Is It Rolling, Bob? Talking Dylan9 Aug 2020

Rufus Jones

Actor Rufus Jones (writer and co-star of Channel 4’s Home) has hardly answered the BobPhone before he confesses that, despite his Cambridge English degree, “Dylan still scares the hell out of me”. But he’s relieved that “Bob’s entering a 'jolly grandpa' phase. He seems less concerned with preserving the myth”.

Rufus references Beyoncé, the Eagles (“the story of the Eagles is better than the sound of the Eagles”), T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Hieronymus Bosch and Christopher Ricks before moving on, via Desolation Row, to the enigma that is Murder Most Foul (“it reads like bad poetry but sings like good poetry”).

In an episode recorded before the release of Rough And Rowdy Ways, theories are promulgated, lines dissected and numerology explored. Murder Most Foul is “a confounding song. He takes a piece of real life and spins it into something abstract and horrific.” Join us for a dark but enlightening day in Dallas.

Rufus Jones began his career as part of the sketch comedy group Dutch Elm Conservatoire. In the West End, he appeared in the hit comedy Dead Funny. His acclaimed TV series Home was nominated for a BAFTA. Other television work includes three series as David Wilkes in W1A, Four Lives, Flack, Loaded, Stag, Fresh Meat, Trying Again, The Casual Vacancy, Bob Servant, Hunderby and Holy Flying Circus (as Terry Jones). His films include Stan And Ollie, The Foreigner, Paddington and Silent Night (due for a Christmas 2020 release).

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Recorded 15th June 2020

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