Lifeguard and guitarist Brendon Miles plays a tribute to Bob Dylan at his home in Thirroul.
Brendon Miles’ graffiti in honour of Bob Dylan.
The spray painted tribute to Bob Dylan, who swam in Lane 3 of the Conti.
WHAT would you say to your favourite singer if you met them face to face while at work?
Lifeguard and part-time musician Brendon Miles mistook his hero for a derro disobeying pool etiquette, and is kicking himself to this day.
In Aussie slang, a derro refers to someone who looks rough, as in homeless, derelict or trailer trash.
One Wollongong afternoon, in walks Brendon’s favourite American folksinger wearing a brown hoodie and accompanied by a large Hawaiian-looking man.
“How much to swim?” the big one asks Brendon.
“For you, FREE,” jokes Brendon.
There is no charge to swim in the jewel of Wollongong, thanks to the Wollongong City Council.
However, the burly bloke doesn’t know this and suddenly looks stunned perhaps thinking his little old homeless friend has been recognised.
He hasn’t.
Brendon goes on looking out his lifeguard window, unbeknown to him, he just met Bob Dylan and his bodyguard.
The celebrated singer-songwriter first broke through in the 1960s with Blowin’ in the Wind and The Times They Are a-Changing, which became anti-war and civil rights movement anthems.
He’s released more than 35 albums over six decades.
Brendon is a South African-born lifetime lifeguard.
His years spent patrolling Durban beaches have culminated in the dreamy job of keeping the lap swimmers in line and unharmed, while moonlighting as a guitar player in local restaurants.
One of Brendon’s favourite songs to cover live with his band is Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.
“I remember they went down the northern side [of the pool] and got changed under the light pole,” says Brendon.
“I didn’t take much notice and then Bob was in the water swimming up on the right hand side and I thought he’s going to have an accident if someone jumps in behind him.”
“So I walked outside, and said, ‘hey mate you’ve got to go the other way round’, and he glared at me.”
Not long after, the grumpy old man and his minder leave the pool as inconspicuously as they entered.
“Hey Brendon, do you know who that was?” a regular of the pool asked.
“No,” replied Brendon.
“It was Bob Dylan.”
Brendon was devo’ed but admits that if he had recognised the Hurricane singer at the time, he most likely would have been awe-struck and unable to speak.
However, in his fantasy scenario he imagines otherwise.
“[Our band] was having a jam that afternoon and I thought geez I could have asked him to come around and introduced him to my friends like ‘hey, this is one of my friends Bob’. That would have been funny.”
The next week while cleaning the Conti, Brendon spray-painted “Bob’s Lane” at the bottom of Lane 3.
Bob Dylan played Wollongong’s Entertainment Centre in August 2018, September 1998 and April 2011.
Yoga teacher, skydiver, martial artist and journalist. Yoga keeps her centred and reinforces her core belief that the greatest gift to each of us is ourselves. When Dawn isn’t teaching yoga, she works as a skydive camerawoman, grapples with her mates at Gracie Barra Shellharbour, and does media and promotions for stuff she loves.
Leave a Reply