Stealing Bob Dylan from Woodstock 50 years on
It is 50 years since the young Ray Foulk (23) with brother Ronnie (24) secured one of the greatest coups in rock history by bringing Dylan (then the world's greatest and most reclusive rock star) from Woodstock - where the eponymous festival had been sited to entice him to come out and play. What an acheivement! Dylan played the Isle of Wight instead and it would be his only pre-announced concert in a 7 year period. The Foulks by the way were barely out of short trousers. Ronnie was an estate agent and Ray a printer. The image below shows brand new impressario, Ray in 1970. What happened the following year was even more extraordinary.
Reading your piece on Dylan’s stolen set pulled me straight back to the summer I spent at a tiny music festival in upstate New York when I was fifteen. I remember the crowd buzzing with anticipation, the stage lights dimming, and a lone guitarist stepping up to cover a missing act. The way the audience collectively held its breath reminded me of that chaotic moment at Woodstock when Dylan vanished from the lineup, only to reappear later in a different guise. I can still hear the raw, unpolished chords echoing through the fields, the smell of pine and campfire smoke mixing with the electric tension. It wasn’t just a song; it was a shared secret, a spontaneous act of resilience…