Get the latest gossip

Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple review – seeing Springsteen’s sidekick take on apartheid is an air-punch moment


He’s raised a ruckus with the Boss, smashed segregation in South Africa and sparkled in The Sopranos – this entertaining documentary showcases a wild life

Van Zandt was part of the New Jersey music scene of the early 1970s, which had its own signature sound: classic rock’n’roll beefed up with the punchy horns of Atlantic and Stax. Van Zandt assembled an unbelievable roster for the recording: the footage of Melle Mel, Ringo Starr, Pat Benatar, Bono, Keith Richards, Lou Reed, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Cliff, George Clinton and scores more is impressive enough, even before Miles Davis wanders in to lay down a bit of trumpet. The clip of Van Zandt at one of the spin-off live gigs, swathed in textiles of every conceivable colour, addressing a stadium full of fans with the words, “We the people will no longer tolerate the terrorism of the government of South Africa.

Get the Android app

Or read this on The Guardian

Read more on:

Photo of Stevie Van Zandt

Stevie Van Zandt

Photo of Springsteen

Springsteen

Related news:

News photo

Stevie Van Zandt: ‘My religion switched right over to rock’n’roll’