tour of the continent, albeit delayed due to exhaustion caused by the first six-month run in the United States. Beginning in Hamburg, West Germany on April, 7, the band performed in 21 cities over a two-month period, closing with six shows at Wembley Arena in London, and two epic shows in Birmingham. This leg in Europe was a critical moment in Springsteen’s career that made him an international name in rock music. As he later reflected, "Europe changed our band, filling us with new commitment and confidence," and "turned us into an international act, ready to take on all corners anywhere on the planet."

Harry Sandler (1944-2017) was one of rock music's leading tour managers during his 30-plus year career, and an accomplished photographer, working with musicians such as Springsteen, John Mellencamp, the Eagles, Van Halen, Stevie Nicks, Jewel, and Katy Perry.