Sixty, and forever young - Bob Dylan

... It's not just traditional singer-songwriters who cite Dylan as a major influence. As Ella Hooper grew up, Dylan records played continually in her family home in Violet Town. Hooper, the lead singer of Killing Heidi and the most prominent young female musician in the country, says his "honesty" inspired her.

"His lyrics were so beautiful to listen to phonetically and then so poignant to think about. I love that combination," she said in a handwritten fax from the US.

"When I started writing, I compared myself to Dylan all the time. I knew that if I was going to do music, it had to have a message or be new somehow or at least honest. Those were the qualities I loved in Dylan's songs and the ones I wanted to emulate." ...