Bob Dylan apologises for book signature controversy

Bob Dylan has apologised for selling machine-signed art and books.

Last week, the legendar singer-songwriter hit headlines when bosses at publisher Simon & Schuster confirmed that "hand-signed" copies of his book The Philosophy of Modern Song actually had signatures in "in penned replica form". The limited-edition tome was priced at $600 (£505).

In addition, it emerged that some of his recent artwork prints also had machine-signed signatures.

Following the news, Dylan issued a statement via Facebook on Saturday in which he apologised for his "error in judgment".

"I've hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there's never been a problem. However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years. It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging," the 81-year-old wrote. "So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn't help. With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done 'all the time' in the art and literary worlds. Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately."

Dylan went on to insist he is working with the team at Simon & Schuster and his gallery partners to find a solution.

It's an interesting list of songs that he talks about in this book, worth a read for the music fan