Bruce Springsteen owns up to “big mistake” and apologises to Bono over rejection
Bruce Springsteen has apologised to U2 frontman Bono for not letting one of his songs soundtrack a charity advert.
Over the weekend, Springsteen and the Irish musician held a discussion at the Tribeca Film Festival as ‘The Boss’ was given the ‘Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award’.
At one stage in the wide-ranging conversation, Bono shared a long-standing gripe that he had with Springsteen in relation to an advert he made many years ago for non-profit GAP’s RED campaign.
He explained, “I said, ‘Bruce, this song ‘Girls in Their Summer Clothes,’ this is like one of the great pop songs ever. Would you think about using it for a commercial, for (RED) and the Gap?’ And you said, ‘No.’”
Reflecting on the rejection, Springsteen admitted it was “a big mistake” and admitted, “I should have said yes.”
The legendary singer-songwriter then explained why he didn’t allow his 2008 creation to appear as part of the campaign, sharing, “That was just a song that I love.”
Springsteen elaborated, “Damn it, I still think back: ‘Bono asked you to put this thing on a commercial on television.’ I should have fucking done it! People would hear it like a hit, you know? So I have to apologise.”
Elsewhere, during the conversation between the two musical titans, Springsteen spoke out against the current political landscape in the USA, which makes him “pissed off and angry”.
However, on a positive note, he did add, “But in the past 50 years, I’ve put together a band that was built for hard times like this. I put together a big body of work that was built for hard times, and I was always singing for the moment.”
Springsteen, whose most recent release was the protest anthem ‘Streets of Minneapolis‘ in January, recently concluded the North American leg of his Land of Hope and Dreams tour, which saw him rail against the current administration on a nightly basis.
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