Bruce Springsteen cover band drops out of Donald Trump inauguration party

A Bruce Springsteen cover band booked for Donald Trump's inauguration party has dropped out, citing respect for their Hillary-supporting hero.

B-Street Band, a popular group who have successfully covered Springsteen hits since 1980, said they had received "thousands of emails" since their booking was made public.

The group played when Barack Obama was sworn in as president and had been signed for Friday's gig in 2013 - long before Trump won two months ago.

Will Forte, the band's keyboardist, manager, agent and publicist, said they "didn't see this coming, of course".

Forte, 63, added: "We felt that we had to make it known that we didn't want to seem disrespectful, in any way, shape or form, to Bruce and his music and his band.

"I don't want to upset them. We owe everything to him and our gratitude and respect to the band is imperative above all else. It became clear to us that this wasn't working and we just had to do what we thought was the right thing to do and that was to pull out."

Springsteen described Trump as a "flagrant, toxic narcissist" and said his election was a "tragedy for our democracy".

Fans were quick to thank the band, leaving dozens of messages on their Twitter announcement:

Nancy Fatemi, executive director of event organiser New Jersey State Society, told Rolling Stone magazine: "We are very disappointed, but we understand the decision based on all the questions and attention this has brought to the B-Street Band."