WHILE I sympathise with Malcolm Close and his difficulties in purchasing tickets for Bruce Springsteen at Murrayfield (Letters, July 25), I am delighted that he has finally decided to join the rest of us who refuse to feed the music industry's money god and support the huge number of fine local bands and venues welcoming touring outfits to our city. He has, after all, already seen The Boss nine times, which seems excessive for any artist.

Tickets for The Barrowland come in at around £35-£40. You can see fabulous live music at Oran Mor and St Lukes for around £20. Only recently I saw three outstanding bands – The Hot Damn, Salt River Shakedown and The Dust Coda –at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut for the princely sum of £12. Stereo, The Garage, Broadcast, SWG3, The Academy, The Old Fruitmarket, Nice N Sleazy and any number of great venues will provide a memorable night of live music. And let's not forget the bars – The Scotia, The Clutha, MacSorley's for example – that feature regular live music at no charge.

What's more, the food's better and the beer's cheaper than anywhere Springsteen is likely to play any time soon.

Keep it live. Keep it local. Keep it value.

Steve Brennan, Coatbridge.

THE BOSS WOULD HATE PIRACY

I SYMPATHISE and empathise with Bruce Springsteen fan Malcolm Close, who gets in the online queue early but is denied tickets by people who have no intention of going to the gig at Murrayfield and immediately sell them on for huge profits.

It's obscene.

I saw Springsteen at his first Scottish appearance at The Playhouse in Edinburgh in 1981 for about a fiver. A few years ago, I rattled my charity bucket at his concert at the Eden Park rugby ground in Auckland, New Zealand, to raise funds for the homeless. The Boss gave the City Mission a mention, and the stadium erupted.

If Springsteen were made aware of the scandalous ticket piracy that continues to line other people's pockets at the expense of his fans I'm sure he'd have something to say.

What a coincidence that in the same edition Kevin McKenna writes of Glasgow's very own Gerry Cinnamon's concerts at Hampden ("Some enchanted evenings with Gerry Cinnamon", The Herald, July 25). Raised in Castlemilk, he's become "the most recognisable Scottish musician on the planet".

Hopefully he and Paulo Nutini, who can also sell out Hampden, will pop up occasionally at smaller venues around the city.

There's a common thread here, including The Boss. They all recognise and are proud of their working-class roots.

For those who get tickets to Springsteen, enjoy. But Mr Close urges us to celebrate the talent of the great musicians and bands playing smaller venues. After recently visiting the Glad Cafe to see a wonderful and talented singer, Alas De Liona, and then various acts at the Clutha and Avant Garde, I couldn't agree more.

Andy Stenton, Glasgow.

TAKE EUROVISION TO ABERDEEN

WELL, now we know the United Kingdom will be hosting Eurovision in 2023 ("Going for a Song: Glasgow and Aberdeen bid to host Eurovision", The Herald, July 27). It is great to see so many cities interested in hosting the event, including Aberdeen and Glasgow. There is no doubt in my mind that if Eurovision is to come to Scotland, then it must come to Aberdeen.

Aberdeen built a new state of the art events complex with a 15,000-capacity arena, the largest in Scotland. This complex, the P&J Live, was built by the city council without subsidy from the Scottish Government. It is located two minutes from Aberdeen International Airport and just 10 minutes from the vibrant city centre. When you add in Aberdeen's cultural offerings, including the award-winning Aberdeen Art Gallery, the upgraded Provost Skene House and the soon-to-be-opened Union Terrace Gardens, it is obvious that Aberdeen has benefited from massive financial investment to regenerate the city, thus portraying it as a must-visit European city open for trade and tourism.

Aberdeen’s chances of hosting Eurovision are compelling from a cities point of view; after all Aberdeen is the energy capital of Europe. Disappointingly, however, some of our leading politicians – including Labour leader Anas Sarwar – cannot see past the M8 and is already touting Glasgow. If Scotland is to be outward-looking then its politicians must see past the M8 and recognise that if Aberdeen can host the BBC Sports Personality of the year, the International Football Association Board annual meeting as well as Offshore Europe, the biggest energy conference in Europe, then it is certainly capable of hosting Eurovision.

So, when it comes to making your mind up, let's hear it for Aberdeen.

Willie Young, Aberdeen.

• WHILE Eurovision will be a welcome boost to one UK city in these difficult times, I really do think that if Kyiv could not host the show, it should have gone to Poland, which has done far more for Ukrainian refugees than any other country. Some 3.5 million Ukrainians have found shelter there, and Lublin or Krakow could have provided Ukraine with a substitute home from home audience.

GR Weir, Ochiltree.

THE JOY OF TARADIDDLE

YESTERDAY'S contribution from R Russell Smith (Letters, July 26) brought a smile to my lips as, admittedly, he often does. I loved his use of one of my favourite words, "tarradiddle", rarely seen in the broadsheets or periodicals and certainly not in the modern texts. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the definition as, "a petty lie; pretentious nonsense".

I have always thought the Oxford interpretation somewhat harsh. "Nonsense" can be nonsense without being pretentious and as regards "a petty lie", had the Oxford editor never heard of the old saying, "Many a truth is said in jest"?

I do however, lean towards the use of the one "r" spelling as opposed to the two "r"s. The Oxford English places the second "r" within brackets, the sensitivities of the compilers perhaps being bruised by the sight of two "r"s?

Maureen McGarry-O'Hanlon, Balloch.

THE ESSENCE OF ROMANCE

R RUSSELL Smith's coffee-based reminiscences provoked research.

The best-selling product of the Glasgow company which invented Camp Coffee was a raspberry cordial often added to whisky or brandy to produce a drink known as "Cuddle-me-Dearie".

How's that for a chat-up line?

David Miller, Milngavie.