On This Day in 2024, Paul McCartney Affectionately Teased Bruce Springsteen While ...
On May 23, 2024, Paul McCartney presented an Ivor Novello award to Bruce Springsteen. There, he took the opportunity to engage in some good-natured ribbing. Springsteen was being awarded with an Academy Fellowship, and was the first international artist to earn the award.
“I couldn’t think of a more fitting recipient,” McCartney began in his introduction. He playfully continued, “Except maybe Bob Dylan. Or Paul Simon, or Billy Joel, or Beyoncé, or Taylor Swift. The list goes on,” according to a report from The Guardian.
McCartney then added, “He’s known as the American working man, but he admits he’s never worked a day in his life.” He switched gears after that, instead reminiscing about Glastonbury 2022 when he and Springsteen performed together. McCartney concluded by calling Springsteen “a lovely boy.”
When Paul McCartney teases you on stage, you take it in stride, because he’s probably right. Bruce Springsteen, for his part, accepted the award and the good-natured ribbing with ease and humor. During his acceptance speech, he made a comment about the typical English weather.
Springsteen and the E Street Band had played in Sunderland the previous night and were faced with intense weather. However, Springsteen revealed that seeing the crowd sparked something in him that made him forget about the rain.
“We came out last night, and I was like: what is this weather? Driving rain, wind roaring,” he said. For the English, that’s just a Tuesday. “But,” Springsteen continued, “standing in front of me, in the rain, I realized: these are my people.”
Bruce Springsteen was the first international artist to receive the Academy Fellowship from the Ivor Academy. He joined artists such as U2, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Annie Lennox. The fellowship recognizes craft, artistry, and impact in music creation. Members include rock and rollers, pop stars, composers, conductors, and singer-songwriters.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Lauren Boisvert
