Springsteen: Point Blank

‘Bruce is one of rock's good guys. In concert he is electrifying; in conversation, illuminating; on record, exhilarating. There is an integrity to his craft. He is one of the few stars of this stature to have remained true to his roots and his social conscience’ - Patrick Humphries, rock biographer and NME journalist Bruce Springsteen was born in 1949 to parents of Dutch/Irish/Italian descent, in a poor neighbourhood of New Jersey. His mother Adele was the chief breadwinner of the family and it was she who bought her son a guitar soon after he saw Elvis perform on television at the age of seven. It was Springsteen’s upbringing in this blue collar suburb which informed his career as a singer/songwriter and performer, both solo and as leader of the E Street Band, which took off with the massive success of his album Born to Run in 1975. He followed up with a stream of hit albums and songs throughout the eighties and nineties, with his tales of the American dream gone awry, and was dubbed “The Boss” by his legions of fans. Christopher Sandford delivers a witty and perceptive account of his driven rise to fame, as the Jersey born bard of mid-America who “wraps his rough and full bodied rasp around tales of the beaten and the broke - John Steinbeck with a guitar”. Somehow, despite fame and success, Springsteen has maintained his sympathy for the outsider, and through his extraordinarily energetic and empathetic live performance creates a connection with his audience which has no equal in the rock world. Springsteen supported Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and it was his song “The Rising” which was first played over the loudspeakers after Obama’s victory speech. He has sold over 135 million records world wide and is one of the top selling recording artists of all time. Praise for Christopher Sandford: ‘A more thorough and current account than the best existing life so far’ — Robert Sandall, Sunday Times ‘Rigorously researched and thoroughly readable’ — Q ‘Very well written, critical and thoroughly researched’ — Guardian 'In an industry known for ephemeral enthusiasms, Bruce Springsteen has remained interesting by successfully reinventing himself half a dozen times. At his peak Springsteen redefined rock music, rescuing it from pretentious concept albums and the apparent arrogance of the rock star performers' - Uncut 'Sandford provides a convincingly complex portrait' - Mojo Christopher Sandford is a successful author and journalist. His highly acclaimed books include The Final Over and the New York Times bestseller Masters of Mystery: The Strange Friendship of Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini. He is also the author of several biographies, including Clapton: Edge of Darkness as well as studies of Mick Jagger, Steve McQueen,Sting and Imran Khan. He has worked as a film and music writer and reviewer for over twenty years and frequently contributes to newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Seattle Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, The Spectator and The Observer. Rolling Stone has called him “the pre-eminent author in his field today”. Sandford divides his time between Seattle and London. Read more