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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Megan Graye

Bob Dylan’s one-off ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ record sells for £1.5m

AFP via Getty Images

A one-off recording of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind’’ has been sold at auction for almost £1.5m.

The winning bid exceeded estimations with the original sale price predicted between £600,000 and £1m.

The auction took place at Christie’s in London, where the record sold for a total of £1,482,000.

The 10-inch disc was the first studio recording Dylan has done of the single since the track was written and originally released in 1962.

The new version of the song was recorded in 2021 by Grammy award winner T Bone Burnett, who’s worked with Dylan throughout the years.

He told BBC News that they got the recording in just one take, adding: “It felt holy.”

The original “Blowin’ in the Wind” was known as a protest song and featured on Dylan’s 1963 album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.

The new version of the song has been recorded alongside a full band who played live in the studio while Dylan sang.

Dylan in 2009 (Getty Images for AFI)

Christie’s confirmed the record is the only one to ever be distributed: “No other versions of this recording will be released or sold.”

Burnett has said that this is because Dylan’s work is “equivalent to an oil painting”.

The one-off keepsake was crafted in March from a combination of vinyl and CD materials, which Burnett said creates “the pinnacle of sound”.

Although not an accessible price for most, Dylan fans were given the chance to listen to the record on a £30,000 record player at Christie’s before it went to auction.

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