As Richard Wilkins watched Bruce Springsteen stride through the studio door, a simple question from the music icon left him suddenly uneasy.
It was 2014 and Nine’s Entertainment Editor was waiting backstage at the Jimmy Fallon show at Rockefeller Center in New York City, a handshake and questions at the ready.
Yet, as the Born to Run rock star readied himself for the chat, he turned to his manager, Jon Landau, to ask how long the interview would take. Twenty minutes was the reply.
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It’s not what Wilkins had hoped to hear.
He had secured the rare interview with the music icon as an Australian exclusive ahead of the icon’s tour Down Under.
Wilkins took his chance and approached Landau.
“I said, ‘John, can I talk to you for a minute?'” he tells 9Celebrity in the latest episode of Dickie’s Diaries.
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“I said, ‘Mate, I need much more than 20 minutes. I’m doing it for all these different programs, we’re going to strip it across the week…’
“And he said, ‘Oh man, you take as long as you like. We tell Bruce everything’s 20 minutes’.”
Wilkins went on to learn the “20 minutes” timeframe applied in a variety of ways, including if Springsteen asked how long until a show, and even how long until lunch.
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The answer was always 20 minutes.
“I think we talked for an hour and 20 minutes, and it was just a joy, reminiscing about his wonderful career and talking about touring and about songwriting,” Wilkins said.
“He’s a great raconteur and it was just a wonderful experience.”
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