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(Credits: Far Out \/ Joost Evers \/ Anefo \/ Dutch National Archives)<\/p>\n
Thu 19 March 2026 8:25, UK <\/p>\n
Trying to bring a band back together is no easy feat. One must navigate so many social pitfalls that it can often be a task not worth undertaking. However, Bob Dylan<\/a> would set about one of the most unlikely reunions in tribute to an American icon. <\/p>\n Celebrating the life and times of an icon is enough to stir something in musicians. For the most part, legacy is what artists work towards, certainly more so than fame and fortune. And so, when offered the chance to pay tribute to a legend like Roy Orbison, the music world can put aside their differences and agree to pay homage to a giant of the industry. The Byrds were one such band. <\/p>\n Orbison\u2019s position as one of the most gifted singer sof his generation is undeniable. Melancholy and musical in every note, it was he who opened the door for bands like The Byrds to find fame in the 1960s. Without Orbison, there is a whole swathe of artists who simply wouldn\u2019t have made the grade. <\/p>\n The Byrds are a band who never quite received the same level of adoration from the masses in comparison to some of their contemporaries. However, this didn\u2019t stop the group from being able to count the likes of Bob Dylan as supporting fans and, during their reunion at a Roy Orbison tribute show in 1990, he even gave them a helping hand.<\/p>\n At the time of the planned concert, there was a bitter legal dispute that had been settled, which resulted in the three members of The Byrds, who were touring at the time, having to be renamed the Original Byrds. It came after drummer Michael Clarke won the rights to the band name. Despite the legal issues, that didn\u2019t deter Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman and David Crosby<\/a> from reuniting with a special extra member.<\/p>\n The result of this dispute truly angered Crosby. \u201cFirst Gene [Clark] went around with a very, very bad band, calling it the Byrds,\u201d he told\u00a0Spin\u00a0in 1991. \u201cWell, OK. Gene was one of the original writer-singer guys. But when it gets to be Michael Clarke the drummer \u2014 who never wrote anything or sang anything \u2014 going out there with an even worse band, and claiming to be the Byrds\u2026 and they can\u2019t play the stuff. It was dragging the name in the dirt.\u201d Things had become unmanageable.<\/p>\n The bad blood didn\u2019t manage to put a dampener on their appearance at the 1990 Roy Orbison Tribute in Los Angeles, however, an event in which they still managed to steal the show. By doing so, they proved that it\u2019s only the music that matters rather than the superficial stuff that comes part and parcel with becoming a brand rather than a band. <\/p>\n On a bill that was shared with the likes of Iggy Pop, BB King and Johnny Lee Hooker, the band knew that they had to deliver a show-stopping performance, and that is exactly what they did. The Californian outfit only performed a four-song set, one which was kickstarted with a cover of Pete Seeger\u2019s \u2018Turn! Turn! Turn!\u2019, a number which The Byrds had originally covered in 1965 before a rendition of \u2018Eight Miles High\u2019.<\/p>\n However, the second half of their set was even more spectacular when McGuinn told the audience at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles: \u201cWell, this song was, um, our first single,\u201d before they broke into \u2018Mr. Tambourine Man\u2019. <\/p>\n During the second verse, the freewheelin\u2019 Bob Dylan<\/a> dramatically entered the stage to provide assistance on his iconic song that helped birth The Byrds\u2019 career all those decades before. <\/p>\n Dylan then stuck around for the final song of the set, which was another cover of his material, a barnstorming take on his track \u2018He Was A Friend Of Mine\u2019, which went down a delight with the crowd. Although his appearance with the group wasn\u2019t the most choreographed collaboration of all time, there is something about the seemingly spontaneous nature of it all that makes it so impressive.<\/p>\n Watch footage of their performance of \u2018Mr. Tambourine Man\u2019, below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/a> The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter<\/p>\n