Bob Dylan Discusses Drug Problems On ‘Lost’ Sixties Interview


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A previously unheard Bob Dylan interview, originally recorded in 1966, sheds light on the legendary songwriter’s battles with drugs during the Sixties.

BBC News quotes Dylan, who conducted the interview with his close friend Robert Shelton, being unusually candid about his use of heroin, saying: “I kicked a heroin habit in New York City.”

“I got very, very strung out for a while, I mean really, very strung out. And I kicked the habit. I had about a $25-a-day habit and I kicked it.”

Later, Dylan also discussed his suicidal tendencies at the time, admitting that to him, ‘death means nothing’.

“Death to me is nothing, death to me means nothing as long as I can die fast,” he confesses. “Many times I’ve known I could have been able to die fast, and I could have easily gone over and done it. I’ll admit to having this suicidal thing, but I came through this time.”

The tapes were first unearthed during research for an updated edition of Shelton’s Dylan biography No Direction Home, which is being published as part of the celebrations to mark Dylan’s 70th birthday.


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