The offer didn’t come out of nowhere. In a rare interview with The Wall Street Journal, Dylan revealed he was a fan of the show, saying it made him feel “at home”.
And as partial to jump on the opportunity as Gail Platt is for a bit of gossip, Corrie producer Iain MacLeod has said they would be keen to have Dylan appear on the show – as part of an open-mic karaoke night with the soap’s stalwarts Ken Barlow and Rita Sullivan.
Dylan has played high-profile venues around the world for decades, and now the salt-of-the-earth setting of the Rovers Return pub awaits him.
Could Bob Dylan end up performing at the Rovers Return?
“To hear that Bob Dylan is a Coronation Street viewer blows my mind,” MacLeod told The Daily Telegraph. “I would absolutely love the idea of him turning up in the Rovers Return one night.
“Maybe we could write in an open mic night and a mysterious singer could roll in out of the Manchester rain and do a turn… I think Ken would certainly be a fan. Rita is also no stranger to a musical number, so perhaps a duet could be on the cards.”
In his original interview, Dylan said he was a fan of Coronation Street along with BBC show Father Brown, which is based on short stories by G.K. Chesterton, and sci-fi anthology series The Twilight Zone.
“I’m no fan of packaged programmes or news shows,” Dylan said. “I never watch anything foul-smelling or evil. Nothing disgusting, nothing dog ass.”
And whilst his love for the cobbled streets of Weatherfield might sound surprising, as MacLeod has further said, there might be some explanation. “Both [Dylan] and Coronation Street established their reputations in the 1960s, both have championed working-class voices and causes, both tell stories with a particular sensibility and sense of humour.”
Dylan released his first eponymously titled album in 1962, around two years after the first episode of Corrie was broadcast. Whether that’ll be enough to sway Dylan to take up the offer remains to be seen. Stranger things have happened (I think).
