Bruce Springsteen says he’s ‘screwed up’ spoiling fans with long shows: ‘Now I have to do it’

(Rex Features)

Bruce Springsteen has hinted he regrets performing long sets as his fans now expect them every time.

The “Born to Run” musician, 71, is renowned for playing lengthy shows and holds the record with a gig he played in Helsinki in 2012. It lasted four hours and six minutes.

In a new interview on US host Conan O'Brien's podcast, Springsteen recalled the show, stating: “That wasn't so bad.”

Reflecting upon the long sets he enjoys playing alongside the E Street Band, Springsteen continued: “We screwed the whole thing up by playing too f***ing long. Now I have to do it.”

Springsteen, whose new album Letter to You has been called one of his best, caused controversy in 2012 after playing for so long at a Hyde Park show that organisers switched him off.

“You may be tired, want to go to sleep,” he said, adding: “But that walk from dressing room to stage – something turns on between those two points.”

Letter to You is the musician's 20th studio album, and his latest with the E Street Band. A documentary about the making of the record is currently available to stream on Apple+.

Last year, he released solo record, Western Stars, which The Independent called a “late-period masterpiece”.

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