Does Bob Dylan like Coronation Street? What singer said about ITV soap in new interview

In a rare new interview, Bob Dylan revealed himself to be a fan of ITV soap Coronation Street, and American rapper Eminem.

The interview promotes Dylan’s new book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, which was released last month. The book initially attracted controversy after it was discovered that Dylan had used something called an autopen to lend his signature to select copies of the book which had been advertised as hand signed.

There were 900 copies of the “signed” book, which was sold for $599 (£420). Fans discovered that the signatures weren’t the real deal after they started sharing pictures of their copies online, where it became evident that each book held an identical signature.

Both Dylan and his publisher, Simon & Schuster, apologised for the incident , which the singer described as an “error in judgement”.

What did Bob Dylan say about Coronation Street?

Dylan told the Wall Street Journal that he had recently “binged” episodes of Coronation Street, admitting that the ITV soap, along with the likes of Father Brown and early episodes of Twilight Zone, were his guilty pleasures.

He said: “I know they’re old fashioned, but they make me feel at home. I’m no fan of packaged programs or news shows. I never watch anything foul-smelling or evil. Nothing disgusting, nothing dog ass.”

After revealing that he was a fan of the show, Coronation Street producers have offered Dylan a walk-on part on the programme, saying that they would have him sing karaoke with the likes of Ken Barlow and Rita Sullivan at an open mic night in the Rovers Return.

Producer Iain McLeod said: “To hear that Bob Dylan is a Coronation Street viewer blows my mind. I would absolutely love the idea of him turning up in the Rovers Return one night. Maybe we could write in an open mic night and a mysterious singer could roll in out of the Manchester rain and do a turn.”

He added: “I think Ken would certainly be a fan. Rita is also no stranger to a musical number, so perhaps a duet could be on the cards.”

McLeod also added that both Dylan and Coronation Street “established their reputations in the 1960s, both have championed working class voices and causes, both tell stories with a particular sensibility and sense of humour”.

What did he say about Eminem?

In the interview, Dylan also chatted about music, stating that he mostly discovered new music “by accident”, and praised a number of artists including Eminem, among others.

He described himself as a “fan of” Eminem and Wu-Tang Clan, for whom he praised their “feeling for words and language”, adding that he enjoys “anybody whose vision parallels mine”. Also included in his praise were that of Royal Blood, Celeste, Leonard Cohen, Ran N Bone Man and Nick Cave.

He added: “The Oasis brothers, I like them both. Julian Casablanca, the Klaxons, Grace Potter. I’ve seen Metallica twice. Zac Deputy, I’ve discovered him lately. He’s a one man show like Ed Sheeran, but he sits down when he plays.”

This isn’t the first time that Dylan has talked about Eminem - in a 2001 interview with Time, Dylan admitted that he didn’t know much about the rapper, but added: “I almost feel like if anything is controversial, the guy’s gotta be doing something right.”