1984

[Great White North]

I just watched a VH-1 Behind The Music episode about 1984. As I watched, the memories flooded back about what an influential year that was in my life. Of course, central to that year was the release of BITUSA, which was highlighted in the episode. Perhaps the most priceless comment in the program was Ronald Reagan's son talking about how Reagan "wouldn't know Bruce Springsteen from Cab Calloway" in response to Reagan's attempt to coopt BITUSA for the Republican cause.

The episode also reminded of other great music that was coming out at that time, like U2's "Unforgettable Fire" and Van Halen's "1984", the tail end of the reign of the Police's "Syncronicity", and John Mellencamp's "Uh-Huh" albums, Huey Lewis and the News' "Sports" album, the time before Prince and MJ got seriously weird :D. Other important events included the beginning of rock's social responsibility with Bob Geldof organizing the British rock stars in support of the victims of the Ethiopian famine as well as the premature death of Marvin Gaye.

1984 was an important year in my life for many reasons, including both personal and musical. The year started with the termination of a long-term relationship (nearly 6 years) going back to high school and ended with meeting my wife for the first time (although it would be another 18 months before we started dating). There were also lots of important events for me in between, such as the end of my first graduate degree and my first foray into the world of full-time work.

What were you doing in 1984? What were the watershed years in your lives and why?

[growingYoung]

"What were you doing in 1984?"

Being filmed with Bruce for the Dancing in the Dark video on opening night of the BITUSA tour! :D

(Well, I was in the audience... and the camera does pan over the section I was in...)

Watershed years....
1989: the year my first child was born; 30 didn't feel so old after all!
1999: turning 40; Bruce and the E-Street Band helped me grow young again!

-GY

[Zephyrs 23]

1984- I was 3. I think I divided my time between learning to read, coloring (i'm an inside the lines kind of guy), listening to my favorite song on a certain record that my oldest brother had just bought(he was 9 at the time, yet was into bruce... I just realized that)(oh and darlington county for those who are curious), I also enjoyed sesame street and He-Man, and I believe GI Joe was a show my brother had me watching and loving. I received my first swimming lessons this year and had a big styrofoam bubble that strapped to my back was probably why i loved swimming then and not all that much now. This was the year where I believe I developed a long standing hatred of root beer and egg plant parmesean (which my mother seems to love so much).
I'm guessing I had no musical influences, but I could sing the opening of Darlington County and the chorus to Working on the Highway for years and years to come.

My watershed years would be 1996 (the year I discovered thunder road) and 1999 (year I feel in love with the whole Bruce thing, graduated High school, started college, saw Bruce live, and had my best (and at the same time worst, and other ways first) real relationship with a girl) I hope that I have more watershed years in the future, and that many of them include bruce.

[stk]

GWN-
Michael Jackson is self-explanatory, but how did Prince get weird?

In 1984, he was just warming up, his absolute best (although not commercially successful)work was yet to come!

[brn2rn_99]

1984 - My first year of High School, the year of my first kiss & the year I got the fever (Bruce fever that is!)

1993 - Graduated Uni & got my first proper job as an RN in a major hospital. Opened my eyes to the "real world"

[jungleland10]

1984 was an important year in my life too!!!

I was born!!!!!!!! Easton, PA.

[Boss MD]

1984 - At the ripe age of 25, I also was being filmed at the Dancing in the Dark video with growingYoung (Where were you sitting??? I bought my tickets at Daytons at Rosedale!!)
After taking time off earlier from college to figure out what I wanted to do in life, I was now finishing up my college career. Reaganism made me consider the conservative side of politics (although I am now and have been for several years disenfranchised with both parties), the direction of music distanced me from where it was going and what I was interested in. Family had issues and I learned to be independent. Without a doubt, 1984 was the rubicon of maturity.

Boss MD
Thunder Road, Oh Baby you were so right

[mjmfarms]

1984 -was 27 years old. Bought a farm, moved to the country. Took my three horses with me, now have six. Bruce on the radio, Bruce on MTV, Bruce on magazine covers, Bruce everywhere...

2000 - still on the farm, still have six horses and still reading about Bruce, but this time on this great forum.

[Great White North]

stk,

I agree about Prince. I was just thinking of his period where he insisted on being called "The Artist" and having his name denoted by a symbol. Don't know about others, but I thought he got kinda weird then.

