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Bruce Springsteen super fan has seen him play 75 times but is 'going to lose it' at Anfield concertPhil might even be able to take some credit for Bruce's long-anticipated Liverpool

showsCommentsWhat's OnCourtney Eales09:50, 04 Jun 2025Phil and his wife Eileen at a Bruce Springsteen show(Image: Phil Beard) Bruce Springsteen super-fan Phil Beard has seen 'The Boss'

playing in venues around the world since 1981 - but tonight's show at Anfield is going to be something special. The Formby-born music lover will be attending his 76th Bruce Springsteen

concert tonight, to see Bruce perform his first ever Liverpool show.

Despite being a regular at Bruce's concerts, he told Radio Merseyside this morning "you always get excited at a Springsteen show." Phil and his wife Eileen have travelled all over the world,

attending 26 shows in America alone.

‌ Other shows have been in Europe including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Holland and tonight the highly anticipated Liverpool show.

‌ Phil said he's been waiting since 1981 for the rock legend to announce a gig in Liverpool, even telling the man himself at a meet and greet in 2016 “it’s about time you finally played

there.”

The 71-year-old will be attending his 76th show tonight. He told radio presenter Paul Beesley: "This is our 76th show tonight and back in 2016 we met him in New Jersey on his book tour for

the Born to Run autobiography and we asked him [to play Liverpool].

"I had to laugh yesterday it said on the BBC website 'Phil Beard told Bruce Springsteen to play Liverpool'.

Article continues below "It's like, nobody tells Bruce Springsteen what to do because he's the Boss but I asked him nicely and he said "we'll see what we can do."

Phil Beard meeting Bruce Springsteen at his book signing in New Jersey in 2016 Tonight's show comes after a difficult couple of years for the Bruce Springsteen super fan. During the Covid-19

pandemic, Phil started getting "aches and pains" and struggled to get face-to-face with a doctor. In April 2021, he "couldn't move" and had to call an ambulance and was taken to hospital.

‌ He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. When the diagnosis was given, it had already progressed and a lot of damage was done to the spine. Within two weeks Phil was

undergoing chemotherapy, which "knocked the cancer back". Although the cancer is incurable, it is treatable.

Phil had a stem cell transplant in January 2022 and struggled to walk when he came out of hospital. He decided to take a break with his wife and got two tickets to Long Island shows in New

York, in 2023, to see The Boss again.

On Radio Merseyside, Phil credited Bruce Springsteen for being a part of his health and recovery journey. A music fan since age of nine, Phil got into pop music and became obsessed. He went

through 60s listening to The Beatles and eventually stumbled upon "a guy was hyped up in the music press" - Bruce Springsteen.

‌ Explaining how his love for the artist developed, Phil described how he went down to London with a friend and was played a tune which left him thinking "wow, who is this?" That song was

played Thunder Road, as well as hearing Born to Run for the first time.

After listening to the American artist for the first time, he purchased Bruce's first three albums and has been hooked ever since. Bruce's music "hits him" because of the storytelling.

Article continues below Phil was in attendance for the three Manchester shows that took place recently, and has tickets for tonight and Saturday at Anfield. When asked what Bruce walking out

at Anfield will mean, he broke down in tears on the radio show.

He reflected on his emotions at the Manchester shows and how the floodgates opened, telling the presenter: "I know tonight, the same thing is going to happen, he is going to hit that stage

and I'm just going to lose it. It is just going to mean so much."