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Rock superstar Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band...

By MICHAEL COLLINS

LOS ANGELES -- Rock superstar Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band brought their 15-month 'Born in the U.S.A.' world tour to a triumphant end Wednesday night with a final marathon concert at the Coliseum.

Springsteen has performed before an estimated 5 million fans in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe during the tour, which has catapulted him to the top of the rock music world.

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His final four concerts at the Coliseum, the main stadium of the 1984 Olympics, drew 85,000 fans a night for the show that began with the hit single 'Born in the U.S.A.' in front of a giant American flag that dropped to the floor at the end of the song.

The concerts also featured other hits of the album -- 'Dancing in the Dark,' 'Cover Me,' 'Glory Days' and 'I'm Goin' Down' -- as well as his older songs such as 'Born to Run,' 'Cadillac Ranch' and 'Thunder Road.'

During the encores of the final leg of the tour at large outdoor stadiums,Springsteen also spotlighted some of his favorite songs by other artists including Elvis Presley's 'I Can't Help Falling In Love With You' and Woody Guthrie's 'This Land Is Your Land.'

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Besides the songs, Springsteen spent time at each concert talking to the fans, recalling his teenage years in New Jersey, speaking out against war and urging those who like his music to show that they care about their communities by giving to local food banks.

The fans at Wednesday night's concert had bad weather to thank for their good fortune in sharing a moment in rock history.

A hailstorm in Denver last month forced Springsteen to delay his concerts there and in Los Angeles. Since the tickets had all been printed, promoters decided that those issued for the original opening date at the Coliseum would be good for the new closing night.

'I guess I just got lucky,' Keith Freese, 29, of suburban Downey, said a few minutes before the show began.

'I've been a fan for a couple of years. I'm not really fanatic about him like some people, I just like him a lot. I've never seen him before, but I came tonight because my girlfriend said he puts on a better show than anybody there ever was.'

Angie Baufman, 22, of Los Angeles, also attended the opening show Friday night. She said she enjoyed it, and expected to like this one even more.

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'I heard he keeps getting better,' she explained. 'I can't wait.'

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