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MY OWN TOUR OF TALKS IN THE UK, NOVEMBER



MONDAY NOVEMBER 4: GRANTHAM, LINCS
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the History of Rock'n'Roll
Guildhall Arts Centre
St. Peters Hill, Grantham NG31 6PZ
7.30pm; tickets £10, concessions £8 buy tickets, and more info here

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 6: NEWPORT, S. WALES
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the History of Rock'n'Roll
Studio Theatre
The Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre
Bristol Packet Wharf, Newport NP20 1HG
7.45pm; tickets £11; buy tickets, and more info here

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8: BLANDFORD FORUM
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the Poetry of the Blues
Bryanston School, Blandford Forum, Dorset
7.30pm; private gig; David Jones Lecture Theatre

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9: DORCHESTER
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the History of Rock'n'Roll
Dorchester Arts Centre
School Lane, The Grove
Dorchester DT1 1XR
8pm; tickets £10, concessions £8; buy tickets, and more info here

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 10: EXETER
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the History of Rock'n'Roll
Exeter Phoenix Voodoo Lounge
Bradninch Place, Gandy Street
Exeter EX4 3LS
8pm; £10, concessions £8; buy tickets, and more info here

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 12: HALESWORTH, SUFFOLK
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the History of Rock'n'Roll
The Cut, New Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 8BY
Box Office 0845 673 2123
7.30pm; tickets £10; buy tickets, and more info here

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14: LEAMINGTON SPA
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the Poetry of the Blues
LAMP [Leamington Live Art & Music Project]
Riverside, Adelaide Rd, Royal Leamington Spa CV32 5AH
8pm; tickets £10; buy tickets, and more info here

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16: BELFAST
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the History of Rock'n'Roll
Crescent Arts Centre
2-4 University Road, Belfast BT7 1NH
8pm; £10, concessions £8; buy tickets, and more info here

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 20: BURY, LANCS
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the History of Rock'n'Roll
The Met, Market St., Bury BL9 0BW
8pm; £10; buy tickets, and more info here

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21: HELMSLEY, ENGLAND
audio-visually illustrated talk:
Bob Dylan & the Poetry of the Blues
Helmsley Arts Centre
The Old Meeting House, Meeting House Court
Helmsley, North Yorkshire YO62 5DW
7.30pm; £9, concessions £8; buy tickets, and more info here

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16 comments:

  1. The Swede18 October, 2013

    Very much looking forward to Halesworth on the 12th, assuming I've found a replacement for my recently deceased car by then.

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  2. Jonathan Chant18 October, 2013

    And I'll head over for Blandford if my car doesn't die before then...

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  3. Ant's Art Blog19 October, 2013

    What's wrong with Birkenhead! Or at least somewhere close.

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    1. Michael Gray19 October, 2013

      Well of course there are a lot of things wrong with Birkenhead: it's one of the ugliest towns in England. I grew up there, and didn't realise how ugly it was until I saw other places - but it's far worse now. The town centre is ruined by terrible 1970s+ planning decisions, blighted by failed shops and general poverty, and doesn't offer a single decent pub. But I did a gig there: Pacific Road Arts Centre, March 6, 2009.

      I'd be happy to do a gig on the Wirral...

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    2. Anonymous19 October, 2013

      Can you do a talk near Walton on Thames sometime?

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    3. Michael Gray19 October, 2013

      Readily. Any particular suitable venue you know of?

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    4. Anonymous19 October, 2013

      You'd be willing to do one on the Wirral, you say?

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    5. Michael Gray19 October, 2013

      Yes, I'd like to. (I know: Birkenhead is, technically, on the Wirral, but...) Did you have a possibility in mind?

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  4. Anonymous19 October, 2013

    Cecil Hepworth playhouse,capacity 180, or the riverhouse barn,don't know capacity.Reckon you would fill both.Sandown park racecourse also has event venues.

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  5. Michael Gray19 October, 2013

    Thank you - I'll check them out for next year.

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  6. Kev B19 October, 2013

    Er, Middlesbrough isn't too bad y'know! And we do have the fantastic MIMA you could visit before your gig in our Town Hall! And then there's Stockton, the Arc...

