Music world to salute Dylan

Bob Dylan: Born in Duluth, Minnesota on 24 May 1941

Followers of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan throughout the world are planning events to celebrate the legendary singer's 60th birthday on 24 May.

Patti Smith, Tracy Chapman and Sam Shephard will take part in a New York discussion of Dylan's influence on Saturday.

In Mumbai, India a Thank You Bob concert will take place featuring a host of Asian stars including Sangeeta Rao, Suresh Bhojwani and Geetu Raheja singing covers of Dylan songs.

CD tributes to Dylan have appeared from his native Minnesota to Japan and two new biographies are on the market.

Dylan performs for Pope John Paul II in 1997

But Dylan himself has "absolutely no public plans," says his spokesman, Elliot Mintz.

Dylan is known as a retiring man - it was recently revealed in a biography that he was secretly married to a former backing singer of his from 1986 to 1992 and even had a daughter with her.

Previously Carol Dennis was thought have been been Dylan's girlfriend and the existence of their daughter, who is now 15, was known only to a few in the music business.

Bobfest

The biography, by UK writer Howard Sounes, paints Dylan as a lonely man who is constantly under pressure from his public existence.

But he has attended public celebrations of his work in the past - like the Bobfest tribute concert in Madison Square Garden in 1992 and the Kennedy Centre Honours.

In 1997 his album Time Out of Mind, won Grammy awards for best album and best contemporary folk album of the year.

A song from the record, Cold Irons Bound, also won a Grammy for best male rock vocal performance.

The way he was: Dylan in 1962

The only recording he released last year, Things have Changed, won an Oscar.

For Dylan's 50th birthday Loudon Wainwright III wrote a song in his honour, Talking New Bob Dylan.

Dylan is very much a performing artist now - the only track he has recorded this year is a Dean Martin cover on the soundtrack to the TV hit series The Sopranos.

His spokesman said he had "not been advised" of any plans to do any more recording.

But Dylan has toured such venues as Kearney, Nebraska, Dalton, Gerogia, Blacksburg Virginia and Cape Grandeau Missouri this year already.

Though he is on a six-week break at the moment, he resumes his tour in Norway on 24 June.