29/08/92 - BIRDS HILL PARK, DUGALD, WINNIPEG, MB

By Cheryl Binning (Winnipeg Free Press):
On a rainy August day in 1992, 29-year-old Tom Stumpf went to work as usual at his uncle's limousine company. He was told his job that day was to pick up a big white van, go to the airport, and transport a band (his uncle wasn't sure who they were) to Birds Hill Park for a concert.
Stumpf showed up at the appointed time and watched in awe as a blond guy wearing a white T-shirt, jeans and a light jacket approached.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when Bryan Adams came walking out," says Stumpf, who is now 42 and runs a Winnipeg transportation company.

"I love his music -- I'm a big fan -- so it was unbelievable."

The band members hopped into the far back of the roomy van, but Adams, to Stumpf's surprise, jumped into the front seat beside him.

"I was dumbfounded," he recalls. "I just stopped and stared at him, until Bryan said, 'OK, you can close the door now.'"

The young driver's adventure with the rock star was just beginning.

After dropping the band off at their trailers near the stage, Stumpf stood under a security guard tent with a good view to watch the show.

"Bryan went on stage, the crowd went crazy and he began to sing the first song," Stumpf recounts. "Then suddenly through the rain I see a guy, drenched and covered in mud, running towards me yelling, 'Tom, you're part of the band this weekend, so where I go, you go.' It was Bryan. He actually left the stage to come get me."

A flabbergasted Stumpf was led by Adams backstage, where the singer found him a spot to watch the concert near a control booth.

"It was amazing. I was 10 feet away from Bryan as he was singing. It was better than a front-row seat."

Stumpf also recounted a misadventure with Adams the night of that soggy and stormy Birds Hill concert. As the show came to a close, the weather worsened. Parts of the stage began to blow away and the soaked equipment began to short out. By the time the band returned to the waiting van, they were miserable and angry with Adams for insisting on playing right through to the last set.

To make matters worse, Stumpf only drove a couple of feet before the van's tires got stuck in the mud in the middle of the deserted field.

"So Bryan said: 'Everyone out, we're pushing,'" recalls Stumpf. "And no one said a word. They got out and started rocking the van, mud was flying everywhere, and finally they pushed it onto the road. I remember thinking that he looked very hard and tough, but his attitude wasn't like that at all. He acted like a regular down-to-earth guy."

Still, Stumpf wasn't sure what to expect when a mud-covered and soggy Adams got back in the van.

"He slapped me on the shoulder, laughed and said, 'That was awesome. I've never done anything like this. I will never forget this night.'

"And I said, 'Don't worry, neither will I.'"

*********

Review by Beau Hajavitch:
The night of the 1992 concert at Birds Hill Park, my husband and I took our two sons and niece to watch this fabulous young man sing his heart out in the pouring rain and lightning. On arriving home and removing our filthy, drenched clothing, my son Kevin noticed his brand new Bryan Adams tour T-shirt was full of mud. I washed it for him right away. When he put it back on he discovered it had holes, probably from too much Javex. He never really wore the shirt because of the holes, and hasn't forgiven me to this day!

Now things have come full circle. My son Brett, 23, is taking me to the Jan. 11 '06 concert for my 53rd birthday, we have floor seats, and Brett has even said he'll dance in the aisle with me. I also plan to buy and send my son Kevin, 26, in Toronto a concert T-shirt and say in the words of Bryan's famous song, Please Forgive Me.

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