The Barrowlands venue is an old, run down ball room in a seedy area of Glasgow in Scotland. The concert tickets were put on sale at the last minute, having not been publicised – I think the show was an after thought. My friend rang me at work to tell me about the concert and I was so delighted to get three tickets. I went with my son Joe (Dylan!) and partner Jim. We were near the front, standing room only, and the place was buzzing. The crowd was relatively small, maybe only a couple of thousand at the most. When Bob sang ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’, we all joined in. Same with ‘Like a Rollin’ Stone’ and ‘Just Like a Woman’. I swear the walls were about to come down – the sound was just enormous.
Bob was loving it – he was smiling and playing with the lyrics, trying to catch us out with the rhythm of his delivery – but hey, we were up to the challenge and sang our hearts out! At the end of ‘Like a Rollin’ Stone’ Bob said “You’re the best singing’ audience I’ve ever heard! We’ve sung that song a thousand times, and nobody can sing with it!”
I have seen Bob a lot throughout my life, and this was without question the best ever atmosphere. To see him getting so much pleasure out of giving so much was very moving.