Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author. Heylin has written extensively about

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

, especially on the life and work of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Education

Heylin attended

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

. He read history at

Bedford College, University of London Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a leading role in the advanceme ...

, followed by an MA in history at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

Work

Heylin has written extensively on the life and work of Bob Dylan, combining interviews with discographical research. His full-length biography ''Dylan: Behind the Shades'' (1991) was republished in a revised second edition as ''Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades – Take Two'' (UK edition, 2000) and ''Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited'' (US edition, 2001). Heylin published a detailed analysis of every song by Dylan in two volumes: ''Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan: Vol. 1: 1957–73'' (2009) and ''Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan: Vol. 2: 1974–2008'' (2010). These books analyse 610 songs written by Dylan, devoting a numbered section to each song. In 2011, to mark Dylan's 70th birthday, Heylin published ''Behind the Shades: The 20th Anniversary Edition'', which contained 60,000 words of new material to cover Dylan's work since 2000. He has also written biographies on

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

and

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...

. He received favourable reviews for his studies of

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

, ''Despite the System: Orson Welles versus the Hollywood Studios'', and of

Shakespeare's sonnets William Shakespeare (1565 –1616) wrote sonnets on a variety of themes. When discussing or referring to Shakespeare's sonnets, it is almost always a reference to the 154 sonnets that were first published all together in a quarto in 1609. Howe ...

, ''So Long As Men Can Breathe''. In 2012, Heylin published a book about the theme of mental illness in British rock music in the 1960s and 1970s. Titled ''All the Madmen'', it includes chapters on the Dialectics of Liberation conference of 1967,

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

's album ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973, by Capitol Records in the US and on 16 March 1973, by Harvest Records in the UK. Developed during live performances before ...

'',

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's theme of

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

in his songs,

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

's '' Quadrophenia'' album, and Nick Drake. Also in 2012, Heylin published ''E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band'', a biography of

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and an analysis of his achievements in the recording studio. In 2015, Heylin published ''It's One for the Money'', a history of song publishing since the birth of the popular music industry and the establishment of song copyrights at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 2016, Heylin published his history of UK

punk music Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

in the year 1976, ''Anarchy in the Year Zero: The Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Class of '76''. In October 2016, Heylin published his study of Bob Dylan's 1966 World Tour, ''Judas!: From Forest Hills to the Free Trade Hall: A Historical View of Dylan's Big Boo''. Heylin has also contributed the liner notes for the 36-CD set, '' Bob Dylan: The 1966 Live Recordings'', released by Sony/Legacy Recordings, which includes every known recording of Dylan’s 1966 concert tour. In 2017, Heylin published his account of Dylan's controversial "Born Again" Christian phase, ''Trouble In Mind: Bob Dylan's Gospel Years: What Really Happened''. The book complemented the release of '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981'', which consisted of a large number of out-takes and live performances from this period of Dylan's recording and performance career. In 2018, Heylin published his research into Dylan's recording of the Blood On The Tracks album, ''No One Else Could Play That Tune''. The book complemented the release of '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 14: More Blood, More Tracks'' which contained all available studio sessions for Blood On The Tracks. To tie in with Dylan's 80th birthday in May 2021, Heylin published ''The Double Life of Bob Dylan: Volume I: 1941–1966 A Restless, Hungry Feeling''. The first of two volumes, this biography is based on research by Heylin in the newly-established Bob Dylan archive in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. Andrew Motion wrote in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' that "Heylin has always been good on this aspect of Dylan’s story — concealment — hence the title of his first biography, and the way this new one repeats an idea of secrecy." In 2023, Heylin published The Double Life of Bob Dylan Volume 2: 1966-2021 - Far Away From Myself. This 836 page tome continued his project of revising his prior Dylan biographies by utilizing the resources of the Bob Dylan archive in

Books

* ''Saved! The Gospel Speeches of Bob Dylan''. Hanuman Books, NY & Madras, 1990. * ''Dylan Behind the Shades''. Penguin, UK; Simon & Schuster, US, 1991. *
Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions 1960–94
'. Penguin. UK; St Martin’s Press, US, 1995. * ''Dylan Day By Day: A Life in Stolen Moments''. Music Sales/Schirmer, 1996. * ''Dylan's Daemon Lover: The Story of a 450-Year Old Pop Ballad''. Helter Skelter, 1998. * ''Bob Dylan: Behind The Shades – Take Two''. Penguin-Viking, UK, 2000. * ''No More Sad Refrains: The Life & Times of Sandy Denny''. Helter Skelter, 2001. * ''Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited''. Harper-Collins, US, 2001. * ''Can You Feel the Silence? – Van Morrison: A New Biography''. Viking-Penguin, UK; Chicago Review Press, US, 2004. * ''Bootleg – The Rise & Fall of the Secret Recording Industry''. Omnibus Press, 2004. * ''Despite the System: Orson Welles Versus the Hollywood Studios''. Canongate, UK; Chicago Press Review, US, 2005. * ''All Yesterdays' Parties: The Velvet Underground in Print 1966–71''. Da Capo Press, 2005. * ''From the Velvets to the Voidoids: The Birth of American Punk''. Helter Skelter, UK; Chicago Review Press, US, 2005. * ''The Act You've Known For All These Years: A Year in the Life of Sgt Pepper & Friends''. Canongate-Grove, US/UK, 2007. * ''Babylon's Burning: From Punk to Grunge''. Penguin/ Canongate-Grove, US/UK, 2007. * ''So Long As Men Can Breathe: The Untold Story of Shakespeare's Sonnets''. Perseus, US, 2009. * ''Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan: Vol. 1: 1957–73''. Constable-Robinson, UK; Acappella, US, 2009. * ''Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan: Vol. 2: 1974–2008''. Constable, UK. 2010. * ''E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band''. Constable. 2012. * ''All the Madmen: Barrett, Bowie, Drake, the Floyd, the Kinks, the Who and the Journey to the Dark Side of English Rock''. Constable. 2012. * ''Behind the Shades: The 20th Anniversary Edition''. Faber and Faber. 2011. * ''It's One for the Money: The Song Snatchers Who Carved Up a Century of Pop & Sparked a Musical Revolution''. Constable. 2015. * ''Anarchy in the Year Zero: The Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Class of 76''. Route Publishing. 2016. * ''Judas!: From Forest Hills to the Free Trade Hall: A Historical View of Dylan's Big Boo''. Route Publishing. 2016. * ''What We Did Instead Of Holidays: A History Of Fairport Convention And Its Extended Folk-Rock Family.'' Route Publishing. 2017. * ''Trouble in Mind: Bob Dylan's Gospel Years – What Really Happened''. Lesser Gods. 2017. . Route Publishing * ''No One Else Could Play That Tune. Route Publishing. 2018.'' 764. * ''The Double Life of Bob Dylan: Volume I: 1941–1966 A Restless, Hungry Feeling''. Bodley Head. 2021. * ''The Double Life of Bob Dylan: Volume 2: 1966–2021 Far Away From Myself''. Bodley Head. 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heylin, Clinton English non-fiction writers Living people 1960 births Writers from Manchester Alumni of the University of Sussex People educated at Manchester Grammar School