If you know anything about Bruce Springsteen, you'll know that The Boss isn't just renown for his immense back catalogue of certified stadium rock anthems, but also for his dedication to giving his fans every ounce of energy and effort that he can. As it happens, that extends to well outside the remit of a live show, as was revealed in a particularly wholesome anecdote Springsteen shared while appearing on flagship BBC chat series The Graham Norton Show in late 2022.
Sat next to an increasingly amazed Anya Taylor-Joy on Graham Norton's iconic sofa, Springsteen revealed that, while enjoying a day off during a US tour in 1980, he once accepted an unlikely invitation from a fan.
“I was in a cinema by myself on an off night from the tour in St. Louis watching Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories,” Springsteen told Graham Norton. “During which, Woody Allen is not necessarily so kind to his fans in the film. So, I had met a kid in the lobby who was there with his girlfriend and said, ‘Do you want to sit with us?’. So I said, ‘Ok!’.”
“See, already I’m thinking that’s just a hard ‘No’, isn’t it?!” jokes Norton to laughs from the audience. Not only did Springsteen sit with the fan and his missus, however: he ended up meeting the young man's mother.
“So I went, and I sat, and we watched the movie,” Springsteen continued. “And he says, ‘Is that how you feel about your fans?’ So I said, ‘Well, not so much’, and he says, ‘I’m gonna go home now. Will you come home with me and meet my parents?’ And I said, ‘Ok!'.”
“And so I went somewhere in St. Louis with this kid, and we walk in the door, and it’s about 11 o’clock at night, and he says ‘Mom! Mom! I have Bruce Springsteen with me.' And she goes: ‘Who!?’ And he runs in his bedroom, and he comes out with the album and shows her the album cover and says, ‘Bruce Springsteen!’
“Of course, then she goes: ‘Oh my God! Let me make him some eggs.’ So around midnight, I was sitting in a little house in St. Louis, having some eggs with this kid and his mom. And I saw them for decades after that, every time we came to town.”
What a guy, right?! Watch The Boss share the brilliant story for yourself below.
This is a truly wonderful story from Bruce @springsteen and I hope you listen to the end of it.It's a reminder to all artists...be humble, be grateful.pic.twitter.com/QC380HC1uaJuly 26, 2023
