I am old. It is the only small and miserable advantage I have over the mighty John O'Connell and his remarkable ensemble of musicians in SIMPLY DYLAN.  For I am so old that I was there when my first and only hero, Bob Dylan, played Liverpool on the first Saturday in May 1965 and that electric night in May, 1966.ere.

SIMPLY DYLAN T-SHIRTS



In tribute to Graham Evans the band left the microphone free and played along to a mini disk recording of Graham playing the Old Grey Whistle Test's theme song. The recording from the 1990s sounds as vivid and clear as ever and is a fitting tribute to Graham's musicianship. The clips are a mixture of the footage from the Cavern plus some older clips of Groundpig  performing (originally Groundhog) and demonstrates the fun and laughter that epitomised the band.

FOOTAGE FROM ISLE OF WIGHT BIG TOP STAGE 2019

BOB DYLAN ISIS MAGAZINE INTERVIEW

John O'Connell

formerly GROUNDPIG

Groundpig 10 Years Remembered performed on 5th February 2016 live at the Cavern Club.

A TRIBUTE FROM ALAN BLEASDALE





 






And no, I didn't boo and hiss and shout "traitor" when the band played. I just sat there spellbound, witnessing a young man, wild with words, barely in his mid twenties, at the very height of his surreal splendour.


And therein lies my sad advantage. No member of SIMPLY DYLAN is remotely of the age that they could possibly claim that they were there.


See I told you I was old.......
 

And now I will cut to the chase and make another claim.

I was there on Saturday the 9th of February 2019, when SIMPLY DYLAN played at the sold out Citadel. And it was glorious - helped considerably by the professionalism of the sound engineer, the front of house staff and the roaring and vivid approval of the audience - but the night belonged to SIMPLY DYLAN  and the genius of John O'Connell.

Together, they marry the extraordinary range and beauty of Dylan's lyrics with the joyous and exuberant, celebratory sound I have always secretly wanted to hear whenever, in recent decades, I have listened to Bob Dylan.


No one can ever go back in time to recall the wonder and near disbelief of discovering Dylan for the first time, but I can make no finer tribute to SIMPLY DYLAN than to reveal that they allowed this old man to go back and listen again with love to his first and only hero.

Brand new SIMPLY DYLAN footage recorded at the Echo

Auditorium celebrating Bob's 75th Birthday.

SIMPLY DYLAN


Such was the volume of people, Simply Dylan were asked to play just one more song by a representative from the Echo Arena.


Watch an enthusiastic Liverpool crowd enjoying the music prior to Bob Dylan's concert.

​READ JOHN'S GQ MAGAZINE INTERVIEW 

John was delighted to have supported Gordon Haskell at the beginning of December. Gordon formerly of Fleur de Lys and King Crimson turned the music industry upside down when his song How Wonderful You Are enjoyed chart success and went on to become the most requested song on BBC Radio 2.

The Bob Dylan Isis Magazine  is the longest running Bob Dylan Magazine still in print.


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www.bobdylanisis.com 

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Charley Blue who performs with John and Simply Dylan got 3 turns from the judges on BBC 1's The Voice. Successful in the Blind Auditions and a firm member of Team Will Charley and Blue then succeeded in the Knock- out Rounds.  Well done Charley we're very proud.