The disappointing night David Bowie discovered Bruce Springsteen: “I hated him”
A few months back, Pulp released their first new song in years. ‘Spike Island’ spoke about the famous Stone Roses gig and people’s inability to recognise they’re living in an important moment.
We see this problem a great deal within the arts. History is written by winners and by those who have a platform to celebrate it. As such, many shows that people who attended might have thought were mundane could well be recorded as among the greatest shows in history.
We have this with individual artists as well, as you might see someone perform early in their career, and have them go on to become super famous, but when you originally saw them, the show was boring and the artist was lacklustre. That person then might become renowned for a specific part of their music, but it’s something that you completely missed when watching them.
When you see early videos of David Bowie performing, it’s hard to imagine anyone in that crowd not enjoying themselves. He didn’t just write music, but he created entire personas, meaning he could step into the role of different characters and channel said characters when he was performing. It elevated his shows to another level and allowed fans to get much more engrossed in his performances, as it felt as though they were subject to a production of some kind rather than just a piece of music.
You would think that Bowie’s commitment to live music would mean that he was prepared to recognise other excellent live performers; however, the first time he saw Bruce Springsteen, he was severely disappointed. Springsteen continues to be one of the greatest live performers in the world, as he is constantly selling out stadiums worldwide, with people flocking to what him deliver his mix of rock, nostalgia and politics in the best possible way.
Despite now having such a big reputation as a live act, when Bowie first saw Springsteen play live, he thought he was boring. David Bowie went to watch his friend, Biff Rose, support Bruce Springsteen, and in doing so got a chance to see The Boss perform for the first time. The set times were strange, as Springsteen performed first with his band, then had Biff Rose play a set, before coming back to the stage for another helping of Springsteen, but playing a solo show. Bowie enjoyed watching him with the entire band, but thought that Springsteen as a solo act was dull.
“I hated him as a solo,” said Bowie. “As soon as the band came on, it was like a different person and he was marvellous… I like the Greetings From Asbury Park material, my favourite period of Springsteen is the early stuff.“
Springsteen may have subtly agreed with Bowie, as today, when he tours, he quite proudly brandishes the E Street Band on every night of the show. He seems to enjoy playing in a band a lot more than he does as a solo artist, so while Bowie may not have recognised he was watching one of the best live performers in the world, Springsteen may also not have quite been at that level yet.
