08-08-2025
Brian Shuel obituary: photographer of early Bob Dylan and British traditions
W hen Brian Shuel made his way to the Pindar of Wakefield pub in Grays Inn Road in London one cold night in December 1962, he had no idea that his camera was about to capture musical history. It was two days before Christmas and the local folk music club was hosting a party. Among those taking an open-mic floor spot was an unknown folk singer from America on his first trip to Britain.
There were no more than a few dozen present and while the singer in a corduroy cap and fur-collared jacket performed two songs, Shuel took seven photos. When he got home, he recorded in his diary that he had taken pictures of a singer called 'Bob Dillon'. He thought no more about it until a year or two later, by which time songs such as Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changin' had made Bob Dylan the most famous folk singer in the world. His photos from that December night have since become legendary as a rare document of Dylan's first visit to Britain.
