"first reaction to him was negative"

I well remember lunchtimes in the school music-room listening to obscure material including some memorable illegal imports from the States. My 1st impressions of raw deep-south blues was almost shock/horror, but I soon got the bug.

Then one fine day a friend came in the room saying "you gotta listen to this" and placed Dylan's 1st album on the turntable. Who the ****'s this!? was everyone's reaction, and my friend thought we were philistines.

It was 1962, and we were 15 years old - crazy about the Everley's, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters & Jerry Lee - this was like something we'd never heard.

Within a week I'd bought a harmonica and started playing (if that's the right term for it) along with the songs. Not long afterwards came the guitar (when I could afford it - cheap crap that it was) and in 1964 my 1st holiday away with my mates, and it was Dylan songs all the way round the camp-sites of Scotland. To this day I'm sure there are many old folk who remember how 4 young lads wrecked their holiday.