Rob Brydon recalls the moment Bruce Springsteen almost brought him to tears
Listen to Rob Brydon on Elevenses with Danielle Perry
Last updated 3rd Nov 2021
Welsh comedian, actor and singer Rob Brydon has told Absolute Radio’s Danielle Perry that his “biggest inspiration” Bruce Springsteen almost brought him to tears when he met him for a third time recently.
Rob Brydon is the latest very special guest on the second series of the Elevenses with Danielle Perry podcast ahead of the start his 45-date A Night of Songs & Laughter tour alongside his Fabulous Band next week.
Melding songs and humour, the tour follows Rob’s personal musical journey, and it features tracks by artists from Tom Waits to Tom Jones, and Guys and Dolls to Elvis and almost everything in between.
During his 40-minute chat with Danelle on Elevenses, which sees celebrities answer the same eleven burning questions each week, the conversation shifted to music on the very first question.
“I’m a big Bruce Springsteen aficionado. I absolutely adore his work,” Rob enthused to Danielle.
Asked if he’s ever met The Boss, Rob replied: “I have, yes. You know when people say ‘I’m not counting’ – I am! Three times! He was lovely. I can’t claim… it wasn’t a meeting of minds. I dare say he has no recollection of meeting me. But I’ve been a fan of his since ‘The River’ came out (in 1980), I would have been about 16.
“When I met him first when he came over for a documentary, a friend of mine knows him a bit through radio and stuff, and of course he’s not a clue (who I am) but he’s very nice.”
“Then I did Sarfraz Manzoor’s film with Gurinder Chadha called Blinded by the Light (in 2019) and I only had a tiny part, and I only did it… if I can be so bold, I wouldn’t normally have done it – it was (a) tiny (part), only two days or something – but I got to sing ‘Thunder Road’ in this scene and I was so fascinated by the thought that Bruce would one day have to sit and watch me sing. I just thought ‘I have to do it.’
“And then because of that, getting to know his people a bit, we went to see his Broadway show and met him afterwards. He was quite tired I think. I thought ‘I don’t want to take up any of your time.”
However, Rob said he was astonished when Bruce came over to the UK to promote his 2019 album ‘Western Stars’ and recognised him.
Rob added: “He was like (puts on Bruce Springsteen voice) ‘oh right, you’re the guy from (the film)’. It was as if he was going to give me a hug. And I was like ‘oh god!’ I almost burst into tears.”
Later in the chat, Rob explained why Bruce Springsteen is his biggest inspiration: “I have such admiration and respect for his work ethic – a work ethic I don't have - his discipline. Now, I would imagine this has made him not the easiest to people to work with - I think he’s slightly more mellow now - but at various stages of his career.
“I find it incredible the way he would pursue excellence. Famously, when it was time to make (1978 album) ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’, he recorded so many songs, all different types which have since been released. Songs that would have been hits, they’re catchy, they’re this, they’re that but they weren't what he wanted to do.
“He just stayed in the studio running down his money. Working, working, working, working until he came out with this thing that was what he wanted to do.
“Now I'm not like that. So, while I am a different animal and yet I have a huge respect for that. So let's say him.”
Listen to Rob Brydon on Elevenses with Danielle Perry:
Check out the full Rob Brydon episode of Elevenses with Danielle Perry where Rob also discusses overcoming his fears on stage, he recalls his favourite line from Gavin and Stacey, talks about reuniting with Ruth Jones for new project The Ring, reveals who is really Steve Coogan’s best friend, and much more.
How to listen to Elevenses with Danielle Perry:
New episodes of Elevenses with Danielle Perry launch every Tuesday via Apple podcasts, Spotify, all mainstream podcast providers and right here on the Absolute Radio website.
Elevenses with Danielle Perry sees Danielle take a morning break and sit down for a chat with famous faces from all walks of life to share tea, biscuits, and ask the same eleven burning questions.
Listen to Elevenses with Danielle Perry
The childhood homes of famous rock stars, including Bruce Springsteen:
Joe Elliott’s childhood home
Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott was born and raised at 61 Crookes Road in Sheffield. Ahead of Def Leppard's homecoming gigs at The Leadmill and Bramall Lane in May 2023, Joe visited the property. He wrote: "The house I was born in, grew up in, met Sav & Tony Kenning for the very time in that upstairs room you can see above me …. Sigh …. Memories!!"
Ozzy Osbourne’s childhood home
One of six children, Ozzy Osbourne spent his formative years in this small two-bedroom terraced house on Lodge Road in Aston. Ozzy told Huffington Post in 2014: "I've been back to that house a few times over the years and I can't believe there were eight of us living in a two-and-a-half-bedroom house. It is tiny! I have wardrobes bigger in my house."
