Captured hearts and minds: The Animals Credit: AP Bruce Springsteen once claimed he owed his whole career to British beat group, The Animals. Speaking at the SXSW festival in 2012, Springsteen singled out Elvis Presley for igniting his love of rock and roll, Roy Orbison for imbuing him with a sense of musical mystery, Phil Spector for teaching him about the language of sound, The Beatles for showing him the value of a band unit, Bob Dylan for unleashing his inner wordsmith, and James Brown for demonstrating the power of showmanship. But it was the great bluesy Newcastle combo fronted by Eric Burdon that became the catalyst for his own musical vision. “For me they were a revelation, the first records with full blown class consciousness that I'd ever heard, that mirrored my home life.”