This show is from September 2000 when I went on the road in the UK to attend 5 shows by Colombia recording artist Bob Dylan who by that point was over 10 years into his Never Ending Tour.

September finally came and with it, just a week before the shows were to begin, a full blown fuel crisis in the UK with protesting farmers and truckers blocking oil refineries and causing the whole fucking country to grind to a halt. Petrol stations completely ran out of fuel as the population indulged in scenes of panic buying, even to the point of clearing out the shelves of the supermarkets. Slam bangers baggin’ it. Pathetic wankers! Make no mistake, the situation had the potential to completely screw things up and for a few days I had visions of my shows going up in smoke with even Bob not being able to get about the country, let alone me in my Nissan Primera. For a while the situation seemed to be very bleak indeed but finally there was a breakthrough between the government and strikers for things to slowly get on the move again. Thanks to my dad and the fact that he was monitoring the news on an almost hourly basis, I had filled up my Nissan right before things had deteriorated and so had enough petrol to see me through, thus avoiding the horrendous queues which lined up outside the filing stations. By the end of the mini crisis I was able to top up my tank the day before my trip up to Birmingham with a minimum of fuss, feeling both relieved and excited, but also half looking over my shoulder just in case the whole thing erupted again. 

Continue reading “Bob Dylan Live: Birmingham NEC 20th September 2000” →