Photographer dishes on Bob Dylan friendship
Photographer Jerry Schatzberg has taken some of the most iconic photos of singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. He spoke to Fox News about their relationship.
If you’re going to a Bob Dylan concert anytime soon, you better leave behind the selfie stick.
Billboard reported Thursday that during a recent show in Vienna, Austria, the 77-year-old folk icon made it clear he wasn’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more or perform in a sea of fans holding up their phones.
BOB DYLAN'S 'BLONDE ON BLONDE' COVER WAS AN ACCIDENT
According to the music publication, Dylan paused when an eager viewer broke his no-nonsense no photos rule. In video footage captured by Stereogum on Instagram, a fed-up Dylan mumbled something about “pictures” into the mic. He then walked backward and tripped over a guitar monitor, stumbling and nearly hitting the floor.
“Take pictures or don’t take pictures,” Dylan barked on the mic. “We can either play or we can pose, OK?”
The music news site shared Dylan left the stage after that and the band closed the show with an instrumental version of “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.” The 1965 track has been the finale throughout his tour.
Rolling Stone noted Dylan has had a strict no photos policy in his concerts for years, but that hasn’t stopped fans from whipping out their cellphones and attempting to snap a few images or record videos before security swarms with flashlights. Audiences are also informed before Dylan’s performances that photographs are forbidden.
The incident also marked the first time Dylan had spoken to the crowd in some time. Audiences used to only hear his speaking voice when he introduced the band, but he has stopped doing that about two years ago.
The music magazine reported Dylan’s ongoing European tour wraps May 7 in Valencia, Spain. After a six-week break, he heads back to Europe for another run of dates that features two co-headlining shows with Neil Young in London and Kilkenny, Ireland.
Photographer Jerry Schatzberg previously worked with the star during one of the singer’s most pivotal moments of his life, when he had shocked his fans by going electric. In October 2018, Schatzberg, 91, told Fox News about his dear friend that “what Dylan wants, Dylan gets.” He also shared Dylan is famously wary of the press and notoriously private.
“I fell in love with his music, as everybody else did,” Schatzberg explained at the time. “And it just evolved. And we got along personally... He’s not very open and cordial to the press. He doesn’t like being asked questions and they’re always asking the same ones. It’s just not him. But he knew he had to put up with it for a while. I’m sure he still does.”
“In my way of thinking, and maybe I met too many people in my life, I don’t find him so inaccessible,” added Schatzberg. “He wasn’t inaccessible to me. Sure, I was intimidated at first… But he’s just a real person with an extraordinary talent.”
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