Boss's Control Issue

By Stephen M. Silverman

09/09/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

Bruce Springsteen, 51, returned to a London court Wednesday in order to block a British company, Masquerade Music Ltd., from releasing 19 songs he recorded in 1972, before he became famous, reports Reuters. (The Boss formed his E Street Band in 1973, and won his first Grammy in 1982.) In 1998 Springsteen won the first round of legal maneuvers, when Masquerade lost the breach of contract suit that he had filed against it. But now the company is challenging that ruling in London's Court of Appeal. Springsteen was not present at Wednesday's hearing, and the case is expected to wind up by week's end.