HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN

Live 31 Dec 1980 version

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Well I was out driving, just taking it slow
Look at my tank it was reading low
Pulled in an Exxon station out on Highway One
Look out!
Held up without a gun
Held up without a gun

Some damn fool with a guitar walks in off the street
Ain't got nowhere to go, ain't got nothing to eat
Man with a cigar says "sign here son"
Look out!
Held up without a gun
Held up without a gun

Now it's a sin and it oughta be a crime
You know it happens buddy all of the time
Try to make a living, try to have a little fun
Held up without a gun
Held up without a gun
Held up without a gun
Held up without a gun

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Info

The above lyrics are for the live 31 Dec 1980 performance of HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, during The River Tour. It was officially released on The Essential Bruce Springsteen bonus disc in 2003.

In the liner notes found in The Essential Bruce Springsteen booklet, Springsteen wrote about HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN: "Alive and raucous in Uniondale, NY on New Year's Eve 1980. Go..Stevie...Go! Sing...Stevie...Sing!"

The 31 Dec 1980 Show

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band rounded up the 1980 leg of The River Tour with three concerts at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, on 28, 29, and 31 Dec 1980. The three shows were recorded live with the Record Plant Remote Truck by Toby Scott, assisted by David Bianco and Jim Scott, and later became one of the main sources for the Live/1975-85 box set which includes six recordings from these shows. Four additional recordings were released as B-sides and on compilation albums.

Clocking in at almost four hours of music with 38 songs performed, the 31 Dec 1980 show is one of the longest performances that Bruce Springsteen has given. The legendary New Year's Eve concert has a long history on bootlegs, first on vinyl and later on CD. Both soundboard and audience recordings have long circulated among collectors, in addition to about fourteen minutes worth of amateur film footage shot from the audience.

In March 2015 the complete 31 Dec 1980 concert was officially released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net (see the "Official Live Downloads" section below for more details). The 24-track/30-IPS reel-to-reel master tapes were transferred and restored by Jamie Howarth via the Plangent Process. The audio was mixed by Toby Scott, assisted by Rob Lebret, at Thrill Hill and mastered by Adam Ayan at Bob Ludwig's Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, ME in March 2015.

A new remix of the 31 Dec 1980 concert was reissued on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in July 2019. This upgraded edition was mixed by Jon Altschiller, with additional engineering by Danielle Warman, and mastered by Jon Altschiller.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen

The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album released as part of Sony BMG'S (previously Sony Music Entertainment) series of "Essential" sets. According to Springsteen's liner notes comments, the collection was intended as an introduction to his music for new fans who attended shows on The Rising Tour.

The collection is fundamentally a 2-disc set (clocking at 153:37) compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Live In New York City release. A 3-disc limited edition (clocking at 201:04) was also released. It includes a bonus third disc comprising of a selection of rarities and previously unreleased recordings.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen was released on 11 Nov 2003 on Columbia Records. It debuted and peaked at #14 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart where it spent 13 weeks. It also reached #28 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was awarded certified gold and platinum records by the RIAA on 16 Dec 2003.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen was reissued on 16 Oct 2015, this time as a 2-disc set (clocking at 156:25) with an updated track list, compiling songs from all of Springsteen's studio albums to date plus his Greatest Hits (1995 edition) collection. This 2015 reissue features remastered tracks not found in that form on other Springsteen releases.

Official Live Downloads

Prior to the High Hopes Tour, Bruce Springsteen's management announced a new service allowing fans to download concert recordings approximately 48 hours after each show. The initial plan required fans to purchase a special USB wristband, which could then be used to download a single High Hopes Tour show of the purchaser's choice and also functions as a regular reusable USB flash drive. The wristband, which could be purchased online or at the concert venue, was priced at $40. Following some negative response from fans over the high cost for the wristband, Springsteen's management subsequently announced a separate cheaper option for purchasing shows directly, without the need for the wristband. The shows were available for purchase and download via Live Nation, Bruce Springsteen's concert promoter, priced at $9.99 for MP3 and $14.99 for FLAC. Audio recordings for 31 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, and 03 May 2014) were released as such and they were available until 30 Jun 2014.

On 17 Nov 2014, Live.BruceSpringsteen.net was launched. It's a new addition to the official website, serving as an online store offering high-quality live concert recordings as well as high-resolution digital releases of Springsteen's album catalog. The download store is powered by Nugs.net in cooperation with Columbia Records. Audio recordings for 30 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, 03 May 2014, and 18 May 2014) were re-released on the new download store in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Nugs.net adopted the MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) format on 24 May 2017. From then on, all Bruce Springsteen live concert recordings, including the previously released ones, became also available in MQA.

Audio recordings for all 75 The River Tour 2016 dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Audio recordings for all 14 Summer '17 Tour dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Archival releases were periodically released on the same site, as part of the Bruce Springsteen Archive Series. These shows were also made available in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless FLAC or ALAC, 24-bit FLAC or ALAC or MQA, DSD, and audio CD-R. So far 90 shows (or sets of shows) were released from the ongoing series.

Available Versions

List of available versions of HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN on this website:

HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Official studio version]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Band rehearsal #1]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Band rehearsal #2]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Band rehearsal #3]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Band rehearsal #4]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Band rehearsal #5]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Band rehearsal #6]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Band rehearsal #7]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Band rehearsal #8]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Home demo]
HELD UP WITHOUT A GUN [Live 31 Dec 1980 version]

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Page last updated: 07 Oct 2015