Boss Yes, Elton No

By Stephen M. Silverman

09/03/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

There were up and downs for rockers in London courts this week: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, 51, won a complicated case on Tuesday, blocking the right of a British company from releasing 19 songs he recorded in 1972, before he became famous. The Court of Appeal judges dismissed a challenge by Masquerade Music Ltd. to a December 1998 decision that prevented them from moving ahead with the album of the earlier compositions . . . On Wednesday, ELTON JOHN, 53, lost a multi-million-dollar court battle with the accountancy firm of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which he had sued in London's High Court, claiming the firm was negligent in managing his financial affairs. At times the testimony grew quite colorful, with the pop star detailing his flamboyant spending. Obviously that did not impress the court.