Bob Dylan admits to having ‘binged’ episodes of Coronation Street
Bob Dylan has revealed he has recently “binged” episodes of long-running TV soap Coronation Street.
In a rare interview, the acclaimed 81-year-old singer-songwriter who first conquered the world in the 1960s, said that the ITV soap, along with Father Brown, and early episodes of Twilight Zones were his guilty pleasure.
“I know they’re old-fashioned, but they make me feel at home. I’m no fan of packaged programs or news shows. I never watch anything foul-smelling or evil,” Dylan told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Opting to watch soaps and British sitcoms, Dylan described himself as an “excessively sensitive person,” which he says makes things complicated, including how he can relax.
“At ease one minute, and then, for no reason whatsoever, I get restless and fidgety,” the WSJ reports Dylan saying.
Expressing a dislike for technology, which he compares to “sorcery”, comes as little surprise, as the star’s 2022 sell-out UK tour became “non-phone events”.
Audiences at the Rough and Rowdy Ways world tour, which played four nights at the London Palladium as well as venues in Cardiff, Manchester, Oxford and Bournemouth, were required to lock their phones in pouches.
The shows were Dylan’s first UK dates in more than five years and supported his UK number one 39th studio album.
His vast back catalogue including Blowin’ In The Wind and Tangled Up In Blue featured on the tour, which also played more than 74 shows in the US.
In November, Dylan came in for criticism from fans after $600 (£492) versions of his book, The Philosophy Of Modern Song, which claimed to be “hand-signed” were actually “in penned replica form”.
Publisher Simon & Schuster apologised to buyers of the book, which is a collection of more than 60 essays focusing on songs by artists such as Elvis Costello and Nina Simone, saying that they would be refunded.
Emerging from New York City’s Greenwich Village folk scene, the singer became a counter-cultural figure with the release of a series of political anthems and went on to sell more than 125 million records around the world.