Hello Boys & Girls...
TEENAGE DREAMS CAN COME TRUE (EVEN WHEN YOU'RE 39)
As far as my memory serves me, I first saw the Beatles on the cover of Help!
I had a brother who was ten years to the day older than me. I can then remember the classic 'Sgt. Pepper' album standing like a greeting card on the family gramophone. I don't recall actually hearing any of the music, at this stage it was more a visual thing.
By the early 70's I had progressed to getting the vinyl out of the sleeve and fell in love with the Beatle sound (varied as it was).
With my brother only owning two albums I had decided to collect the entire fab four catalogue. Audiocassette was the latest craze, they couldn't be scratched or warp like their black plastic cousins.
By 1974 I had the lot!
I had books too, and I knew that nearly all the bands records were made at Abbey Road, I knew it was in London somewhere, but never exactly.
On various trips to the capital I offend wondered, 'how far are we from Abbey Road?'
In January 2001 my brother in law gave me a C.D ROM for my computer, a Microsoft AutoRoute 2000.
It was a clever little beast. If you typed in a street it would pin point it. The first location I gave it was Abbey Road, London.
It came back with a list of about seven streets with that name.
I consulted the album with the Beatles walking across the zebra crossing.
It said NW8.
I tried this and bingo!
As an entertainer I sometimes have bookings in London, and on the 12th April I had to do a show in Edgware.
I checked my AutoRoute and found that Edgware was only 7 Miles from Abbey Road, this was my big chance!
I travelled down the A1 with my daughter Amy, we found the Edgware British Legion and I did my performance. I was doing my Beatles songs in the second half of the act, and asked the audience, 'Does anyone know where Abbey Road is?'
Several arms were raised. 'Can you tell me how to get there?' Was my next hopeful question. It was received positively, I thought this is looking promising.
My act ended at 11PM sharp. I quickly packed my equipment up. Peter the chap who booked me came over to pay me, he had said he would write down directions. I gave him a pen and paper and he announced that he'd forgotten where it was, he was slightly inebriated. But this was bad! Especially as the venue was by now nearly empty.
I couldn't really contemplate finding a secluded back street without a smidgen of more detail. I didn't even have an A-Z.
My chance was slipping by once more. My car was now fully loaded up, and I was ready to leave, I decided to go to the loo. As I walked past a table of four of the last people in the hall a chap said, 'Do you really want to go to Abbey Road?' 'Yes', I replied excitedly, my tail now on the way up!
'Well I'm a taxi-driver' he retorted. I really had struck gold!
The friendly cabby went through the route with immense precision. It was complicated and I would never have found it just using my auto-route.
There were about 15 key instructions, from crossing Appex corner, going over several round-a-bouts, forking right at the point where the A1 branches left, passing six main pedestrian crossings and finally turning right at the seventh. I also had to find a large Esso garage on the corner of the 7th turn, to confirm it was the correct one.
When I was on the final leg, I had to pass a pub called the Nell Gwen.
Amy would navigate, I was worried. The words needle, haystack and finding were jumbled up in my mind.
We set off with the interior light glaring. At several points on the journey I thought we'd gone wrong, missed a junction or a landmark. But remarkably we found a major crossroads with a large Esso garage on the corner. The buzz of adrenaline increased as I saw that we were indeed on Park road, this would lead us to the Holy Grail!
We couldn't locate the Nell Gwen Pub, the cabby said we would definitely pass it. The traffic was horrendous, it was getting on for midnight but it was like Ely at peak rush hour, cars everywhere.
We got to another set of lights; Amy wound down her window and asked a friendly looking West Indian for directions. He said he knew where it was, but just then the lights changed to green. About twenty cars swept across the junction and we are taking directions at 30 mph surrounded by traffic. I managed to catch the words 'bear right and find Finchley Road'.
But by now I was like a bear sitting on a log on a fast flowing river, I got swept away to the right, but then didn't know where I was.
'I think we'll have to give up', I said to Amy. I'd been beaten again.
I drove down a side street to collect my thoughts; there was a group of about five people walking towards us. They looked like a family, a mid-50's couple and their three children. Amy asked, 'Does anyone know Abbey Road?' I could see the look on the Mothers face, she immediately thought we were some kind of Pop act. Where we in the Pet shop Boys? The beautiful south? Or S club 7? My car was filled with musical equipment, guitars and the like so you could understand her logic.
A boy in his late teens came forward, 'you're about two minutes away from it'. This was music to my ears! Is he sure? I wondered.
He gestured with his hands for us to head the other way, look out for a large block of flats on your left and the street starts there.
I quickly hauled the vehicle round, drove for about 200 yards, and there it was as promised, Abbey Road NW8.
The studio was a fair way down the suburban North West London Road.
I drove down looking left and right, and after going over a level crossing I caught glimpse of the familiar white washed walls of the world famous EMI Recording studio. I stopped the car on very nearly the same place where the Voltsvagen Beetle was parked on the LP cover. We got out, this was the birthplace of 90% of all Beatles output over nearly ten years, and this was where Pink Floyd recorded 'Dark side of the Moon'.
A fluorescent light shone from out of a large window that fronted the building, and over the archway leading to the main entrance an Abbey Road sign lit up the cold night air. This was the archway I'd seen on a T.V news clip, John Lennon was being interviewed right there in that archway about the groups current recording sessions, the sessions which turned out, 'Penny Lane', 'Strawberry Fields', 'I am the walrus' and 'Sgt Pepper'. What a few months that must have been!
Just a few inauspicious cars were parked in the small yard, the gates were open. I said to Amy, 'lets see how far we get'.
We actually got right up to the front door, where a stern looking security man sat behind a desk and looked at us as if to say, 'and what do you want?' We turned and made our way down the steps, back through the gates.
The white walls that surrounded the place were covered in graffiti, of course it was all Beatle related, names, song titles, from fans the world over.
We got back into the car and drove away. I should have got on the A1 to Borehamwood, but by mistake got on to the M1 and ended up at Luton!
Home at 2.40am. Was it worth it?
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Look out for me on the streets as part of the 'Steve Riches Show' 10am-1pm Monday-Friday, on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire 95.7 & 96FM-1026MW. As the Monkees used to say, 'I could be coming to your town' or something like that.

