In many ways David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen seem to come from two different worlds. Not just London and New Jersey; Bowie’s always been associated with art and fashion, Springsteen with blue collar struggle. We all know of Bowie’s associations with the likes of Lou Reed and Iggy Pop; indeed they are the stuff of legend, and they seem to make total sense. But the Dame and the Boss? That’s a bit of an odd one…

Yet, not that long after his production work with Reed and the Stooges, Bowie heard Springsteen and was quite taken with him. Indeed, he went so far as to record a great version of "Growin’ Up" from Springsteen's debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J whilst he was recording his own Diamond Dogs album in ’73. A year or so later, he cut another Springsteen tune (from the same album) - "It’s Hard to Be A Saint in the City". Bowie originally intended this for his ‘plastic soul’ album Young Americans, but after inviting Bruce down to Philadelphia to hear the track – and receiving something of a cool response to the work in progress apparently - David decided to not finish it at the time.

In the liner notes to One Step Up / Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen (a Springsteen tribute album), Bowie is quoted as saying, "Springsteen came down to hear what we were doing with his stuff. He was very shy. I remember sitting in the corridor with him, talking about his lifestyle, which was a very Dylanesque – you know, moving from town to town with a guitar on his back, all that kind of thing. Anyway, he didn't like what we were doing, I remember that. At least, he didn't express much enthusiasm. I guess he must have thought it was all kind of odd. I was in another universe at the time. I've got this extraordinarily strange photograph of us all – I look like I'm made out of wax."

The track did eventually surface in on the 1989 Sound & Vision boxset. "Growin’ Up" also surfaced on an updated edition of Bowie's classic album of covers, Pin Ups – both tracks are readily available on our Bowie’s Best Covers playlist on Spotify.

As Bowie recounted in a 1986 interview, he first heard Springsteen at Max’s Kansas City in New York in ‘73. Springsteen served as the opening act to a friend of David’s. Apparently Bowie was not overly impressed with Bruce’s solo set; when he brought the band on it was a different story.

“So this guy is sitting up there with an acoustic guitar doing a complete Dylan thing. My friend and I were about to leave when he started introducing a band who were joining him on stage”, “The moment they kicked in he was another performer. All the Dylanesque stuff dropped off him and he rocked. I became a major fan that night and picked up Asbury Park immediately.”

“I think it was probably the best rock band I’d ever seen in my life,” Bowie remembered.

Whilst Bowie’s two Springsteen covers are rarely heard, they reveal his great ear in recognising the emerging talents of a new songwriter; one who would soon become one of the defining artists of the era. And they are strong recordings in their own right. Check them out here, then enjoy Bruce and the E-street band returning the compliment, some days after Bowie’s passing, from the opening show of this year's The River tour.

David Bowie - Growin’ Up

David Bowie - It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City

Bruce Springsteen kicks of this year’s The River tour with a version of "Rebel Rebel"

- DL