Bruce Springsteen breaks silence: The Boss' long-hidden $20k gesture to UK miners comes to light

Nearly four decades after his 1985 performance at St. James' Park in Newcastle, Bruce Springsteen has broken his silence on a backstage moment that’s lived in the hearts of many but went unnoticed by most.

The story, long known among those in Britain’s mining communities, gets a rare acknowledgment in a forthcoming BBC documentary.

During the interview, Bruce Springsteen reflects on the decision to quietly donate $20,000 to the families of striking miners, an act of generosity that took place at the height of tension and hardship following the year-long UK miners’ strike.

He shared:

"My parents were working class people and I watched them struggle their whole lives. I'd been reading about it (the strike) in the newspapers and so it was just something that felt it would be a good thing to do."

The “Dancing in the Dark” crooner added:

"It wasn't a big thing, it was just a good thing to do at the time."

The moment itself played out quietly: as The Boss rocked a sold-out stadium, two women — Juliana Heron and Anne Suddick — were invited backstage. Both had been instrumental in running miners’ support groups in Northumberland and Durham during the bitter standoff.

As Heron tells it, the interaction was brief but unforgettable.

"She was about half an hour and she comes back and she says, 'You'll never believe this.’ She just hands us this cheque and said, 'Look.'"

She went on:

"I said, 'That says $20,000', and she said, 'Yes, it's for the Northumberland and Durham Miners' Support Group.' And I said, 'But he doesn't know us', and she said, 'Yes, but he knows what we do'."

Heron described Bruce Springsteen as a “hero,” emphasizing that his gesture was never meant to be a media headline.

"He didn't do it for publicity. He did it because he wanted to do it."

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Bruce Springsteen reiterates anti-Trump comments on stage in Manchester

Bruce Springsteen’s interview comes a week after E Street Band’s second show at Co-op Live in Manchester, where the rock icon doubled down on his criticism of the current U.S. administration.

“My home America, the America I've written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration. This is 'Land of Hope and Dreams.'"

From the stage, the “Hungry Heart” hitmaker called on listeners to rally against authoritarianism:

“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American spirit to rise with us, raise your voices and stand with us against authoritarianism and let freedom ring.”

Later in the set, ahead of performing “My City of Ruins,” he turned his focus to issues surrounding civil liberties:

“There's some very weird, strange, and dangerous (expletive) going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now.”

The outspoken segment from “The Boss” didn’t go unnoticed.

A day prior, Donald Trump responded via his Truth Social account, delivering a scathing rebuttal that targeted both Springsteen’s music and political views:

“I see that Highly Overrated Bruce Springsteen goes to a Foreign Country to speak badly about the President of the United States.”

Trump continued to mock the icon:

“Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy − Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK."

Trump also blasted Springsteen’s political stance, claiming the rocker backed Joe Biden, whom he described as mentally unfit and the worst president in U.S. history.