Friday is Rock'n'Roll London Day

An American In London… In November 1962 Bob Dylan played his first British gig at the King and Queen pub in Fitzrovia.
The performance is the stuff of rock legend. The number of people who claim to have been in the pub that night almost exceeds the number who calim to have been in the Blind Beggar on the night Ronnie Kray shot George Cornell.

I recently came across an old Observer Music Monthly with a fascinating piece about this monumental night…
“The Coldest winter since records began greeted Bob Dylan on arrival in England. It was mid-November 1962 and the singer's first-ever trip outside America, at a time when his career had yet to flare into phosphorescent life. Still only 21, he was the talk of the New York folk scene, but his debut album had sold disappointingly, and protracted sessions for his second, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan , were proving difficult. With the encouragement of his new manager, Albert Grossman, and hungry always for experience, he seized on an invitation from the UK and flew into London Airport. But from there, Dylan headed straight not to the folk clubs of the capital, but to rehearsals for a BBC television play called The Madhouse on Castle Street.”
Read the full story HERE. 
Join the Rock’n'Roll London Walk on Friday at 2pm, meeting at Tottenham Court Road Station (Exit 3) – to book a Private Walk call 020 7642 3978 or email london@walks.com