Young musician 'mind-blown' by Springsteen meeting

John Denton met Bruce Springsteen backstage before his Manchester concert

A young musician who met Bruce Springsteen backstage and handed him a CD of his own music has said his "mind was blown" after his chat with the superstar.

John Denton, 15, from Salford, spoke to Springsteen before his sold-out show in Manchester on Saturday at the Co-op Live arena as part of a visit arranged by Salford Lads and Girls Club.

His father Phil said his son, who is part of the club, went thinking it was "just another gig", but brought a demo of his own music in the hope someone might pass it on to artist known affectionately by fans as The Boss.

"He never thought he would actually see the man himself and be able to give it to him," Phil told BBC Radio Manchester.

John Denton (far left, top row) met The Boss with Salford Lads and Girls Club

His father said: "Bruce took it really well and said he was really interested, so hopefully he's listening to it right now.

"He was just a bit mind-blown that he was meeting such a superstar."

Not only did John get to meet the star of the show, but he also ran into U2 guitarist The Edge in the venue's bar, and gave him another of his CDs.

Phil said: "[John] said 'you don't have to tell me if you think it's rubbish, just don't get in touch with me'.

"But he said 'no, I'll get in touch with you and tell you either way'."

The 15-year-old first became involved with Salford Lads and Girls Club - which has a long-standing connection to Manchester's music scene - through his love of The Smiths, and went on to play his first major gig there.

A group from the youth club were given backstage passes and tickets to the show, with Springsteen coming out to meet them just 30 minutes before he was due on stage.

The event was the first live concert for many of the young people who attended

Salford Lads and Girls Club chief executive Laura Slingsby said: "Bruce was so lovely and spent his time chatting with the young people and answering some of the questions they had about his musical history."

She said: "Watching the faces of the young people as the night unfolded was pure magic."

Andy Hamill, National Director of National Association of Boys & Girls Clubs, said the tickets were provided through the association's partnership with World Youth Clubs.

He said while music was important to many of the youth clubs' members, the cost of attending events was a major financial barrier, with Saturday's show being the first live concert for many of them.

Springsteen has been in Manchester for a run of shows at Co-op Live, the first of which coincided with the one-year anniversary of the venue's opening.