BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S REJECTED 1984 “DANCING IN THE DARK” VIDEO MASTER HEADS TO AUCTION
Wax Poetics announces the auction of the original master of Bruce Springsteen’s rejected 1984 “Dancing in the Dark” music video, featuring four performances preserved for more than four decades in the personal collection of former Columbia Records president Al Teller. Offered alongside Teller’s plaque signed by Springsteen commemorating worldwide sales of 20 million units of the Born in the U.S.A. album, the auction runs September 24 – October 22, 2026, with proceeds goring to organizations supporting public primary and secondary school music programs. – VIEW THE LOT HERE
Before Brian De Palma directed the now-familiar “Dancing in the Dark” video featuring Courteney Cox, Jeff Stein filmed a different version. Best known for his documentary about The Who, The Kids are Alright, Stein placed Springsteen alone on a dark set, with saxophonist Clarence Clemons appearing toward the end. That version was rejected, paving the way for the performance video that helped introduce Springsteen to a wider MTV audience.
For Teller, the original treatment was at odds with the full-band energy of the record. In a new interview with Springsteen biographer Peter Ames Carlin for Wax Poetics, he recalls watching the original video with Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, in his Columbia office.
“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. ‘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.”
When Teller tried to return the rejected tape, Landau told him to keep it. He took it home and placed it in a file cabinet, where it remained for more than four decades.
Only when preparing for the auction did Teller discover the full contents of the original ¾-inch U-matic master. After a specialist video production house treated and assessed the tape for playback, he received an unexpected call: it contained four performances. He had only watched one.
While lower-quality footage from the rejected video has circulated online, the auction brings forward Teller’s original master and his firsthand account of its history. The tape captures a creative turning point during the “Born in the U.S.A.” era, when a discarded approach helped shape what came next.
“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 reflects.
Accompanying the auction, Wax Poetics will share its interview with Teller, exploring his early support for Springsteen at Columbia, the arrival of Born in the U.S.A., and the story behind the tape.
The sale will also further Teller’s commitment to music education, with proceeds going to organizations supporting public primary and secondary school music programs. In the interview, Teller explains the importance of giving young people opportunities to make music together and learn to function as a group, whether through an orchestra, chamber ensemble, or jazz band.
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