U2's Bono confronts Bruce Springsteen over song refusal: 'You said no!'

Bono and Bruce Springsteen are getting it all out in the open.

The U2 frontman interviewed Springsteen as the latter received the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award on the final day of the Tribeca Festival on Saturday, June 13 — and Bono used the opportunity to revisit a years-old grievance with his longtime friend.

The With or Without You singer reminded The Boss that he once refused to let him use his song Girls in Their Summer Clothes in a Gap ad tied to Bono's (RED) campaign, which he co-founded in 2006 to help combat HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

“I said, ‘Bruce, this song Girls in Their Summer Clothes, this is like one of the great pop songs ever. Would you think about using it for a commercial for (RED) and the Gap?” recalled Bono. “And you said, ‘No.’”

Springsteen immediately interjected to apologise, admitting that the decision haunts him to this day.

“I still think back, ‘Bono asked you to put this thing on a commercial on television.’ I should have f***ing done it! People would hear it like a hit, you know? So I have to apologise,” Springsteen expressed.

Fortunately, there was no lingering bad blood between the two music icons. By the end of the exchange, it was all water under the bridge as Bono and Springsteen shared a hug on stage.