Rock legend Bob Dylan is thought to have acknowledged a 40-year-old debt to Tyneside band The Animals when he played in Newcastle this week.

The singer-songwriter thrilled thousands of North-East fans when he played a version of House of the Rising Sun at the Metro Radio Arena on Thursday night.

Dylan had recorded a version of the traditional folk song for his debut album in 1962, only to see The Animals score a massive hit both in Britain and America when they released a rock 'n' roll version of it two years later.

In a moment that is said to have influenced the then folk-singer to experiment with electric guitars and make a hugely controversial turn into rock music, Dylan has been quoted as saying that he "jumped out of his car seat" when he first heard The Animals' version of the song on his car radio.

Dylan has only played the song once in 20 years before Thursday's gig, and long-time fans believe the singer was acknowledging the importance of The Animals' version by reprising it in their home town.

Rob Byron, who used to run the Steel Wheels record shop in Newcastle, said: "I thought I was hearing things. There's always a bit of a preamble before each song with Dylan where they play a few chords and I found myself thinking: `This is House of the Rising Sun'.

"He never, ever plays that song and I was looking around for some reaction but it was just me. Maybe people weren't aware of the connection but I couldn't believe it.

"I looked on the internet this morning and he's only played that song twice in 20 years so it must be some sort of acknowledgement. It was a huge influence on Dylan going electric and it would be an unholy coincidence if that wasn't the case."

House of the Rising Sun is a traditional song first recorded in the US in the 1930s, but thought to have its origins in an English ballad.

The Animals recorded their version for EMI Records in just one take during a stopover on a tour with rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry.

It was a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic, riding the wave of the so-called "British Invasion" of America and selling more than a million copies in five weeks in the US.

If Dylan was acknowledging his debt to The Animals, he couldn't have picked a better place as the Arena was developed by the group's bassist Chas Chandler with business partner Nigel Stanger.