{"id":753230,"date":"2026-02-09T18:10:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T18:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/753230\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T18:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T18:10:16","slug":"bob-dylans-first-ever-glasgow-show-protests-set-list-and-rare-audio-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/753230\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Dylan’s First Ever Glasgow Show – Protests, Set List, And Rare Audio | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bob Dylan<\/strong> has long been fascinated by Scottish culture. The songwriter has continually expressed admiration for Robert Burns, citing his song \u2018A Red, Red Rose\u2019 as a formative influence<\/a><\/strong>. His 1997 song \u2018Highlands\u2019 praised the country\u2019s natural beauty \u2013 perhaps a factor in the American legend investing in a Speyside hotel. The songwriter\u2019s relationship with Glasgow got off to a rocky start, however \u2013 a show in 1966 was beset by protests, confrontation, and an act of vandalism.<\/p>\n

The backdrop is Bob Dylan\u2019s conversion from folkie to rock star, injecting some electricity into his work. As the biopic A Complete Unknown makes clear<\/a><\/strong>, the conversion was met by opposition in some quarters \u2013 not least those in the UK.<\/p>\n

The songwriter\u2019s famous show at Manchester\u2019s Albert Hall in May 1966 has gone down in legend, with the cry of \u201cJudas!\u201d being caught on tape. Later released as part of the Bootleg Series<\/a><\/strong>, Dylan said of the call: \u201cJudas, the most hated name in human history! If you think you\u2019ve been called a bad name, try to work your way out from under that. Yeah, and for what? For playing an electric guitar?\u201d<\/p>\n

The day after his trip to Manchester, Bob Dylan appeared in Glasgow for his first ever show in the city. <\/p>\n

The concert took place on May 18th, 1966 the Odeon Cinema on Renfield Street, with Bob Dylan playing all acoustic in the first half, before welcoming onstage The Hawks<\/strong> \u2013 later renamed The Band <\/strong>\u2013 in the second half.<\/p>\n

While the acoustic section was greeted peacefully, the appearance of a rock \u2018n\u2019 roll group brought forth condemnation from some areas of the venue. Glasgow\u2019s Young Socialists group\u00a0made their opinion clear, loudly protesting the electrified music.<\/p>\n

Responding to continual chants of \u201cwe want Dylan,\u201d the music legend quipped back: \u201cDylan got sick backstage. I\u2019m here to take his place\u201d.<\/p>\n

Years later fan Frank Carolan<\/strong> \u2013 who had been in the audience \u2013 told\u00a0The Scotsman:<\/a>\u00a0\u201cI just couldn\u2019t get my head around the booing. Here was one of the most amazing songwriters ever on stage and trying to take his music into a new vein. His expansion of the music was to me total eye opener. Bob wasn\u2019t content unless he was trying new things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow fan Sadie Lawn<\/strong> commented: \u201cThere was nearly bloodshed when the electric guitars started. People were walking out and shouting about him being a sell-out and things like \u2018you\u2019ll never be a Woody Guthrie\u2019, but it soon calmed down into a fantastic concert.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reference to Woody Guthrie is curiously ironic \u2013 the only time Woody Guthrie set foot on the British Isles was a short stint in Glasgow<\/a><\/strong> as a seaman during the Second World War.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the full set list:<\/p>\n

Acoustic<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Desolation Row
Just Like a Woman
Mr Tambourine Man<\/p>\n

Electric\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tell Me, Momma
I Don\u2019t Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Met)
Baby, Let Me Follow You Down\u00a0
Just Like Tom Thumb\u2019s Blues\u00a0
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat\u00a0
One Too Many Mornings\u00a0
Ballad of a Thin Man\u00a0
Like a Rolling Stone<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

As GlasgowWorld points out<\/a><\/strong>, the problems didn\u2019t end with the crowd. During their short stay in Glasgow, Dylan\u2019s crew suffered a vandalised tour bus with some equipment being stolen.<\/p>\n

Staying in the North British Hotel adjacent\u00a0Queen Street Station<\/a>, Dylan and his entourage ordered food to their room. On its arrival, the waiter \u2013 seemingly a disgruntled folkie \u2013 branded him \u201ca f*****g traitor to folk music\u201d, sparking a confrontation with Dylan\u2019s security man Tom Keylock.<\/p>\n

In spite of it all, the music won out \u2013 Bob Dylan sat down in the hotel room to jam with The Hawks \/ Band member Robbie Robertson, and someone left the tape rolling. Revisit that curio below \u2013 <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The following day Bob Dylan travelled to Edinburgh to continue the tour, but he didn\u2019t seem to let the ruptures of his 196 tour spoil his impression of Glasgow. The songwriter has returned numerous times, with one notable show coming in 2004 \u2013 opting to play the intimate (by his standards) Barrowland Ballroom venue, the rapport between the usually taciturn songwriter and passionate Glasgow crowd brought forth a quite scintillating performance.<\/p>\n

Revisit that show below.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bob Dylan has long been fascinated by Scottish culture. The songwriter has continually expressed admiration for Robert Burns,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":753231,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[39538,748,918,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-753230","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-bob-dylan","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-glasgow","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-scotland","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116042021222666554","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}