The post Bruce Springsteen on Liam Payne: The music industry “puts enormous pressure on young people” appeared first on Consequence.

In the wake of Liam Payne’s tragic death, Bruce Springsteen has called out the music industry for putting “enormous pressure” on young musicians.

Speaking about Payne’s death in an interview with The Telegraph‘, Springsteen acknowledged: ‘That’s not unusual in my industry. It is normal: it is a company that puts enormous pressure on young people.”

Buy Bruce Springsteen tickets here

He went on to explain, “Young people do not yet have the inner facility or inner self to be able to protect themselves from many of the things that come with success and fame. So they get lost in a lot of the difficult and often pain-inducing things… whether it’s drugs or alcohol to take some of that pressure off.”

Reflecting on his own past, Springsteen added, “I understand that very well: I mean, I’ve had my own struggles with different things. And Danny (Federici) certainly did that. Drugs weren’t uncommon in the E Street Band, you know?

However, the seductive nature of escaping stress with drugs and alcohol is precisely why Springsteen has tried to remain vigilant that neither he nor his bandmates fall too deep into the abuse. “There was a limit,” he said. “I stayed out of your business, but if I was on stage and saw that you weren’t quite yourself, there would be a problem. And so it kind of created a boundary around that stage, where people had to be relatively down to earth and at their best. And I always say, one of the things I was most proud of is that if one of my boys were to die, he would die of natural causes.

Elsewhere, Springsteen and his producer, Jon Landau – who was also present for the interview – mused about the musicians who died too soon. Landau mentioned icons like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, and Springsteen mentioned Kurt Cobain.

“People keep falling for it, but it’s a death cult,” The Boss said. “It’s a scam, man. That’s part of the story that draws some young people in, you know, but it’s that old story. Dying young – good for the record company, but what do you get out of it?”

Payne died on October 16 in Buenos Aires, Argentina after falling from a hotel balcony. The exact circumstances of his death are still unknown, but it appears he was in possession of drugs and alcohol at the time, and authorities were called to the hotel before his death in response to an “aggressive man” who was “destroying ‘. his room and put himself in danger.

Now Springsteen joins a growing list of celebrities who have mourned the senseless loss, including Payne’s X factor peer, Katie Waissel, who has called for more “care and support for young artists.”

Meanwhile, Springsteen’s new documentary is released, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Bandpremieres later this month on Hulu and Disney+. The Boss will also be hitting the road soon for tour dates in Canada and Europe (order tickets here).

Bruce Springsteen on Liam Payne: Music industry “puts enormous pressure on young people”
Jo Vito

Popular posts

Subscribe to Consequence’s email digests to get the latest music, film, and television news, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more delivered straight to your inbox.