Bob Dylan has distanced himself from the likes of Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend and The Beach Boys saying that they have become too mainstream.

In his latest interview with Bill Flanagan, Dylan was asked if he ever considered “trading on nostalgia” ina similar way to many artists who had hits in the 60s.

He replied: “I couldn’t if I tried. Those guys you are talking about all had conspicuous hits. They started out anti-establishment and now they are in charge of the world. Celebratory songs.

“Music for the grand dinner party. Mainstream stuff that played into the culture on a pervasive level. My stuff is different from those guys. It’s more desperate.”

He added: “Daltrey, Townshend, McCartney, the Beach Boys, Elton, Billy Joel. They made perfect records, so they have to play them perfectly … exactly the way people remember them.

“My records were never perfect. So there is no point in trying to duplicate them. Anyway, I’m no mainstream artist.“

(by Daniel Melia)