[dari]

let's see 1984 ....one of my favorite years....(sorry to repeat this, skip it if you've heard it before...)

"she's the one" had been open on the venice boardwalk for 6 years. for 6 years i had been dealing with questions like "who the hell is this guy and why do you have pictures of him all around here?"
is he your husband? no (but don't i wish!)
is he your boyfriend? no (see above)
is it your brother? yea right...cause we look so much alike

it's bruce springsteen.
you mean the guy on general hospital? it doesn't look like him at all....

then comes this package in the mail at the beginning of may. the source shall remain nameless but in it is a tape. on that tape is the whole BITUSA album which is out of order and cuts off in the middle of what turns out to be my favorite song "no surrender" (which at the time, on this tape) is the last song. i rush to my best friend's house (he of the father who got us into the bottom line in 1975) and we get into his car (the only way to listen to this thing) and drive up pacific coast highway going 70 miles an hour which for him is slowing down. we are beyond elated! the next day/week i play this thing incessantly out the front windows of my store and i find out who the fans are by having breathless people come running in screaming " oh my god.... what is this and where did you get it?" some of these people are still my closest friends now. i drove with 3 of them to phoenix last year for the show there and this is how we met.
next comes the letter which is a total fluke. it turns out that one of my customers for the women's clothing i sell is married to a vice-president at sony /columbia and while she is in my place picking out stuff, he is flipping out that this tiny place on ocean front walk in venice ca. is playing their as-yet-to-be-released-biggest-hit-of-all-time album out the window for the masses walking by.
so i get a cease and desist letter (our lawyers are going to blah blah blah blah...) which i proudly framed. then i proceeded to call this person and say look, i am not selling this thing i am playing it. i have maybe 250,000 potential buyers walking by my door everyday and a lot of them are really loving this thing. why would you want me to stop. it's called free publicity. the kind you guys with all of your big bucks to advertise don't have to spend a dime on.
he saw the light and i promised not to make copies for anyone. always get them through their wallets i say...

so june comes around and the you-know-what hits the fan. here i was.... owner of the store that used to be the dateless girl from high school and now it's voted prom queen by the sheer force of numbers who now claim to love and be "old fans" of bruce springsteen. the great part is this also brought in the fans i wanted to talk to for all those years, very few of whom had known my place existed. i got to talk to people from around the world who shared my passion which was the reason i opened the place to begin with. and the cheerleader types who eventually moved on to the next big thing? well they bought lots of stuff and enabled me to see travel and see bruce at well over 60-70 show on that tour.

yea 1984...liked that year...

dari

[BruceFan38]

1984- the year I first experienced Bruce live! After 9 years of loving his music, I finally get to see a concert. We had lawn seats but got there early and got to the very front of the lawn section. We were BLOWN AWAY!
The next morning we were still so pumped up we decided to go to Bruce's hotel and look for him. As it turned out, we ended up in the hallway outside the rooms Bruce and the band were slepping in. We couldn't stay very long, but my college roommate took allthe DO NOT DISTURB signs off the doors knowing that Bruce had touched one of them. (We were young AND crazy)
1992- Actually meeting Bruce and being so stunned that I couldn't even say anything!
1996- Meeting Bruce again and being semi-composed this time. At least composed enough to ask if I could take a picture.
1999- The first time that I was able to see Bruce multiple times on a tour. Making the pilgramage to the Meadowlands, being interviewed for Tramps Like Us, and the Chicago Tribune. Meeting Bruce in Buffalo at the airport.
2000- The banner year. Having a coherent but short conversation with Bruce in Atlanta. Helping his management out in the crusade against scalpers! Being invited to the 7/1 show, and getting a copy of Songs that Bruce autographed to me personally. Meeting GREAT new friends that all share my passion for Bruce.

[fanatic7]

Oh Dari, I just love to hear those stories. I remember walking into your store and thinking "God, someone really does love him as much as I do". Now I know (thanks to the 'net) that there are alot of us!!!

http://www.wdhafm.com/temp_ads/bruce/bruce.gif

[Edited by fanatic7 on November 18th, 2000 at 10:02 AM]

[PattyC]

4-14-84
I gave birth to my daughter, JuliaC
She weighed 8lbs., 4 oz. and had the fattest cheeks I'd ever seen on a baby. She's now a 16 year old beauty. I still kiss those chubby cheeks every chance I get.

