The Jester Sang for the King and Queen
By Ron Rybs
@Ronrybs (17957)
London, England
September 29, 2023 12:26pm CST
Into the ‘Smoke’ and a little wander around Fitzrovia. I have been passing a Pub, on Cleveland Street, but only recently discovered that Bob Dylan played his first UK gig here.
Dylan was in the UK for a BBC play and on December 23 1962, he performed in the upstairs room of the King and Queen Pub, on Cleveland Street.
The title of this article is taken from Don McLean’s song American Pie. There has been much speculation over the interpretation of the lyrics and it wasn’t until 2015 when the original notes of the song were sold that some clarity was achieved.
Dylan was the Jester, but majority opinion favours Pete Seegar and Joan Baez as the King and Queen. Sitting in the bar with a beer, guess which version I prefer!
Incidentally, the Fitzrovia district of London gets its name from Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton. Henry was the illegitimate son of King Charles II and his surname was derived from the French Fils=son and Roi=king.
Just in case the picture feature is still not working I have uploaded some piccies to Flickr.
In the UK to film play for the BBC, Bob Dylan played his first UK gig in the room over the bar. December 23 1962
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5 responses
@RebeccasFarm (86976)
• United States
29 Sep
Lovely pics Ron..I do seem to recall passing that pub.
I never knew the history of it.
Now the King and Queen Pete and Joan
The auld Bob Dylan too.
Followed you on there too Ron Flckr.
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@RebeccasFarm (86976)
• United States
1 Oct
@Ronrybs Yes thanks for reminding me about Flickr..yeah I do that every now and again..forget to hit comment lol
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@snowy22315 (171267)
• United States
29 Sep
A bit of interesting trivia there Thanks.
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