Clinton Heylin:"Bob Dylan: Behind The Shades, a Biography"
From the Richard Thompson List (January 1998): Subject: [RTLIST] Anthea Joseph I'm sorry to have to report the death of Anthea Joseph, an unsung muse of folk-rock in England and America. I had planned to interview her in March for my biography of Sandy Denny; I heard of her death today while making plans for the trip. The following is a note from David Sandison, who worked in PR at Island in the '70s. Pam - Thank you for your note. There is no press release as such, but anything you can do to spread the word of her passing would be appreciated. Anthea was 57 years old and lived with her two cats (Bobbie McGee and Pearl) in Friston, a village in Suffolk not far from Benjamin Britten's concert hall, The Snape Maltings. Before joining Witchseason as Joe Boyd's assistant in 1968, Anthea ran the Tuesday night sessions at The Troubadour Club, Fulham Road, featuring the young musicians who were beginning to blend folk, country and rock in such a dynamic way. Her taste, good humor and kindness soon made her a household name on both sides of the Atlantic (when Bob Dylan first arrived in London in 1963, for instance, he came with one written instruction from Pete Seeger: 'Find The Troubadour. Ask for Anthea.') He did both and she promptly shoved him on-stage on what was a talent night, sleeping on her floor for the next few nights while she found him accomodation and put him in touch with folk club bookers. Their friendship would endure through the years. Anthea was also close to Richard Farina, Paul Simon and Carolyn Hester in those early days, developed a life-long friendship with Judy Collins and a host of young pickers and writers, many of whom would go on to great things and all of whom now acknowledge the debt they owe Anthea for unstinting support and consistently good advice when they were starting out.Bob Dylan was not the last young hopeful who'd be given space on her couch, or a mattress on her floor. After the Witchseason 'family' finally went their separate ways in the early 70s, Anthea worked variously for EMI Records' international marketing division in London, was Artist Relations manager for CBS Records (now Sony) and ended her professional life as personal assistant to Maurice Oberstein, then chairman of PolyGram UK. She retired to a country life about five years ago. Hope this helps some. You have missed meeting a truly lovely lady who gave more than any who knew her can ever repay. Pam
You can see Anthea Joseph in the film Don't Look Back (1967) "it is Anthea Joseph's dramatically anxious face Dylan is seen reassuring after a hotel glass-breaking incident. That friendship continued into the Nineties when, leaving a Rolling Stones party that had become tedious, Joseph and Dylan spent four hours walking the rainswept London streets." - John Pilgrim
