Stumbled upon the following amusing anecdote in renowned rock hack Nick Kent´s recent seventies memoir Apathy For The Devil. At the abode of his cokedealer of all places, Kent meets a rather down and out Marc Bolan, erstwhile king of the British glamrock scene with the mighty T Rex. They get to talking about Bob Dylan, Bolan´s ultimate idol.
Bolan recalls how he finally met His Bobness at the house of a mutual friend, the songwriter Harry Nilsson. After listening to Bolan´s effusive praise for several minutes, Dylan had looked at him quizzically and asked: "Say man, are you one of those guys from the Incredible String Band?" As Kent writes: "The bopping elf was temporarily crushed - Bob didn´t know him from Adam - but thinking about it afterwards it only made Dylan more untouchable in his estimation."
By the way: Apathy For The Devil - a title that comes straight from Dylan too btw, commenting on the late-seventies Stones - is an entertaining read, but not much more than that. You´re better off with The Dark Stuff, a tome that compiles Kent´s best rock writings for New Musical Express.
T Rex - Mambo Sun MP3
Bob Dylan - No Man Righteous (live San Francisco ´79) MP3
Incredible String Band - Mercy I Cry City MP3
