The advice Bruce Springsteen gave Bono
Few better people are equipped to give advice in the music industry than Bruce Springsteen. He’s a man who has been navigating the weird world of show business for the majority of his life and understands precisely how it works. However, when Bono asked him for some words of wisdom, the U2 frontman ignored his advice.
Over the years, Springsteen and Bono have shared the stage on multiple occasions. In 2016, when Springsteen and The E Street Band rolled into Dublin for a performance at Croke Park, the American called upon his old friend to join him to perform a cover of Patti Smith’s ‘Because The Night’, a song written by ‘The Boss’. Bono was repaying the favour after Springsteen joined U2 as a special guest in New York the previous year.
Additionally, in 1999, Bono was given the honour of inducting Springsteen into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During the speech, the Irish musician perfectly encapsulated the magic of the New Jersey native and told the crowd: “We call him ‘The Boss’. Well, that’s a bunch of crap. He’s not The Boss. He works for us. More than a boss, he’s the owner. Because more than anyone else, Bruce Springsteen owns America’s heart.”
Years later, during an appearance on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, U2 were asked about their relationship with Springsteen and whether they felt a kinship with the singer. “We call him ‘The Boss. We don’t have a boss in this band, so we like to think of him as our boss.”
Bono then revealed one piece of advice he was given by Springsteen, which U2 decided not to take on board. He continued: “He’s given us so much advice over the years, I remember Bruce sitting us down, I asked him for his best advice, and he said, ‘Don’t do television’.”
The U2 frontman added: “I asked him why, and he said, ‘Don’t give other people the opportunity to turn you up or down.’ He said they could be making a cup of coffee while you’re there telling your story. But, they don’t do that on the Kimmel show.”
As much as Bono respected Springsteen, and his opinion, refusing to appear on television would have been self-inflicted career suicide for U2. However, Bruce stayed true to his word for many years before finally accepting the importance of television and appearing on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest in 1992.
