Mumford & Sons: “Bob Dylan didn’t give a shit about authenticity”

Mumford and Sons frontman Marcus Mumford has said that looking to Bob Dylan helped him get over criticism the band receive for their perceived lack of authenticity.

Responding to the band’s critics, singer Marcus Mumford told The Guardian: “The authenticity thing has never been an issue for me. Not since I came to the realisation that Dylan, who’s probably my favourite artist ever, the richest artist for me, didn’t give a shit about authenticity. He changed his name. And modelled himself on Woody Guthrie. And lied to everyone about who he was.”

Banjo player Winston Marshall added that blues guitarist Peter Green does not face similar criticism: “We get accused of inauthenticity because we play the instruments we play. He’s from Bethnal Green – and he’s this fucking incredible blues guitarist. Nothing fucking authentic about that, right? But actually there is. He loves it. It’s what he’s good at. It’s not like he’s saying he’s from the Delta. It’s not like we’re saying anything like that.”

Earlier this week it was revealed that Mumford & Sons are working on new songs with the band taking influence from The National, Elton John and The Band.