Having recently watched the great new film about Bob Dylan, "I'm Not There", (if "about" is the right word...), it struck me that people who go to the movie without at least a certificate in "An Introduction To Dylanology Level 1" will miss out on a lot.

So, here are the facts you should know, in roughly chronological order, before watching "I'm Not There":

1. The young, undiscovered Dylan used to visit the famous folk singer Woody Guthrie in hospital.
2. Woody Guthrie's guitar had "This Machine Kills Fascists" written on it.
3. Dylan was labelled a "protest singer" by many, something he has always denied.
4. Dylan shocked his fans by "going electric" and presenting them with loud rock music, rather than the acoustic folk they were expecting.
5. Dylan had a crazed UK tour in 1965, documented in a black and white film "Don't Look Back".
6. Dylan had a serious motorcycle crash that nearly ended his career.
7. Dylan had a long running on-off relationship with folk singer Joan Baez.
8. Dylan went through a messy divorce.
9. Dylan shocked his fans by becoming an evangelical Christian and presenting them with gospel music and fiery religious diatribes, rather than the loud rock music they were expecting.
10. If you don't understand everything in Dylan's music, books and films, don't worry, you're not supposed to.

Kate Blanchett is fantastic in the film in my opinion and, no I don't know what Richard Gere's doing either - see fact 10.