Sunday, September 18, 2005

Bob Dylan: The Madhouse on Castle Street

Madhouse on Castle Street? Broadcast on BBC TV in January 1963? Don't remember watching such a play featuring an almost unknown (unknown outside hard-core folk circles) Bob Dylan. My guess is we were almost certainly watching Sunday Night at the London Palladium, on ITV. Those were the days, my friend.
Trouble is, there has never been the chance to watch Madhouse since. For housekeeping and budgetary purposes, the BBC soon therafter erased the Madhouse tape, along with tapes of many other programmes. A short-sighted step, that the BBC's finance department, cultural historians, and viewers have long since come to regret.
The Guardian/Observer has a long, fascinating account of Dylan's first visit to Britain. Oh, some of the clubs mentioned, Bunjies Coffee House, Les Cousins, and the Troubadour were still functioning in the late sixties -- but barely. To read, please click here.

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