HE'S our patron saint of poetry, Liverpool's very own poet laureate, and a former pop star with a number one hit single. And he's an OBE, CBE and freeman of the city.
But, he admits, it might have been nice to have been Bob Dylan, instead.
And if he couldn't be His Bobness, he could have at least ended up living in the same Liverpool street as him.
Roger, you'd better explain. "I loved Dylan," says Roger, 67, who's just written his life story (that's Roger McGough's life story, not Bob Dylan's).
"He was a good looking guy and his songs were great. I used to think 'If only I could play the guitar' - I was a frustrated Bob Dylan!"
McGough and Dylan met in the Blue Angel club on Seel Street on the night Bob played the Odeon in May,1965.
"Later, back in his suite in the Adelphi Hotel, we talked about poetry and Liverpool and I came away feeling very impressed with the man.
"And he was very impressed with Liverpool - so much so I even thought that one day, when he'd settled down a bit and cut back on the touring, he might come and live in the city . . . but I'm still waiting!"
Roger, incidentally, didn't see Dylan when he returned to play the Odeon the following year, in May 1966 - because it coincided with Everton's 3-2 FA Cup final victory over Sheffield Wednesday: "I'm an Evertonian and I went with Paul McCartney and his dad."
