Springsteen biographer blasted for telling Bruce fan to ‘f–k off’
As New York Attorney General Eric Schneidermanprobes speculative ticket sales for Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming tour around the Boss’ ballyhooed box set “The Ties That Bind: The River Collection,” a skirmish of another sort has broken out between Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh and obsessives of the New Jersey rocker.
Fans accuse “grumpy” rock writer and Springsteen insider Marsh of crossing the line when the SiriusXM host recently tore into an unsuspecting fan, whom he called a “moron” and told to “f - - k off” on his E Street Radio broadcast.
On Dec. 4, Springsteen released the new four-CD set that exhaustively expands his 1980 album, “The River.” He’s about to embark on a tour, including two January dates at Madison Square Garden, on which he’ll play the album in its entirety, including classics like “Hungry Heart” and “Out in the Street.”
But in the run-up to the celebration, a heated exchange between Marsh — who’s married to Springsteen’s co-manager Barbara Carr — and a mild-mannered caller into his show has had fans turning against the cranky host, who’s penned no fewer than four books on the Boss.
The blowup began when, fans say, a caller innocently wondered why Springsteen did not include in his box set a full live performance of “The River” played at MSG in 2009, asking, “How the heck do they miss that?” since it was the only time he’s played the whole album live.
Marsh then blew his stack, according to fans, saying, “Give it up. Stop trying to tell him what to do!” and “It’s not a mistake, it’s a decision, you moron. If you can’t tell the different between artistic choice and giving you your masturbatory . . . wants, then . . . f - - k off!” Finally, Marsh huffed, “I’ve had enough of this s - - t,” before hanging up and declaring, “These people drive me crazy.”
“The guy is a self-righteous bag of hot air,” wrote one angry fan of Marsh on a Bruce blog. “I’d [bleeping] fire him in a second! I don’t care who his wife is!” Another complained, “He insults his audience blatantly.” Marsh and SiriusXM reps did not get back to us for comment.
