BOB WHO?

A WORK colleague shocked me the other day during a discussion on our musical preferences.  He had managed to reach the age of 23 without ever having heard of Bob Dylan.  As I said, I was genuinely shocked that he had never heard of one of popular music’s most prominent icons.

 
Naturally, I did what I could to educate my young friend with a CD of some of the maestro’s greatest hits.  Dylan is coming to Belfast soon.  He is due to play at a sell-out gig in the grounds of Stormont.  Tickets, though, are like gold dust.  Good luck to those of you who have tickets.  Have a great night out.  I’m only sorry that I can’t be there with you.

 
What prompted the Dylan discussion was the arrival at the Wizard Ads office of two review books by Andrew Weir.  One looks at his ‘never-ending tour’ and another discusses the meaning of his lyrics. In this Kerr’s Corner, I will concentrate on the first book.

 
Razor’s Edge is an account of Dylan’s comeback after his career took a dive in the early eighties.  Bob had undergone a conversion to Christianity in 1979 and released a couple of albums reflecting his new-found faith.  These had not sold particularly well.  Bob then made a disastrous appearance at the Live Aid concert in  1985.  He had to turn things around.  This started with an American ‘Farm Aid’ concert later that same year.  Dylan was back and the ‘never-ending tour’ began.  He still plays some 100 gigs a year.

This book will delight any Dylan devotee.  The author was the editor of a Dylan fanzine who brings to fruit years of knowledge on this incomparable artist.  My colleague would know more than he probably wants to know if he read this book.   It’s a mine of indispensable information for the devoted Bobcat.  Razor’s Edge is published by Helter Skelter at £20.00 (ISBN 1 900924 13 7).