Bruce Springsteen 2012 tour dates: The Boss ready to get back on the road

The news came late Sunday (Nov. 20) night in a message posted to Bruce Springsteen's official website:

"A lot of you have been hearing that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be on tour in 2012. That is absolutely correct. The European dates run from the middle of May until end of July and are being announced this week. Info on the US dates and the World tour dates will coming up shortly."

The announcement was accompanied by a picture of late sax man Clarence Clemons and the first four dates announced come almost exactly a year after the death of Springsteen's longtime bandmate -- on June 21, 2012. So far, just four dates have been posted -- all in England.

But wait, there's more. Apparently a new album is in the works, too:

"In addition, we want you to know that the music is almost done (but still untitled), we have almost settled on the release date (but not quite yet), and that we are all incredibly excited about everything that we're planning for 2012. That's all the info we have for right now, but we'll get back to you--real soon."