Steven Van Zandt’s life was “saved” by a publisher after he spent seven years in the “wilderness” of showbusiness. ‘The Sopranos’ actor and E Street Band rocker, 73, believes he ended up in a career desert after he quit the group in 1984 to focus on political activism before its frontman Bruce Springsteen, 74, made it big with its hit ‘Born in the USA’. He told Page Six it was not until Lance Freed, the son of influential DJ Alan Freed, came to his aid that his career took off again – after the publisher heard his music with the band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
Steven added at the premiere of a documentary about his life, titled ‘Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple’: “(Lance) said, ‘Listen man, people don’t write like this anymore. I want to help you out, what can I do?’ Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. “So, he administered my publishing – gave me a big chunk of money that saved my life.
” A year after he left the E Street Band, Steven wrote a song called ‘Sun City’ that lambasted the South African government, with the video featuring cameos from his former bandmate Bruce as well as Bono, Darlene Love, George Clinton and others. He says he thinks his political activism “scared the hell out of everyone” and left him out in the cold in the entertainment industry. Steven added: “I intended to politicise our entire industry and I’m happy about that, (but) at the expense of comm.
