Bruce Springsteen has said he has done some of the best work of his life in the last five years – a month after celebrating his 70th birthday.
Recent years have seen the US singer score a number one album with High Hopes, perform on Broadway in a one-man show and release an autobiography entitled Born To Run.
Speaking on BBC Radio 6 Music, he told hosts Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie that he was “fortunate” to have found a second wind in his 60s.
He said: “At 70, you appreciate the vitality of your creative life. I think I’ve had five years where I’ve done some of the best work I’ve ever done.
“The past five years, the book, the play, the film, this record, that’s very exciting, you know.
“To be doing, where I’m at now because people do lose their mojo, they lose interest or you never know when you’re gonna write well again.
“You know it’s a mystery, but I stay very curious about the world and I’m curious about my own talent and where I can take that and so that keeps you alive and vital and the creative fire burning inside of you pretty brightly, so I’m fortunate.”
Springsteen, affectionately called The Boss by fans, also co-directed an accompanying film to his most recent album, Western Stars, which debuted at the Toronto International Film this year.
It features his reflections on his life, home videos and footage with his wife and E Street bandmate Patti Scialfa, and pays tribute to the group’s saxophonist Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011.
Asked which of his albums he would save if he was forced to choose, Springsteen was unable to pick just one.
“Oh man. If I could only take one?” he said.
“Well it’s tough, because it’s between two, but I might take Nebraska. It cost me 1,000 US dollars to make with a recording deck about the size of that album cover.
“But it was really a special moment, you know. If I had to take a rock album, I’d probably grab (his breakthrough record) Born To Run.”
He also discussed how he stays fit, saying: “I don’t run. I can’t run anymore.
“I’ll walk very fast, however, and I just generally I take care of myself pretty well with the diet and exercise a little bit, but that’s about it.”
The full interview will be broadcast on Radcliffe and Maconie’s show on BBC Radio 6 Music on Saturday October 19 at 9.15am.