Why did the world need to be ready for Bruce Springsteen

A.� The phrase "Finally the world is ready for Bruce Springsteen!" was used as part of a poster campaign that heralded the much-hyped visit of the New Jersey singer-songwriter in 1975. Springsteen himself was horrified by the hyping of his hard-won reputation, and personally tore down as many of the posters as he could find around the streets near his hotel, and even in the lobby of the Rainbow, where he was playing.

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Q.� Why did Springsteen get hyped like that

A.� The phrase was actually coined by Springsteen's manager Jon Landau who quit his job as a music critic (where he first wrote the phrase, meaning to convey sincerely the effect that Springsteen's live show had had upon his feelings about rock and roll) and he also probably regretted the way it was turned into an advertising slogan. The pair needn't have worried, the world embraced Springsteen as the saviour of rock and roll, and a 'new' sensation, even though he had been playing live with his E street Band for nearly ten years by then.

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Q.� What was so impressive about Springsteen that made Jon Landau leave his job to manage him

A.� Springsteen managed to write songs that were lyrically complex, in the way of Bob Dylan, but with tunes that rocked and rolled like Jerry Lee Lewis, an irresistible combination. He was signbed to CBS Records by John Hammond, the man who had brought Dylan to the label. In those days, acts got time to prove themselves, and Springsteen was able to record two albums which sold only modest quantities, before finally hitting his stide as a writer and performer.

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Springsteen's breakthrough album was Born To Run, which remains one of his most popular, and signalled his shift away from the folksy over-wordy style of his first two albums.

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Q.� So it was plain sailing from then on

A.� Unfortunately not�- Springsteen was mired in legal contract problems, which prevented him from releasing a follow-up album until almost 1978, although the edgy and dense Darkness On The Edge Of Town proved worth waiting for. The double album The River followed, consolidating Springsteen as a writer of depth and vision. His songs of teenage heartache and the desire to escape from mundane city life plugged into the psyche of young America, rapidly followed by most of the western world.

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Q.� Superstardom beckoned then

A.� Not really. Springsteen found himself uncomfortable with the status of superstar, and he retreated from his fans, and most of his friends, to record the Nebraska album, literally a solo effort since Springsteen played everything on it (mostly acoustic guitar) and recorded and produced the album himself. Although not a massive seller, it proved to the waiting world, and to his record company, that Springsteen was only ever going to work on his own terms.

Q.� But I remember Springsteen as a superstar, don't I

A.� You do�- by 1984, with the release of Born In The USA, Springsteen hit gold�as a writer, a musician, and a live attraction. His legendary shows were topping five hours on some nights, and Springsteen enjoyed such adoration that his concerts began with the fever pitch most acts would love to finish with, and simply went on and up from there. The album produced seven hit singles, and the world tour to promote it lasted two years.

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Q.� Didn't Springsteen�have a famous star in his video

A.� He did�- the video for the hit single Dancing In The Dark featured Springsteen looking unusually well scrubbed, and plucking a girl from the audience to dance with him on stage. The young lady was a model, soon to become a very famous TV actress, her name is Courtney Cox. star of Friends.

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Q.� So Springsteen had found his forte as a rock shouter with rock and roll in his soul

A.� If he had, he soon lost the desire to exploit the situation. Springsteen's�next album Tunnel Of Love was an introspective work, shot through with songs of love, betrayal and loss. His divorce shortly after its release, from his model wife Julie-Ann Philips showed clearly where his inspiration came from.

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In 1989, Springsteen gave each member of his E Street Band 2 million dollars and cut them loose. He continued to record, releasing two albums simultaneously, Lucky Town and Human Touch, which sold respectably, but by now the super-star' days were over.

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Q.� Did he miss being so famous

A.� Probably not. Although his interviews were infrequent, Springsteen talked constantly of the dreams he believed he shared with most of his fans, some money to put food on the table, maybe a lasting relationship, and some good in the world. His albums sales had sent o it that he had the first, and he set about obtaining the second by marrying Patti Scialfa, who had joined The E Street band as a backing singer. The couple have two children, and Springsteen has only recently returned to live work, after releasing The Ghost Of Tom Joad, which owes more to John Steinbeck than William Burroughs, a Greatest Hits package, and a retrospective.

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Q.� Anything likely in the future

A.� Because Bruce Springsteen has music is his blood, he is likely to get the urge to hit the road again before long, so he may well decide to get the boys back together, and take The E Street Band out for one last run around the park. Since he is past fifty now, he may not hit the marathon levels of his tours of nearly twenty years ago, but what ever length it may be a Springsteen show will always be an act of faith, and the faithful will be there to enjoy it.

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