Lessons from The Boss

The anticipation of watching a 75-year old man performing a rock concert to a sell-out 60,000 stadium crowd is a mix of emotions. Excitement at seeing my favourite artist perform for a fifth time, over 30 years after the first, tempered by a fear that this is one tour too many for the old guy. After all, the 2025 European Tour was originally a handful of replacement dates for concerts cancelled in 2024 due to illness.

That illness was apparently caused by playing an open-air concert in Sunderland last “summer”. Here we are at Anfield - another football stadium in the North of England in early-June. What could go wrong?

Temperatures were more like Autumn (aka the Fall) than summer. The band and backing singers were dressed for the cold - guiterist Nils Lofgren rocking the bus-conductor look , with a peaked cap and overcoat, pianist Roy Bittan looking like a market-stall holder in fingerless gloves, keyboard player Charles Giordano the spitting image of my elderly neighbour bravely walking his dog on a frosty morning, and bass player Garry Tallent wearing an LFC hat and scarf, probably borrowed from the club shop. The man himself was immaculate and surely inadequately dressed, in his usual shirt, waistcoat and tie.

What followed was a remarkable performance - a septuagenarian (and more) once more putting everything on the line, for his art and audience. Backing singers were to add variety and a gospel effect to the sound, but Springsteen had no backing. Every lyric on every song was his. The other guitarists in the band played incredible solos, but Bruce was the driving force. Singing, lead guitar, harmonica, leading, directing for 30 songs, playing for almost exactly 3 hours. Even the expected Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney, in his native Liverpool, only got 2 songs and soon made way for the star of the show.

My 5th Springsteen show, and surely the best. Even my wife, a reluctant listener of The Boss at the best of times, was on her feet, dancing and cheering from start to finish.

How does he do it?

No doubt he has a veritable army of assistants - tour manager , dietician, personal trainer, masseur, etc - all ensuring that he can give the same performance on his next date, in Berlin, just 4 days later. But this man ought to be an inspiration to all of us who wish to age well, to extend healthspan and ward off chronic illness.

Apparently, his nutritional weapon is the OMAD diet - one meal a day, an approach also followed by Chris Martin. A small amount of fruit in the morning and a main meal later in the day. A drastic form of intermittent fasting, which I’m sure I couldn’t follow!

Other key elements are hitting the gym on the morning after concerts, plus a focus on healthy and unprocessed food. A man who sets himself high standards, with perhaps a sizeable ego too. An icon and a worldwide ambassador for his country and his art.

Obviously a mega-star - who sold the rights to his music for a reported $500m - can afford the best advice, the best trainers and wholesome food. But what can we learn ?

The key lesson for me is that this is possible, it can be achieved. 20 years ago, if he had said “I’m going to be around in 20 years’ time, still playing huge concerts, still singing and playing great and the audience will be astonished by my energy and performance”, who would have believed him ? No-one.

So, with my approach, my focus and my rather more limited resources, what can I achieve? Can I still be close to my current best, in my mid-70s?

The exciting thing is this - I don’t know. That’s not scary to me, I’m not fearful of aging. If I’ve done my best to mitigate its effects, if I’ve developed a strategy and implemented it well (not perfectly, perhaps, but well), then why shouldn’t I be excited by the future?

That’s what I’ve learned from an evening with The Boss.