In what is a headline that admittedly sounds fake but somehow actually isn’t, Bob Dylan has this week revealed himself to be a Coronation Street fan.
While we obviously know that the long-running ITV soap – which is set in the fictional Manchester suburb of Weatherfield, and celebrated an impressive 60 years of entertaining the masses back in 2020 – currently averages around six million viewers per episode, and has a legion of loyal fans, we just can’t say we expected that one of the most revered singer-songwriters of all time was one of those fans.
Taking us by surprise in a recent interview, Bob Dylan admitted that he is, in fact, a Corrie fan, and it’s all because the soap makes him “feel at home”.
That’s right, he may have been born and raised in Minnesota, he may have sold millions of records, and he may have a whopping 10 Grammys, an Oscar, and even the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature to his name, but the music icon says he feels just “at home” watching a soap opera set in Manchester as us Mancs do.
In a rare interview, Bob Dylan shares candid thoughts on streaming music (“too smooth and painless”), social media (“a wonderful thing”) and his scattered creative process https://t.co/49BBJtrR8w
Opening up and giving an insight into his life and career that has spanned the best part of six decades, Dylan spoke to the Wall Street Journal to share his thoughts on creativity, current songwriting process, the explosion of technology and culture during the mid-20th century, and life in the TikTok age.
ADVERTISEMENT
He also spoke a little about his lockdown experience, and it seems Coronation Street was a part of helping him pass the time.
He told WSJ: “I recently binged Coronation Street, Father Brown, and some early Twilight Zones. I know they’re old-fashioned, but they make me feel at home. I’m no fan of packaged programs or news shows.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I never watch anything foul-smelling or evil. Nothing disgusting, nothing dog ass.”
Coronation Street / Credit: ITV
Dylan did admit though that he thinks he may be a bit “too old” for binge-watching programmes nowadays, explaining: “Two or three hours in front of the tube is a lot of binge watching for me. Too much time to be involved with the screen. Or maybe I’m too old for it.”
He also added that technology “doesn’t really help” him relax.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’m too relaxed, too laid-back,” he continued, “Most of the time I feel like a flat tire, unmotivated, positively lifeless. It takes a lot to get me stimulated, and I’m an excessively sensitive person, which complicates things.
“I can be totally at ease one minute, and then, for no reason whatsoever, I get restless and fidgety – there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground.”
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
Trending
Alex Sanderson summons Rudyard Kipling as Sale Sharks scrape into the semi-finals
Danny Jones
Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson referenced the famous Rudyard Kipling after Sale Sharks managed to book their place in the playoffs of this year’s Gallagher Premiership following a nail-biter of a fixture against Exeter Chiefs.
The Sharks sealed their spot in the semi-finals with a 30-26 win over the Chiefs on Saturday night, with a trio of tries, a singular pen and calmness when it came to conversions proving just enough to make it to full time.
Speaking on the narrow score at Sandy Park, Sanderson himself applauded that same composure during his post-match duties, casually quoting Kipling ahead of the next big game.
Writing on social media after nerves had just about settled, the club simply said: “Apologies for raising the heart rate, Sharks Family… but Saturday we go again.”
Beginning with an expression of that same defiant spirit that has seen them across the line on so many occasions, the 45-year-old told TNT Sports, “We got another Monday in us.”
The Sale Sharks coach went on to add: “So if you can keep your head, when everybody else is losing theirs – I think that’s the old Rudyard Kipling poem – you’re in such a better place on the back of that, knowing what we can fix from the Leicester game and what we can do better from today.”
It’s not every day you hear sportsmen calling up the poetic words of the beloved British-India writer, but it certainly impressed plenty of supporters, though Sanderson has always been popular among fans for his candour and charisma in interviews.
Ultimately, it was Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, Bevan Rodd, Luke Cowan-Dickie and George Ford that the Greater Manchester outfit had to thank for the electrifying finish
You can see how much it meant, clear as day…
Not done yet…
Thank you for your support Sharks Family, it’s truly appreciated!
Sale Sharks will now take on Leicester Tigers (who the local side finished just behind in third place following the result against the Chiefs) in the Premiership semis as they look to get revenge for previous painful meetings
Are you feeling hopeful, Sharks Family?
You can see the full highlights from Sale Sharks’ tense victory over the Exeter Chiefs down below.
Alex Sanderson channelled Rudyard Kipling and Sale scrapped like true Sharks.
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
20th December 2022 
