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The responsibility he feels towards the music, the contract he has with his audience, has only grown over the years. "He's serious about his responsibilities as an artist and as a world citizen," says Williams. "He's got ethics, and he sticks to them. The last time we were over in London we all went to dinner and Bruce talked about his kids, how he had to take the video games away from his son. He was worried about that. He's a good role model, and we all need them."

Springsteen has always built a mythology around the E Street Band. As early as 1975, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out glorified the band's origins. Nowadays, he celebrates their longevity with a knowing wink, introducing them onstage as: "The heart-stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking, earth-shaking, booty-quaking, Viagra-taking, love-making, Legendary E Street Band!"

The humour doesn't dilute the pride. The story of Springsteen and the E Street Band has become a great fable. They're much more than a backing band, and nearly 40 years down the line their very existence on stage each night has become emblematic of some hard-won triumph. And it's not over yet.

"There was a moment when I understood what the band really meant to him," says Marsh. "It was the end of the 1999 reunion tour, and the very last thing he did was a version of Blood Brothers, with a new verse. There were no dry eyes. That's a song about endurance. The point being that it would shock me if this tour is the end. If you were this good at doing something, why would you stop? It would be interesting to see a rock band continue in a creative, high-energy way right to the end. If we're going to get one that does, this band is it."

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play Hampden Park, Glasgow on Tuesday.