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    1. Michael Gray20 October, 2013

      Was it by any chance reading of the ugliness of Birkenhead that brought Middlesbrough to mind?

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  7. R Maciver20 October, 2013

    Michael,

    Thanks for the opportunity to comment here. Would be great to hear both of these talks, but unfortunately I’d have to travel over 300 miles to do so! Do you have any plans for Scottish dates?

    If you'd be interested in a journey to the Outer Hebrides, there's a great venue in Stornoway, An Lanntair, and they hold a book festival annually: http://www.faclan.org/

    This year's theme is Pilgrimage and Journey - Hand Me my Travelin’ Shoes would have been perfect for it!

    Regards,

    Ruairidh

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  8. Michael Gray20 October, 2013

    You're always welcome to comment. Actually I did do a gig in Stornoway, in 2002: but since An Lanntair was being renovated (or something), I spoke at the Town Hall: not the most congenial atmosphere, but still...

    I'd be happy to come back, but of course it's too late for this year.

    The Scottish dates I did 11 years back comprised one mainland gig and two on outlying islands:

    September 16 AK Bell Library, Perth Book Festival, Scotland
    September 23 Town Hall, Stornoway, Scotland
    September 24 An Tobar Arts Centre, Tobermory, Scotland.

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    Replies
    1. Unknown01 November, 2013

      Thanks for your reply, and apologies for taking so long to respond – especially given the length of this response...

      I’d left for Glasgow in 1999 so I missed that opportunity. Sorry to hear the atmosphere in the Town Hall wasn’t so congenial, thankfully all such events now take place in An Lanntair. The Lanntair was eventually rebuilt as a dedicated arts centre, with an exhibition space and an auditorium that seats up to 300. It’s a fantastic facility, the kind of place that can make a huge difference in a small town like Stornoway. The building is great but it’s been a brave creative direction that has made it the success that it is today. Last year Richard Dawkins was invited to speak at Faclan - the theme of the festival was ‘creideamh / belief’, and the arrival of Professor Dawkins caused no small controversy on an island once famed as ‘the last stronghold of the pure gospel’. Thankfully, things have changed: there was a small group of placard-bearing protestors outside the venue, but a full house inside, and Dawkins seemed a tad taken aback by what was essentially a pro-Dawkins audience. Lewis is an island of dichotomies, which always makes things interesting.

      As I began reading Hand me My Travellin’ Shoes (which I found absorbing and fascinating throughout) I was struck by what you said about the book being for those curious ‘about how things change and don’t change, or about a strange part of the world, or how the past shapes the present’, and I felt that you could have been speaking about Lewis, where the past hasn’t so much passed as adapted. And your description of the beguiling, charismatic and sublimely talented artist that was Blind Willie McTell, made me think of the Lewis poet Murdo MacFarlane (1901-82), one of the great Gaelic poets of the 20th century (born at its outset and destined to experience those extraordinary decades) and also a village poet who was little known outside of the island or even his own community.

      Unlike McTell, MacFarlane did achieve recognition and even a level of stardom during the last 15 years or so of his life, when his songs were performed by the 1970s Gaelic Folk Group, Na h-Òganaich. I am conscious that this reply is turning into an essay, so rather than further advance a theory that McTell and MacFarlane were two of a kind, artistic brothers born into different (though not so very different) traditions and worlds, I’ll leave you with a link to a documentary about MacFarlane’s life which might be of interest. It’s in Gaelic with English subtitles, and in five parts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKhJtXNgWu8

      I’ll keep an eye out for Scottish dates, and, as I haven’t so subtly implied, I am sure that a talk on Blind Willie McTell would go down a treat in Lewis...

      Gach dùrachd,

      Ruairidh

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  9. Anonymous10 November, 2013

    There's no real point to my commenting, since I won't have the chance to attend one of your talks. I have lived in Greece for the past decade or so, and rarely get back to the UK. It does strike me though that when I got into Dylan in the late 80s and early 90s there never seemed to be much on for fans, and even news of Bob seemed rare. I used to have to travel up to London to see the man himself, and his visit to Cardiff in 1995 seemed a major event. I would have loved to attend a talk in Newport back in those days and meet one of the major Dylanologists, meet other fans etc. Wish I could be there, but right now it feels like I'm a million miles away.

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