John Lennon’s childhood home
Now a lovingly restored Grade II listed building preserved by the National Trust, John Lennon lived at 251 Menlove Avenue in Liverpool with his Aunt Mimi from 1945 to 1963. It featured on the cover to Oasis single 'Live Forever' in 1994 and in 2000 it was adorned with an English Heritage blue plaque.
Paul McCartney’s childhood home
Sir Paul McCartney's childhood home at 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, south Liverpool. It became a listed building in 2012 and is owned by the National Trust. The Trust markets the house as "the birthplace of the Beatles" as it was where McCartney and Lennon penned the earliest Beatles songs.
Ringo Starr’s childhood home
Ringo Starr (aka Richard Starkey) spent his very early childhood years at a terraced house on Madryn Street in Liverpool but moved to at two-up, two-down house 10 Admiral Grove in Dingle when he was 3 with mum Elsie when his parents separated. He lived there for the next 20 years. Pictured is 10 Admiral Grove in 1964.
David Bowie’s childhood home
40 Stansfield Road in Brixton where a young David Jones - aka David Bowie – lived until he was six years old. The house became a shrine for Bowie when the music legend died in January 2016.
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
Kurt Cobain's childhood home in Aberdeen, Washington. Nirvana fan Lee Bacon bought the house in 2018 for $225,000 (around £170,000) and told Rolling Stone: "My goal is to preserve and restore it for my generation and for my kids."
Kurt Cobain’s childhood home
Kurt Cobain's Led Zeppelin graffiti is still on the walls in his attic bedroom.
Little Richard’s childhood home
The late rock and roll pioneer was brought up alongside his eleven siblings in this detached home in the Pleasant Hill neighbourhood of Macon, Georgia in the 1930s and 40s. Now named The Little Richard Resource Center, the home is now open to the public and hosts a number of community events.
Bruce Springsteen’s childhood home
Bruce Springsteen grew up in this home at 39 1/2 Institute Street in Freehold, New Jersey from the years 1955 to 1962. It was while living at this house aged 7 in 1956 that Springsteen witnessed Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show and decided he wanted to be a musician himself.
Johnny Cash’s childhood home
Meticulously restored in 2014 thanks to funds from Arkansas State University, Johnny Cash's boyhood home is in the tiny town of Dyess, Arkansas.
Jim Morrison’s childhood home
Jim Morrison's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he lived in his teens while his dad worked at the nearby Kirtland Air Force Base.
Bono’s childhood home
Paul 'Bono' Hewson's parents bought this house on Cedarwood Road, Dublin seven weeks after his birth in 1960 and he spent his entire childhood here. The U2 song 'Cedarwood Road' on their 2014 album 'Songs of Innocence' is a nostalgic musical celebration of Bono's boyhood abode.
Freddie Mercury’s childhood home
Aged 17, Freddie Mercury and his family fled the Zanzibar revolution to live at 22 Gladstone Avenue in Feltham, West London. Pictured is Queen's Brian May and Freddie's younger sister Kashmira Cooke at the unveiling of a Blue Plaque at the house in September 2016.
Lars Ulrich’s childhood home
Lars Ulrich lived in this uniquely designed property in Hellerup, Denmark with his family until he moved to America aged 17.
Mick Jagger’s childhood home
Sir Mick Jagger was brought up in this semi-detached house in Dartford, Kent. His future bandmate Keith Richards lived just around the corner.
Keith Richards’ childhood home
Keith Richards spent the first six years of his life living in this two-bedroom flat above a florists in Dartford, Kent.
Axl Rose’s childhood home
Axl Rose lived at this humble Lafayette, Indiana house from 1962 to 1982 before moving to Los Angeles in his early twenties.
Marc Bolan’s childhood home
The young Mark Field (Marc Bolan) lived at this terraced property on Stoke Newington Common, London from his birth in 1947 to aged 15 in 1962. In 2005, the London Borough of Hackney honoured Bolan with a plaque outside the property.
Elvis Presley’s childhood home
The humble two-bedroom house in Tupelo, Mississippi where The King himself Elvis Presley was born on 8th January 1935. It was built by his father Vernon after he successfully secured a $180 loan.
Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home
John Francis Bongiovi Jr.'s childhood home in Sayreville, New Jersey. Astonishingly, MTV bought the home in 1989 and gave it away in a competition. Jon Bon Jovi was reported to be "angry" at the publicity stunt and the competition winner soon sold the property.
Noel and Liam Gallagher's childhood home
Soon after Liam's birth, the Gallaghers moved to Ashby Avenue and then to Cranwell Drive in Burnage (pictured). With a violent and alcoholic father, Noel and his brothers had an unhappy childhood before mum Peggy left Thomas in 1982 with her three children.