ist dein Freund:

I'd like to say at the outset that I love the woman dearly - I can't not, I was a 13 year old boy and a million miles from California when 'Rumours' came out - but ...

In the summer of 1988 Fleetwood Mac played an open air gig in Dublin. It was their only show on the island of Ireland and a lot of people had travelled to Dublin for the show, which truth be told was a fairly mediocre affair. But as the concert came to an end Stevie Nicks stepped up to the centre mic and as tears began to roll gently down her face she offered up a heartfelt prayer for Ireland and its people, stating that she knew what we were going through but assuring us that peace would come. As I recall many of the audience around me had tears in their eyes too that day, as they rolled on the ground clutching their sides.

Perhaps Stevie's magic tears provided the first impetus towards that historic agreement 10 years later, that in turn has lead to Dublin becoming the stag/hen weekend capital of Europe, and 'Nandos' opening its first branch in Belfast.

Well ... it's at least as plausible as Bruce dismantling the Berlin Wall.

In truth the musicians who make a difference are those that just turn up and play. For me the biggest impact during the 1970's and 1980's in Belfast was made by the acts that included my town on their tour - and there were not that many prepared to take the 3 hour drive from Dublin. Even then there were always cancellations when some particular incident hit the headlines - I have no respect for these people even now. Robert Plant stand up and take a bow.

The acts from that period and before that I do admire are people like Elton John, James Taylor and Crowded House. These guys simply turned up and played like it was just another gig. No preaching, no patronising attempts at empathy. As a result they have a loyalty here probably like nowhere else.

I remember during one particularly time when the level of violence reached a peak - Robert Plant & Grant Lee Buffalo (and probably others) cancelled with little or no notice - Crowded House came, Neil Finn said they couldn't not. That's what makes the biggest difference - bringing a little normality into an abnormal situation.

It's not a particularly inspired rant by Springsteen. I'm not a fan of the man so perhaps it's coloured by that, but it's not the performance of a true orator. If anyone had their opinion changed by his speech, they can't have had too many thoughts beforehand.