Bruce Springsteen’s Lost ‘Dancing in the Dark’ Video Can Be Yours

One of Bruce Springsteen's most legendary videos is the one he did for "Dancing in the Dark." But within the fan community, it's the rejected initial version of the film he made for the song that has been a source of intrigue over the years.

Now, an original 3/4-inch U-matic master videotape of the shelved version of the Born in the U.S.A.-era classic is being auctioned by Wax Poetics, featuring four different performances.

The 18-minute tape comes from the personal collection of former Columbia Records president Al Teller and is being offered alongside the plaque he received, signed by Springsteen, marking 20 million sales worldwide of Born in the U.S.A. The auction began today (Sept. 24) and is set to continue through Oct. 22 with proceeds going to support organizations that help fund public, primary and secondary music programs.

Bruce Springsteen - Dancing in the Dark Videotape — Courtesy of Wax Poetics

The History Behind the Original 'Dancing in the Dark' Video

In a new interview with author Peter Ames Carlin that you can watch below, Teller remembers seeing the proposed clip for "Dancing in the Dark" for the first time.

“Jon brought the video to my office and within 10 or 15 seconds, I was thinking, ‘What is this?’ I felt it was inappropriate for the song," he shares. "'Dancing in the Dark’ was a big, full-band production, and my first question was, ‘Where’s the band?’ When it ended, I told Jon, ‘No way. We can’t use this.’ He said he and Bruce agreed. So it was back to the drawing board and that led to Brian De Palma making the video everyone knows.”

Watch the Brian De Palma Version of 'Dancing in the Dark'

The De Palma version, featuring Courteney Cox, was very different than what Teller had seen. The original, helmed by Jeff Stein, who'd done the Who documentary, The Kids are Alright, put Springsteen in a stark and unbelievably - yet appropriately -- dark setting, all alone, save an appearance from E Street Band saxophone legend Clarence Clemons near the end.

As Billboard wrote in 2011, the July 21, 1984 issue of their publication reported that Bruce “did not like (original director) Jeff Stein‘s concept,” which offered a “Dancing in the Dark” interpretation that took the "dark" part very seriously.

So De Palma was enlisted and sent to St. Paul, Minnesota to film Bruce at the Civic Center, with 200 extras dancing -- and Cox, as we know now, gets pulled onstage, creating one of the most iconic visual moments of the '80s.

Teller tried to give the videotape back to Landau, who told him he could keep it. So he took it home and put it into a file cabinet, which became its home for over four decades. Pulling the tape out to get it ready for the auction brought an unexpected revelation for the former record executive. There were four performances, he'd only seen the first one.

While lower-quality footage from the rejected video has circulated online -- including a clip you can watch below, courtesy of the YouTube user, Songs by Bruce, the auction brings forward Teller’s original master and also his firsthand account of its history.

“It was the rejection of this video that led to getting Brian De Palma and that moment with a then-unknown Courteney Cox that everyone remembers,” Teller says.

Watch the Rejected Version of Bruce Springsteen's 'Dancing in the Dark'

Bruce Springsteen Has Had a Busy Year

"Dancing in the Dark," of course, remains a staple moment of his concert set list. Even with the serious tone of the shows he played earlier this year with the E Street Band and special guest Tom Morello, "Dancing" kept its energetic spot near the end of the night.

The Boss has been rolling out a concert film of the final show of the tour from Philadelphia that's available to watch on YouTube. He released the second part earlier this week.

The songwriter shared in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that he's got two albums of material currently in progress and has been dealing with working out the timing to release the new music.

"I’m currently working on a couple of records. I did finish one… it is done. I’m in the process of working on this other one, which, because of the nature of the material, felt like it should come out first," he said.

“So that’s the situation I’m in. I’m trying to finish that up, and I’d like to release that first. And then this other record that I made, which is not time-relevant, it can come out at any time and it’ll work.”

Whenever Springsteen chooses to put out the album, it will be his first proper record of new studio material since 2020's Letter to You.