Bruce Springsteen literally dances in the dark for 12 rather hysterical minutes in recently unearthed footage of an unused video shoot for his 1984 hit 'Dancing in the Dark.' The concept was scrapped in favor of the now famous in-concert video featuring future "Friends" TV star Courtney Cox.

As Billboard magazine wryly notes, the discarded shots look more like the start of an 'Outsiders'-themed workout video, particularly with Springsteen decked out in a headband, matching suspenders and sleeveless shirt.

The YouTube clip features Springsteen gamely running through three different full takes of the song, seemingly improvising within what seems like a rather limited range of available moves. His only company in each version is the late Clarence Clemons, who saunters in wearing a red suit for the song's closing saxophone solo.

To be fair to Springsteen, for an amateur he's not a bad dancer -- we're certainly not saying we could do better, in fact it would take a trained professional the likes of Prince or Madonna to pull off so much alone time on the camera in such a setting. But will will say he made the right choice to scrap this format and return to a more normal setting for the real video.

Now, if only Billy Squier had gone for a similar do-over on that same year's 'Rock Me Tonite.'

Watch Bruce Springsteen Dance in Unreleased 'Dancing in the Dark' Video Footage

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