'Mental illness swept through my family': Bruce Springsteen reveals his depression battle and how it affected his relationship with his 'gruff' father

By Emily Chan and Becky Freeth for MailOnline

Published: 08:55 EST, 18 December 2016 | Updated: 20:35 EST, 18 December 2016

Bruce Springsteen has given a candid insight into how mental illness struck his family and all of their internal relationships.

Admitting that he has suffered with depression in his past, the 67-year-old described his battle to be like 'Churchill's black dog' when it jumps up and bites.

The legendary musician was appearing on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs when he divulged the powerful grip of mental illness on his life.

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Top performer: Bruce Springsteen (here last week) has admitted that he has suffered by a grip of depression in the past

'There was just a lot of illness that ran through my family,' he said. 'On the Irish side in particular, but even somewhat on the Italian side also.

'Depression, mental illness, just swept through my family and kind of gets passed down.'

'It's usually OK,' he added. 'Then once in a while Churchill's black dog jumps up and bites you. 

'I've developed some skills that help me deal with it but still it's a powerful, powerful thing.' 

Hard to shake: The musician (here with Gina Gershon, right) described the mental illness like 'Churchill's black dog'

Bruce went on to explain that the condition was worst in his father, not to mention the knock-on effect for other members of the family.

The musician spoke of his dad's 'gruff' exterior and how it affected their relationship, which was eventually repaired in later life.

His father Douglas was a bus driver of Dutch-Irish descent who resented his son’s ability to express the very feelings he was bottling up, the musician explains. 

He added: ‘My dad had a sort of gruff exterior but inside he could be quite soft and sensitive. 

'The qualities he had inside were the things I wore on the outside. They were just difficult for him to deal with.’ 

Opening up: Springsteen (pictured in 1975) told Kirsty Young on Desert Island Discs that he was embarrassed about his curly hair when he was a teenager

He went on to say: ‘What I was interested in doing was creating some order and a safe environment for myself because my childhood felt very unsafe.'

And Bruce did not gloss over his early life during his honest on-air talk with presenter Kirsty Young.  

The musician talked about his years as an awkward teenager who was embarrassed about his curly hair and would spend ages practising dance moves alone in the hope of attracting a girl.

The star, whose hits include Dancing In The Dark and Born In The USA, says: ‘Before I played the guitar I realised that girls loved to dance. 

'So I spent quite a bit of time in my own mirror practising the different dance moves of the day [until] I was good enough to get the girl.’

He even told Kirsty that he was less happy with the way he looked, saying he thought he was ‘pretty hideous'.

He adds: ‘I would use my mother’s hairclips to pin my hair down and then I would sleep on it exactly right on the pillow because I had Italian curly hair.’ 

Bruce Springsteen, 67, said he often made a ‘complete fool of himself’ in front of girls when he was a teenager 

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