[NY BLUE]

1984 was a great Bruce year for me, it was the first time ever I got to see him live. My older brothers and sisters had seen him countless times dating back to the pony in the 70's. They had a ticket for me on my birthday on the previous tour which ended up being the now famous "Nassau night" but my parents wouldn't let me go.

In 84 my siblings and I went together and I was finally baptized into "The ministry of Rock and Roll"

[bates]

Dari--great story...I have friends in Venice Beach...I'll have stop by the next time I visit.
BF38...so many encounters...only wish.
1984--first introduced to Bruce, but otherwise very boring--I think I was in 7th grade.
1995--received my masters degree, which has been quite useless, but I made it through a thesis.

[Nicki]

Like growingYoung & BossMD, I was in the Dancing in the Dark video - well, at least I was in the building. As I remember, we were in the nosebleeds but had a blast. I had been married for one year to the father of a 7-year old and I sprained my ankle when we demonstrated the "Bruce pulls Courteney from the audience" move for him the next day. I guess that's why I never appeared in any more videos! I still have the same husband and the 7-year old is now a music-loving adult who likes Bruce but whose main passion is Dave Mathews. I've seen Bruce 4 times since then, every one special. But the '84 shows were terrific!

[Dirty Annie]

1984-very good year. See Bruce for the third & fourth times.Compared to other performances, that year was different. The River tour paled in comparison to what Bruce had to offer. He was polished,even more self assured, the band was very very tight. By this time all the pieces fit and everyone knew it. He was an invincible force. '84 was a wake up call that seeing Bruce for one show in a particular city wasn't gonna cut it. Mutiple show buying began.Friends began to ask,"Didn't you just see him yesterday?""Are you nuts?". Lost some of my hearing during that tour, but damn, it was worth it!!!

[Toots]

Dari... I always love your stories. Still want you to write ME that book! Even if you only do one copy ;)

Zephyrs..You made me feel really old, because I just realized that you are only 3 years older than my oldest son.

In 1984 I lived in Anchorage Alaska. I had my son Rory there on November 29, 1984. I remember when BITUSA came out and Douger and I rushed to the record store to get it. I loved that picture on the cover. But being waaaay up there in Alaska made me feel far removed from all of the BITUSA hoopla. I was too busy freezing my a$$ off I guess.

Watershed years for me would be 1974 when I first discovered Bruce. 1976 when I saw him for the first time. Also 1981 and 82 when I met Douger and ultimately married him. And of course 84 and 88 when my son's were born.

And don't forget the years 1999 and 2000 when I got to see Bruce again with the E Street Band and meet lots of wonderful people who loved Bruce as much as I do!

Toots

[robinia]

1984 - sophomore year in college - one of the most fun years of my life - spent it pretty much drunk and dancing to Bruce with the guys down the hall - sometimes I miss those days! Also the year I met Hummer and we truly began the WWA!!! In case anyone was wondering when it all got started, that's it!

[cobalt]

Robinia,
I remember being a sophomore in college...three best years of my life!

Seriously, it seems like '84 was the first time other people really began to understand waht my wife and I had been obsessing about for years before!
It was also the year we bought our first house...a big thing for us, anyway.

[AMIW]

Yikes GWN I can't remember that far back I barely remember
anything before the Orlando pre-show but let's see...

1984 the year mighty Liverpool won the League, the League Cup and the European Cup and I spent lots of hours and money
on british rail trains travelling up and down the country watching them.

1984 - the year of that Apple computer commercial that aired during the superbowl in america - oh if only they had fulfilled their promise wouldn't the world have been a better place.

1984 - the year some american computer company offered me a job which would eventually lead to a move to the lost city of Atlanta...

didn't see Bruce and the boys that year they didn't come to the u.k til 1985.

regards

Andrew.D.Wicks

[Magic Rat]

1984-hmmmmmm?
so long ago and yet not really.
That was during my down and out phase-making just enough to get by, no Bruce.
I was lost then (actully lost for almost 20 years :( )but have found my way back (Phoenix 15 Oct 99!!)-it's been a long hard road but worth every bit of it :D

[Janie99]

1984 - what a year! Had quit college to get a full time job. Dumb move - I know.. But at least I had the money to buy tickets for multiple shows.

