Playing the electric violin on Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat

The first time I met Bob Dylan was in July 1984, when he played at Slane castle in county Meath. The castle sits in a natural amphitheatre on the banks of the mighty river Boyne and was a perfect setting for a music festival. My band InTuaNua were at the bottom of a bill which included UB40 and Carlos Santana. We performed early in the day to the first arriving stragglers of a gathering throng. By the time Bob appeared, late in the evening, the host had become forty thousand strong. I am sure the banks of the Boyne had not seen this large a gathering since William of Orange met with the Jacobites in 1690. After our early set we stayed on to watch the concert and the famous guests hanging about backstage. There’s Bill Graham the promoter whizzing about on a quad, over there, Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem huddled in a doorway in close conversation and over there by an oak, Van Morrisson and his daughter and there’s Bono with his cowboy hat. 

A tall American guy came over and told us that Bob would like to meet ‘the fiddler and the singer’. He brought Leslie Dowdall and myself over to see Bob in his quarters, an oasis of peace and tranquility away from the madding crowd. Bob came out of his tent to greet us, casually smoking a cigarette. Dylan’s eyes were startling and lined with heavy black eyeliner. He was wearing a jungle print shirt hanging open to the waist and a very robust looking pair of biker boots with brass hoops at the ankles. He looked otherworldly and spoke quietly. Bob praised InTuaNua and asked if Leslie and I would join him for a song during his set. Bob suggested that we play ‘Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat’. ‘It’s a regular blues’ he drawled in his familiar voice. All the while photographers were taking photos of our chat. That was it, we met Bob Dylan! The burly American guy brought us back to the real world and we managed to blag some more catering for the band along the way.  

Dylan’s set was an amazing mix of his back catalogue and songs from ‘Infidels’ the new record at the time. He opened with Highway 61 and from the start he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. About halfway through the show, Bob dismissed the band. It was just him, his harmonica, and an acoustic guitar. When he put his lips to blow his quirky harmonica for the first time the crowd went ballistic. His version of ‘With God on Our Side’ was really haunting and special. The band came back and Van Morrison joined him for a couple of numbers, ‘Tupelo Honey’ and ‘It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.’ We had been told that we were on after Van, Leslie and I knew that we were next. We got the nod. Dylan introduced us and I made my way on stage right (Leslie walked on with Bono on the other side) and I looked across to Dylan and then out to the huge crowd. The sight of the audience was mind boggling. In that moment, they looked like a meadow of tall waving grass and near the back a beautiful girl was flying a kite. Time stood still and a three-minute song became a whole lifetime. Smiling over at me as I walked on was Ian McLagan, a mighty hammond organ player who had been in the Small Faces and was now touring with Bob. Ian welcomed me onstage and said ‘mate enjoy yourself’. Mick Taylor nodded to me and over in the corner Carlos Santana was looking at me from behind his shades. Dylan was centre stage in an island of huge vocal monitors. Bob sang a couple of verses and then Bono came in for a verse, then back to Bob for a verse. The band were smoking with a powerful blues groove, then Bob looked over to me and with a nod of his head towards the crowd, I knew it was my time to solo. Sink or swim time, I wandered closer to the centre and got a big cheer from the crowd as I played. Luckily for me, John Dunford (InTuaNua’s soundman) was at the mixing desk and found me a good sound. It is tough to get an electric violin heard above Carlos Santana’s and Mick Taylor’s riffing guitars but if anyone could it was JD. Mick Taylor followed my solo and lifted the roof, then the two guitars of Taylor and Santana carried everyone away.