More than 110,000 tickets for Bruce Springsteen's concerts in Ireland next summer sold out in just 2½ hours yesterday morning.
Two extra dates added to his scheduled show at the RDS arena on May 22nd sold out in 15 minutes when tickets went on sale at 9am. Springsteen will also play on May 23rd and 25th at the arena, which has a capacity of more than 30,000.
Long queues formed outside the 102 Ticketmaster outlets from early morning, with 2,000 fans buying tickets, priced at €81.25 and €91.25, from Ticketmaster in the Stephen's Green shopping centre.
Since his first Irish performance, at Slane Castle in 1985, Springsteen has had an enduring relationship with his Irish fans. His three Seeger Sessionsconcerts at the Point Depot and his only concert this year in Ireland, at Belfast's Odyssey arena, all sold out within hours.
His new album, Magicspent, stayed at number one here most of last month.
Springsteen, known as "The Boss", has described Ireland as his favourite place to play and released Live in Dublin, an album he recorded with the Seeger Sessions band live at the Point in November last year.
Aiken Promotions managing director Peter Aiken said they could have sold 150,000 tickets, such was the demand.
"I definitely thought we could sell two shows. I had to ring his management in Oslo to confirm a third date. We could have done five, but it does not fit in with his schedule.
"He [Springsteen] loves it here. It is not a cliche. This is, per head of population, his biggest market in the world. His fans appreciate that this is not a nostalgia or a greatest hits tour."