Having been spoiled at the River tour - blessed with great seats... we weren't as lucky in 1984. Nosebleeds, opposite end of the Spectrum. Until - the last night. Had floor seats way in the back. Got in early - seats were right behind the board - security guard (pre-MIB I think) upgrades us to 10th row CENTER... What a night!

Went to all of the BITUSA II shows in 1985 at Vets Stadium... hated the venue and the whole hype that was going on by this time. Lots of new fans that didn't really get it and completely ignored the stage unless it was a song from BITUSA... But it was BRUCE and we loved it anyway. Had the time of our lives!

Janie

[Rosalita1223]

Ooooo 1984, was a very good year...just finished my first year in nursing school and on to a great summer! The year we finally got to see Bruce live! (Well, we did see him once as a suprise at a Jackson Browne show in the Garden the year before but that doesn't count...) Went to two shows at Brendan Byrne arena (remember when it was called that?). Including the last night too! How did we do that? I don't know but what a show! Those shows made my future husband a fan, heehee...

[BronxDarren]

1984-looking at my brother's pink cadillac shirt and asking him
"who's bruce springsteen?
I've never been the same.
First getting really, REALLY into music, first having the feeling that I wanted to be a rockstar.
First french kiss. I was twenty four. (hahaha!!)
that was a great year.

[Marsha]

Toots,
I have a son named Rory! My Rory was born in 1990.
He's my younger son.

1984, got married, saw Bruce. Nothing else was important.

Marsha

[NCBruce Fan]

1984-Started high school, the year I started really listening to music, the year I really became a New York Ranger fan.

I didn't buy BITUSA until late 1985.

[lori]

Let's see: Graduated high school and started college. I know I bought BITUSA the day it came out. I remember coming home early from a birthday dinner with my boyfriend so I could see the world-premiere of the DITD video on MTV. My boyfriend walked out on me during the video because he could not take it that I would be so entranced with some other man. No lie--and I was even planning on "losing it" to him later that night.
During the last quarter of that year, during my freshman year in college, I made friends with other Bruce fans, and spent many a night on certain illegal substances discussing Bruce and his lyrics, as only college freshman can!! Also spent the night in line at Oakland Colleseum for tickets, to the show, only to be the first in line when they sold out. Nevertheless, I made it to one of the Oakland shows, and then to a show in LA the following week. During that cold night on line I became close with a friend who still is one of my closest friends, and with whom I saw several Bruce shows over the years, including 3 shows this past tour (LA, Portland and Anaheim).
I've had several other great years in my life (kids, marriage, etc)--but 1984 definitely was a watershed year.

[TSnide]

The chapter "1984" in the book of my life could be a book by itself. I turned 18 that year, and it was without out a doubt the most eventful year of my life, from start to finish, with Bruce playing a big part in that.

[Rams]

I graduated from college in 1984.

Every other major landmark event has happened in an even numbered year, high school graduation, 3 moves to new states, wedding, children's birthdays, first house, going to Olympics/World Series/recent Bruce tour, biggest family reunion in 8 years...

It's all even-numbered years.

1984 was a blast though. Senior Spring term folowed by an unrestricted summer. very fun times.

Rams
a cool rockin' daddy

[young again]

1984 - sophomore/junior year in college, lived in a great apartment not far from where I now work, was NOT in the DITD video, see NOT Bruce play at all (I don't know why, I probably couldn't get tix to an arena show, and I didn't like stadium shows). Not a very remarkable year for me!

Years that stand out:

1982 - graduated high school, started college, and began dating my husband-to-be

1985 - an epic road trip from Philly to New Orleans with an "old" friend (we were 20 and had been friends since we were 15) - we listened to BITUSA over and over while driving and to this day I associate that album with that hot and rainy ride through the deep south. My friend died 4 years later; I was in New Orleans this weekend and thought of her, and our journey, and how she will always be so young and bright and full of promise.

1986 - more adventures in cheap travel

1988 - got married

1993 - first child born

1995 - second child born

1999 - turned 35, saw Bruce for the first time, began to grow young again!

[radiogirl70]

I started high school in 1984, and that was the year I found out what it meant to "conform" (and why I didn't want to). Not an easy time, but Bruce was definitely there. I only had one good friend who shared my obsession, and we wore out No Surrender. I think I'll go blast the stereo and go for a little drive now...sans the blue eyeshadow :)