In 1981, Bruce Springsteen stood at a crossroads in his career and personal life. From the outside, he had the world at his feet. His last album The River had gone to no.1 on the Billboard charts and lead single Hungry Heart had gone to no.5. Coming off of the back of Born To Run’s success and a run of hit cover versions (Patti Smith’s Because The Night, Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band), Springsteen was a bona fide star.
But something about it didn't sit right with Springsteen himself. Having struggled to break through, the victory seemed hollow. A romantic relationship ended and he found himself alone in a rented house wondering if it had all been worth it. “I just hit a wall that I didn't even know was there,” he said recently. “It was my first real major depression.”
