How I Saved the Bruce Springsteen Show – Project Rescue 101

?? It was a dark and stormy sprint… well, not literally. But in software terms? This was a Category 5 Disaster.

41,000 fans. One legendary concert. And a ticketing system seconds away from vanishing into the void.

I’ve been in the game long enough to know that when software projects go south, they don’t just stroll into trouble—they dive headfirst off a cliff. This one was no exception.

The Setup: A Digital Apocalypse in the Making

The client ran parking systems for a major English football club. They also handled special events—like the 2017 Champions League Final and massive concerts.

Bruce Springsteen was rolling into town, and 41,000 eager fans were ready to rock. In fact it was the biggest stadium concert in the United Kingdom that year. The problem?

?? Their software supplier was about to pull the plug on their website.

?? They were locked out of their own data.

?? Their mobile ticket-scanning system was about to become an expensive brick.

?? Their existing developers? One had already fled, and the others were flailing. Plus they were random guys the owner had hired and stuck them in a room hoping for the best!

?? And just to complicate things? If the system went down, they wouldn’t just lose old records—they’d lose all live season tickets for Coventry City & London Wasps, plus every ticket already sold for Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, and an MTV concert.

This was a business-ending event in the making. And we had weeks, not months, to stop it.

No website = no ticket sales. No data = chaos. And worst of all… we had weeks, not months, before everything collapsed.

Enter me and a trusted contractor side-kick—because when the bat-signal goes up for a last-minute rescue, you don’t go in alone.

The Rescue Plan: A Software Heist in Reverse

When you’re locked out of your own database and the vendor isn’t playing nice, you get creative.

?? Step 1: Reverse-engineering the data.

• We had no database access, but we could still log into the system.
• By studying the admin screens, we deduced the structure of the database.
• We built a new, blank database from scratch.

?? Step 2: Scraping our way to salvation.

• Since we couldn’t export the data, we built custom web scrapers to extract live sales data right off the screens.
• This ran 24/7, ensuring we had everything except maybe the last few transactions if the site went down.

?? Step 3: Build a New System—FAST.

• We went full minimal viable product (MVP) mode.
• In just six weeks, we had a working ticketing system.
• By week eight, we flipped the switch.

With control of the domain name, we repointed it to our new system, carefully timed to minimize downtime (barely a few hours).

?? Lesson #1: When you don’t control the data, get it however you can.

?? Lesson #2: A working MVP beats a perfect product—especially when the clock is ticking.

The Last-Minute Twist

Just when we thought we were in the clear, another issue smacked us in the face:

?? The mobile scanning system was toast.

• No access to source code.
• No way to rebuild it in time.
• The next event was in a week.

?? Solution? Ditch the scanner.

• Instead of a fancy registration plate scanning system, we built a simple mobile web app.
• Parking staff could start typing a plate number—and instantly get matches.
• Faster, more reliable, and no "dirty plate" scan failures.

Funny thing? The workaround was actually better than the original system.

?? Lesson #3: Sometimes, constraints force the best solutions.

The Personal Disaster

Now, if this were just a high-stakes coding mission, it would already be a wild ride. But real life? Real life wasn’t done with me yet.

?? One week before the Springsteen gig, my car literally burst into flames while I was driving to the stadium on the M6 motorway. I was lucky to get out alive!!

?? The very next day, my dad suddenly collapsed and died. Out of nowhere. No warning. Just gone.

And despite everything, the project still had to be delivered. The ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) replacement app wasn’t finished. The web app still needed work.

So, grief-stricken and running on fumes, I still had to get back in there and finish the job, to be honest, the distraction helped.

?? Lesson #4: Life doesn’t pause for deadlines. But resilience gets you through.

The Encore

For the next 12 weeks, we kept refining, expanding, and firefighting.

• The site ran like a dream.
• Tickets sold flawlessly for Bruce Springsteen, MTV Events, Rihanna, and football games.
• The parking system worked better than before.
• The business kept running without a single data loss.

41,000 fans. Zero disasters. And we walked away knowing we’d saved the day.

Final Lessons for Developers

? When everything goes wrong, don’t panic—prioritize. Save the data first, then worry about features.

? Always have an escape plan. If you rely on a vendor, make sure they can’t hold your business hostage.

? MVP isn’t just a buzzword—it’s survival. Focus on the essentials, polish later.

? Sometimes the simplest solutions outperform high-tech ones. The “manual” plate lookup worked better than automated scanning.

?? Project rescues are brutal, high-stakes, and stressful… but also ridiculously fun.

So if you’re ever in a mess like this, give me a shout. I’ve got the trench coat and the battle scars to prove I’ve been here before.

Want More War Stories from the Trenches?

This is just one of many. If you enjoyed this, check out my Substack for more Confessions of a Computer Programmer—where I share battle-hardened lessons from four decades in the industry, near-miss disasters, and the occasional facepalm-inducing coding mistake.

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