Have You Seen This? Original Springsteen video, shelved 40 years, up for auction

SALT LAKE CITY — In 1984, the world was introduced to one of the defining videos of the MTV era.

Bruce Springsteen had already released six albums by the time "Born in the USA" was released. But the video for the albums's first single, "Dancing in the Dark," introduced the Boss to a whole new audience.

If you watched MTV for any length of time during that period, the images of the live concert footage of Springsteen and the E Street Band and final scenes of Springsteen pulling a then-unknown Courtney Cox onto the stage while Clarence Clemons belted out a sax solo are likely ingrained in your mind forever.

But that all could have taken a much different direction (think Billy Squier's "Rock Me Tonite") if the original version of the video had been allowed to go forward.

"After about 10 or 15 seconds I said to myself, 'What is this?' It was literally only a single camera, a single shot; there were no cutaways at all ... (and) when it was over I looked at Jon (Landau), and I said, 'No way. We can't use this,'" Al Teller, then-president of Columbia Records, recalled recently when he saw the video for the first time.

But now, that original bad video is being used to raise money for a good cause.

The original ¾-inch master tape of the video, which has been sitting in a file cabinet in Teller's home since it was rejected more than 40 years ago, is going up for auction. Wax Poetics, a group of music journalists and a music collectibles platform, is auctioning off the original "Dancing in the Dark" master tape, which includes "four complete takes" and even Springsteen warming up before the video shoot starts. A plaque commemorating "Born in the USA's" 20 million record sales — which is signed by Springsteen — is also included.

The auction runs through Oct. 22. As of Friday morning, the bidding was at $3,000. Proceeds benefit organizations that support music programs in public elementary and secondary schools.

Fuzzy clips of the original video have been circulating on social media for years. But this is the first time the original master tape has ever been offered to the public.

Teller, in an interview with Wax Poetics, recalled how Springsteen's longtime manager Jon Landau brought the original video to Teller to get his opinion. Landau didn't tell Teller that both he and Springsteen did not like the video. But it didn't take long for Teller to also give it the thumbs down.

The original "Dancing in the Dark" video was made by Jeff Stein, who is best known for directing The Who documentary, "The Kids Are Alright."

Brian De Palma directed the video that most people associate with the song.

Related topics