Classic Vinyl Bootleg Revisited: THIS GUNS FOR HIRE 5LP box (concluded)

First pressing with 4 photo-prints and second pressing

THIS GUNS FOR HIRE represents one of the earliest-known and best-sounding bootlegs from the 1984 American Tour. There are at least three variations for this title (two pressings from the original plates and one pirate copy), and according to one source [a booklet listing almost all BORN IN THE U.S.A. (BITUSA) Tour bootlegs named Last Ride In A Pink Cadillac], the first pressing contains two color photographs although no information is provided as to the actual images photo-taken. This box set is not listed in the bootleg section of Blinded By The Light (P. Humphries & C. Hunt, 1985; Plexus, London), and any other bootleg guide listing this title does not mention about the photos, except for the one called Unofficially Springsteen: The Boss A to Z (by Mick St. Michael, 1985; Choice Publishers, London).

Published in early-to-mid 1985 before the BITUSA World Tour ends (and thus before Last Ride In A Pink Cadillac is available), this A5-sized, 71-page discography book features over 120 bootleg records including early 1984 tour recordings such as BORN IN CINCINNATI (4LP, July 6th), DANCING IN THE USA (2LP, July 2nd), DO YOU LOVE ME (4LP, August 16th), and PORN IN THE USA  (2 x 2LP, July 24th). THIS GUNS FOR HIRE is briefly described as "5-album box set, live photos, excellent quality", along with the recording venue, date, and side-track information (pages 56-57). So, this book is probably the first to report what the original form of this bootleg is.

For long I have kept one copy of the first pressing with excellent sound (as opposed to the terribly sounded pirate copy mentioned here). This particular copy did come with FOUR pieces, but not two as reported, of glossy color pictures of live footage that are printed on Kodak photographic papers. Evidently, these photos capture the performances during the BITUSA tour, as readily recognized by the appearance of the man and his combo including Nils and Patti as new members.

Typical scenes of the BORN IN THE U.S.A. tour performance are captured in four photo printouts (among which one is over-sized). Can someone confirm that the venue is The Spectrum, Philadelphia, and that these pictures are taken at the
final show of a six-night stand in September 1984?

It is very possible that these pictures were taken at the bootlegged concert (September 18th, 1984) because there is no reason to include photographs from other night(s). According to the article "The Boss captivates Philly" (the scan available in BruceBase) reporting this concert in The Aquinas, the official student-run newspaper of The University of Scranton, Clarence changed his shirt from black to white after intermission and Nils wore an over-sized rubber cowboy hat. It is still not certain whether these photos were indeed taken that night because each player showed up very often in this guise during that tour. However, the pictured figures seem to be consistent with this newspaper's report.

  Found on eBay back in 2001
(not in my possession)

Curiously, most of what is considered the first pressing, as defined in the last blog, seem not to contain the photographs (see, for example, search results at popsike.com). I have seen only once a copy sold on eBay around in 2001 that came with the same set of pictures as mine (see the image right). These observations suggest that the first-pressing copies with photographs are quite limited in number. Then how many do they exist? In the article titled Bruce's Boots, the aforementioned Unofficially Springsteen book describes that "A five-album recorded at the Philadelphia Spectrum titled This Gun’s (sic) For Hire and released in a limited run of 500 worldwide will set you back at 50 UK Sterling" (page 26). If what is said in this book is believable, the number of the first pressing copy would be 500 or so, but it still remains uncertain how many from such copies are actually accompanied with the photographs.

Another example of a bootleg (I can think of) that comes with photographs is LAST NIGHT IN THE EAST, a triple LP recording at Castle Hall, Osaka, Japan (April 23rd, 1985; BTW, this was my first ever Springsteen concert). The original pressing for this made-in-Japan bootleg is purportedly limited to 350 copies and as described in Last Ride In A Pink Cadillac, each copy contains two amateurish off-stage shots of Springsteen, one taken in the bullet train (called "Shinkansen" in Japanese) and the other at a station on a Shinkansen line during his stay in Japan for the BITUSA World Tour.