Overview

• In 1985 Springsteen invited members of Northumberland miners’ support groups to his concert at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park and presented them with a $20,000 cheque.
• Juliana Heron, who ran a miners’ wives support group, said the donation was “life-saving” and insisted it was made without seeking publicity.
• Springsteen linked the gift to his parents’ struggles as working-class people and his awareness of the strike from newspaper coverage.
• The donation arrived as widespread pit closures left mining communities across Britain facing severe economic hardship during the national strike.
• When Bruce Springsteen Came To Britain airs on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer at 9:30 pm on May 31, revealing this previously undisclosed act.