Neil Young once threw Bob Dylan off his tour bus because he didn't recognise the legendary singer/songwriter

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Neil Young, Bob Dylan
(Image credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images | Blank Archives/Getty Images))

Neil Young had admitted to a historical faux pas, revealing that he once ejected Bob Dylan from his tour bus because he didn't recognise one of the world's most legendary and influential musicians.

Young confessed to his mistake in a post on his Neil Young Archive website praising A Complete Unknown, the new Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet.

"I love Bob Dylan and his music," Young wrote. "Always have. He’s a great artist. Once he was on my bus and I didn’t recognize him and threw him off but that’s another story.

"This movie is a great tribute to his life and music. I think if you love Bob’s music you should see this great movie. I loved it."

Whether we'll ever learn the full facts of this story only Neil knows, but we live in hope.

A Complete Unknown is set in the New York music scene of the early-mid 1960s, and follows the young Bob Dylan, portrayed by Chalamet, on his meteoric rise to global fame, culminating in his legendary, controversial electric rock and roll performance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

Dylan himself stoked anticipation for the film, set for release in the UK on January 17, by hailing Chalamet as "a brilliant actor" on X, and adding "I’m sure he’s going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me."

Timothée Chalamet was understandably chuffed by this commendation, and replied, "Floored. I am so grateful. Thank you Bob."

The film, directed and co-written by James Mangold, also stars Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, and Elle Fanning as Sylvia Russo, a character at least partly inspired by Dylan's former artist girlfriend Suze Rotolo.

Paul Brannigan
Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.