EXCLUSIVE: Springsteen Invites Media Into Perth Soundcheck

With his 18th studio record, High Hopes, surfacing in Australia last month, Bruce Springsteen finds himself back in the country for the second year in a row, and venturing to Perth for the first time. He kicks off his sold out tour in Perth, where eager fans line up as early as 10am on the day of his first show.

Inviting the media to attend soundcheck, a select group weave their way though the back corridors of Perth Arena to the muffled sounds of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band playing This Is Your Sword. We're welcomed into the empty arena where The Boss is giving direction to his band, guitarist Tom Morello close by his side. Springsteen turns around and waves, “Hi there, come on in,” he says with a grin. He turns back to his band and they begin a cover of Suicide's Dream Baby Dream, which features on High Hopes. They finish the song and Springsteen initiates a band meeting before turning back to the small crowd occupying the floor space. “We're still working on it,” he laughs. “You've stumbled into an actual rehearsal, I'm afraid to tell you."

Another run through of the song, and his band dissolves backstage. Springsteen then invites us forward where his perches himself on the edge of the stage and begins taking questions.

He's about as genuine as they get with his answers and always manages to throw in some humour. He explains his delayed return to Australia and why he has never come to Perth, citing family commitments. “I had very little children for 20 years and so I was limited to how far away I could go,” he tells. “I made a deal when my kids were born that everything would get booked around them.

“We had such a wonderful time in Australia last year, it was a big tour for us, and when we came back we knew we wanted to get as any places as we could, and I'd heard from people like, 'Eh, I love Perth', so I'm glad we're here. It's also beautiful. I went to the ocean yesterday, it was great – I didn't get eaten by a shark,” he laughs. “I reminds me very much of back home, really.”

As well as enjoying Australia's sunshine and coastline, Springsteen also hold a special place for iconic Australian rock band The Saints. So much so that he recorded a cover of the band's Just Like Fire Would for High Hopes. “It was just a great sounding record, I loved his voice, I listened to it for 20 years, you know. I had it on playlists and it would come on and I would go, 'Oh, man, I love that record',” he tells theMusic. “I don't think of covering too much, because we hadn't covered too much, but it was actually fun. We did it on this record. I never thought of myself as an interpretive singer – like Rod Stewart can interpret,” he tells.

“I made myself sing. I make a sound that sounds like singing. It's communicating I'd call it. So I never thought of myself as an interpretive singer, but it's fun. With certain things I can feel it deep inside.”

He answers a few more questions, even after we're told to wrap things up before disappearing backstage and preparing for the three hours of unrelenting rock he's about to deliver to Perth.