Bob Dylan at Slane 1984: The music, a riot, Bono, Santana, and a future president  

As Bob Dylan gets ready to play Ireland again, we look back to that infamous gig in the 1980s, when a riot overshadowed a brilliant performance from the music legend 

Scenes from Bob Dylan at Slane in 1984. Pictures: Eddie O'Hare, Irish Examiner

Late on the evening of July 8, 1984, Bob Dylan turned to Bono with an expectant look in his eyes. Before a crowd of 40,000, and in the shadow of Slane Castle, two of the great rock stars of their respective generations were duetting on a cover of Dylan’s 'Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat'.

The problem was that, while Bono was of course familiar with the song, he didn’t know all the words. So when Dylan threw the number over to him the U2 singer had to improvise and ended up riffing up a new verse on the spot.