Springsteen says sorry for Wal-Mart deal

American blue-collar hero Bruce Springsteen has been forced to apologise after making a marketing decision that went totally against the grain for his hardcore fans. He and his E Street Band signed a deal with Wal-Mart, which is fiercely anti-trade union, giving the retail giant the sole rights to release a 12-track anthology album at the discount price of $10 in January.

The result was a barrage of criticism and now, stung by the accusations that he sold out on his principles, Spingsteen, aka ‘The Boss’, has stepped up to the plate and publicly apologised for the deal.  "It was a mistake," he told the New York Times. "We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it just kind of came down and really, we didn't vet it the way we usually do."

Admitting that he had "dropped the ball", Springsteen said of Wal-Mart, which refuses to recognise unions and has been criticised by groups such as Human Rights Watch for its alleged hardline treatment of low-wage workers: "Given its labour history, it was something that if we'd thought about a little longer, we'd have done something different".

He added: "Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be."

However, not all his fans are mollified by his apology. On a popular message board on the website LiveDaily, one fan wrote: "I don't believe it. This finely tuned business machine that promotes its own concerts, etc, makes a mistake on a big retailing deal like this? He doesn't do anything hastily. ·