Float through any social event with M's fast facts. This week Rick Arthur celebrates the life and times of the iconic US singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, who turns 70 on Tuesday
THE BASICS Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, on May 24, 1941, Bob Dylan has been a force in music for five decades. Few would disagree that he was the most influential songwriter of the 20th century. He was assuredly among the most brilliant and prolific.
THE BEGINNINGS AND BEYOND Dylan was inspired by Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. He made his name in coffee houses, and went on to arenas, stadiums and worldwide tours. He influenced - how's this to start? - The Byrds, The Band, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tom Waits. He plays about 100 dates a year on The Never Ending Tour, which began in June 1988.
THE CLASSIC SONGS If you don't recognise these, we pity you: All Along the Watchtower; Blowin' in the Wind; Don't Think Twice, It's All Right; I Shall Be Released; It's All Over Now, Baby Blue; It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding); John Wesley Harding; Just Like a Woman; Knockin' on Heaven's Door; Lay Lady Lay; Like a Rolling Stone; Mr Tambourine Man; Shelter from the Storm; Subterranean Homesick Blues; Tangled up in Blue; The Times They Are a-Changin'.
THE CLASSIC ALBUMS The folk singer/protest singer/voice of a generation released six classic albums in just three years: The Freewheelin'Bob Dylan (May 1963), The Times They Are a-Changin' (January 1964), Another Side of Bob Dylan (August 1964), Bringing It All Back Home (March 1964), Highway 61 Revisited (August 1965) and Blonde on Blonde (May 1966).
MOTORCYCLE MYSTERY Dylan crashed his Triumph Tiger motorcycle near his home in Woodstock, New York, on July 29, 1966. He said he broke several vertebrae in his neck, but there was speculation that he was brain damaged or dead, and mystery still shrouds the incident. Apart from a few select appearances, he did not tour for eight years.
GOING ELECTRIC Fans booed Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1965, when he had the audacity to perform his first electric set since his high school days. Another account cites poor sound quality and a set of only three songs for the ire. Still, the folk establishment went ballistic - and Dylan lashed back with the vitriolic Positively 4th Street.
AUTHOR AND ARTIST Dylan's experimental collection of writings, Tarantula, was published in 1970. His autobiography, Chronicles: Volume One, released in 2004, is an international best-seller. He published a collection of his drawings in Drawn Blank in 1994. In 2007, an exhibition of more than 200 of his paintings made that year from the drawings, The Drawn Blank Series, opened in Chemnitz, Germany. There is also a book, Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series.
THE NAME GAME, PART ONE Dylan took his name from the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. He said he went with "Bob" so as not to be confused with Bobby Darin, Bobby Rydell and Bobby Vee.
THE NAME GAME, PART TWO Dylan has used the names Elston Gunn, Blind Boy Grunt, Bob Landy, Robert Milkwood Thomas, Tedham Porterhouse, Lucky Wilbury, Boo Wilbury, Jack Frost and Sergei Petrov.
THE DISSENTING OPINION The British rock journalist Nik Cohn, the Australian critic Jack Marx and the clearly envious singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell should all just shut up.
Rick Arthur is M magazine's deputy editor. He saw Bob Dylan & The Band on February 14, 1974, in Inglewood, California, the last concert of their Planet Waves tour. He sings Like a Rolling Stone, badly, at karaoke.
Dylan on film
In addition to all his other talents, Dylan has acted in several films and has been the subject of many documentaries. Among the most noteworthy:
DON'T LOOK BACK (1967) Directed by DA Pennebaker, this documentary follows Dylan on a concert tour of the UK in 1965. It features Joan Baez, Donovan, Alan Price and Albert Grossman.
PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID (1973) In his acting debut in this Western directed by the legendary Sam Peckinpah, Dylan plays a character named Alias. "Should have used one," sniffed the Chicago Sun-Times.
RENALDO AND CLARA (1978) Written and directed by Dylan, the first version of this bizarre film - a mix of concert footage and fictional role-playing - was four hours long and highly criticised. He then edited it down to two hours. Dylan and his then-wife, Sara, play the title characters.
NO DIRECTION HOME (2005) This acclaimed Martin Scorsese documentary chronicles Dylan from 1961 to 1966 as he evolved from folk singer to chronicler and reluctant figurehead of social unrest to rock star. Scorsese in 1978 had made The Last Waltz, a documentary on the farewell tour of The Band, in which Dylan appeared.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
India squads
Test squad against Afghanistan: Rahane (c), Dhawan, Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Karun, Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Umesh, Shami, Pandya, Ishant, Thakur.
T20 squad against Ireland and England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Raina, Pandey, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh.
ODI squad against England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Shreyas, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
Fixtures
Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
The specs: 2019 Subaru Forester
Price, base: Dh105,900 (Premium); Dh115,900 (Sport)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 239Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.1L / 100km (estimated)
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work