 Bob Dylan at the Royal Albert Hall, 1965-2024George Harrison: "The people who walked out must have been idiots” |
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Bob Dylan just announced his first shows at London’s Royal Festival Hall since 1964! Inspired by that, I’ve dusted off a draft I started a while back, looking at a similarly-named iconic London venue he’s played much more often…
The Royal Albert Hall looms larger in Bob Dylan lore than it perhaps should. As you may already know, his most famous “Royal Albert Hall” show did not, in fact, take place at the Royal Albert Hall. Fans misattributed the famous “Judas” show to the wrong location for years, when in fact it took place in Manchester. The fourth Bootleg Series was even titled Live 1966, The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert—that’s why “Royal Albert Hall” is in quotes. They should have subtitled it The Manchester Free Trade Hall concert, but that’s not how most fans knew Dylan’s most famous show.
When I went to research this, I also discovered he’s played the Royal Albert Hall fewer times than I expected. I’d considered it the UK’s equivalent to the Beacon Theatre for Dylan, but he’s played the Beacon 47 times and the Royal Albert Hall just 15. Not even close. It’s not even the venue he’s played the most in London; that would be the Hammersmith Odeon (now the Hammersmith Apollo), primarily due to several long residencies there in the early 1990s.
This is not a knock at the iconic venue—I went there in 2024, and it’s truly stunning. Just a note that I’d associated it more with Bob than I maybe should have. He’s played Vorst Nationaal in Brussels as many times as he’s played the Royal Albert Hall, and I’ve never heard anyone waxing rhapsodic about whatever that is.
In fact, Dylan has visited the Royal Albert Hall on just five occasions. Interestingly, every single visit was for a residency, at least a short one. He has never played a single stand-alone show at the venue. Two nights minimum every time. Even the Beacon had a one-off the last time he played it. The Beacon, though, he didn’t play until 1989 (surprising, right?). Dylan’s Royal Albert Hall run started all the way back in…
1965 — May 9, 10
In 1965, on the tour we all know from Dont Look Back, Dylan played two shows at the Royal Albert Hall. The day before the first show, outside the Savoy Hotel a couple miles away, he filmed a short video to include in the movie. Perhaps you’ve seen it before:
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