Eye-witness account of Dylan at the Troubadour, London, 18 Dec 1962

Thanks to Kevin Jackson in Dublin:

“At a recent funeral for a long-time Dylan fan, I met traditional Irish musician Johnny Moynihan (he played with several groups, including De Dannan and Planxty).

“At the graveside, Johnny joined other musicians in accompanying the singing of 'Every Grain of Sand'. Chatting afterwards, he mentioned casually that his first meeting with Dylan had been in The Troubadour, in 1962.

“Johnny was playing there on December 18 of that year. Martin Carthy arrived, accompanied by ‘an unknown young American guy’. When the American guy (Dylan) sang, Johnny's memory was that everyone was blown away. ‘Very impressive’ were the words he used to describe it.

By the way, a YouTube search for 'Johnny Moynihan' will turn up videos of him playing, usually with Planxty or De Dannan. Now in his 70s, he is still plays an active role in the traditional music scene in Ireland. Lately, he plays a lot of ‘Old Timey’ Americana material.”