Rob Brydon and Sally Phillips have joined the cast of a new comedy film about a British Muslim boy growing up in 1980s Luton with a love of Bruce Springsteen.

Blinded By The Light is based on journalist Sarfraz Manzoor's-rite of-passage memoir Greetings from Bury Park and is directed by Gurinder Chadha.

It is described as a 'hybrid musical that is firmly rooted in the great British tradition of quirky comedies, but with a dash of youthful exuberance inspired by John Hughes' films from the 1980s'.

Chadha and Manzoor met Springsteen at the London premiere of his film The Promise in 2010 and discovered he had read and admired the book.

'I quickly pitched him the film we wanted to make from the book on the red carpet and to our excitement, Bruce nodded and said, "Sounds good - talk to Jon",' Chadha said.

'We then spent several years developing a script we knew had to impress Springsteen and managers Jon Landau and Barbara Carr or there would be no film without his music and blessings.'

Manzoor added: 'Growing up in 1980s Luton as the working class son of Pakistani Muslim immigrants my world felt very small. In the music of Bruce Springsteen I found both hope and wisdom on how I could transcend my circumstances and make my dreams to be a writer come true.

'The fact that I was so affected by Springsteen's songs shows just how powerfully music can transcend race, religion, nationality and class.

'Blinded By The Light is also a tribute to my late father whom I often fought in my teenage years not realising his generation also had dreams they were not able to follow.'

Brydon is also a Springsteen fan and in January surprised regulars at the Half Moon in Putney by singing a version of Thunder Road with singer-songwriter Martyn Joseph.

The Would I Lie To You host also met Springsteen at The Promise debut, as he revealed when he appeared on Danny Baker's 5 Live Show in 2012.

The cast of Blinded By The Light also includes Kulvinder Ghir, who plays Cyril in Still Open All Hours, Agent Carter star Hayley Atwell and newcomers Viveik Kalra and Nell Williams as romantic leads.

The film, due for completion in early 2019, is currently shooting on location in the UK.

Published: 11 Apr 2018