Bruce Springsteen was talking to Ryan Tubridy on Friday night’s The Late Late Show.
Bruce Springsteen has revealed the insecurities that dogged the early part of his career, and how he struggled to come to terms with his level of fame.
He also revealed his fears back in 1985, when he played to his biggest ever audience – up to that point – in the grounds of Slane Castle.
The Boss, speaking to Ryan Tubridy in London for Friday night’s The Late Late Show, explained how he found himself running away from “a tremendous amount of pressure” when he and his band were at the height of their fame.
“When that moment would usually hit it was so disconcerting that I would run the other way,” he said.
“In the States we were on magazines called Time and Newsweek at the same time. In those days, these were very prestigious news magazines that did not put entertainers on their cover very often and I ended up on the cover of both.
“That should have been an ‘I’ve arrived’ moment but it was like ‘I’ve arrived, let me out of here! Let me get away as quick as I can!’
“I felt a tremendous amount of pressure, all of which I asked for of course, but at the same time I felt very ambivalent. I have a lot of ambivalence.
“Ambivalence has been one of the great signatures of my life, so, whenever those moments would arrive, instead of being able to sit back and just enjoy it, which I have to say I probably am able to do today, when I was younger I was not able to do it at all.”
Springsteen also spoke about his experiences in Ireland, and how he feared somebody would die when he played to a massive crowd in Slane in 1985.
“We hadn’t played for 90,000 before, it was the first time. We came out and the audience was rowdy and swaying this way and swaying that way, and people were dropping into little holes in the crowd. All I was thinking was ‘someone is going to get hurt and it’s going to be on me, it is going to be my responsibility’. It really concerned me very deeply and I had half of a nervous breakdown during the intermission. I think Pete Townsend was there and he said: ‘oh yeah, that’s what it’s like!’” he said.
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