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Both Van Morrison and Bruce Springsteen undeniably fall into the folk-rock category. That being so, there are of course going to be some musical and lyrical similarities between the two. The masses likely believe this parallel to be incidental, however, Van Morrison does not, as he thinks Bruce Springsteen deliberately ripped him off.

Deliberate or not, there are certainly some overt similarities between Springsteen and Morrison’s music. And given that Springsteen views Morrison as a major inspiration, it’s not surprising that Morrison’s style comes out through Springsteen. Well, Van Morrison doesn’t think this is a coincidence whatsoever and verbalized his opinion when Bruce Springsteen was at the height of his career.

Bruce Springsteen undeniably ruled the music scene in the ’80s, thus Van Morrison was always being asked if he’d seen him play. Van Morrison did, but he didn’t have very nice things to say about “The Boss.” In a 1985 interview with New Age, the Northern Irish singer/songwriter tore into the then 36-year-old commercial success.

Van Morrison told the publication, “For years people have been saying to me–you know, have you heard this guy Springsteen” and “[He] came on the video, and that was the first time I ever saw him, and he’s definitely ripped me off.” “There’s no doubt about that. Not only did Springsteen…I mean, he’s even ripped my movements off as well. My ’70s movements,” added Van Morrison.

He candidly concluded his story by stating, “Well, I feel pissed off now that I know about it. I’d never seen it before, so I didn’t know.” Of course, there is no way to confirm whether or not Bruce Springsteen actually did intentionally rip off Morrison’s style. However, Springsteen did confirm one thing, and that was his admiration for one of his biggest inspirations.

On BBC’s Desert Island Discs, Springsteen divulged just how much Van Morrison and his album, Astral Weeks, meant to him. Springsteen stated, “‘Astral Weeks’ was an extremely important record for me. It made me trust in beauty, it gave me a sense of the divine” and “The divine just seems to run through the veins of that entire album.”

Needless to say, it seems Bruce Springsteen and Morrison share an entirely one-sided relationship. Nonetheless, it seems his comments didn’t taint Bruce Springsteen’s love for the infamous singer/songwriter and his iconic album, Astral Weeks.