POP/ROCK - Oct. 7, 1987

The first-day returns are in on Bruce Springsteen’s new album “Tunnel of Love,” which hit the stores on Monday and made a strong showing--though not nearly as strong as Michael Jackson’s “Bad” did last month. At Tower Records’ giant Sunset Strip outlet, “Tunnel of Love” sold 300 copies on Monday, as opposed to 600-plus for “Bad” on its first day. “Bad” is still hot at Tower, selling about 400 units a week. Columbia Records has shipped 1.5 to 2 million copies of “Tunnel of Love,” Springsteen’s first album of new material since 1984’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” which sold 11 million.