Presently I am making a programme about the unique world of indoor bowls, to be broadcast in about 4 weeks.

Just to let you know we have just recorded the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire 'Pantomime' written by Chris South. It goes out on December 27th, @ 3.30PM.
Featuring Johnny Dee, Ronnie Barbour, Laura Bundock and even Dennis of Grunty Fen plus many more voices from the station!

The Ely 'Big Night Out' has been hailed a big success, about 140 people attended making it a 'SOLD OUT' event. The BBC are looking for more venues for next year!

I made a series of 5 short programmes about the Ely 'Big Issue' Seller Steve Horton. The first one goes out on Monday 23rd September on The Steve Riches Mid-Morning show between 10-1PM.
They then run everyday till Friday 27th September. A first for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the fact that the series will also run on-line(using video footage) at www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire, again starting on 23 September.

Gerald Main has now left BBC Radio Cambridgeshire to take up a new post-Editor of BBC Radio Suffolk..! The mid-morning show has a new presenter, Steve Riches. The consumer angle will remain as will Johnny Dee. Johnnys 8 month run of 'Dee's Deals' is being rested, and he will go out on the streets investigating various consumer issues. his humerous parody songs will continue as the finale to his Live Radio appearances.

The Big Issue programmes I made in April will be aired in the Autumn, and I still have 4 more programmes to produce for Nicki Ledgards Sunday Show. On Sunday 22nd September join Johnny at Woodgreen Shelters, Godmachester for an afternoon show of fun and frolics, they'll be plenty of giveaways too! Call 01353 740 725 for more information.

Sunday 25th August Johnny went behind the scenes of Radio 4's 'Just a Minute' on BBC radio Cambridgeshire as part of Nicki Ledgards 9-12 Noon show.

The 'Johnny goes...' programmes got off to a good start with 'Johnny Goes..folk clubbing', broadcast on Nicki Ledgards Sunday show last week.
The next one should be on 18th August, when 'Johnny goes...to meet Nicholas Parsons'..!

The programme about Ely Big Issue seller Steve Horton should be making Radio Cambridgeshire history as it is broadcast on radio and on-line too!
Broadcast date TBA. Hopefully in August.
Johnny has been in talks with BBC 2's 'Gardeners World' for a strange diversion, we await info about this one.

Bye for now - John

Previous - New radio series in production...'Johnny Goes....'

First one will be 'Johnny goes...Folk Clubbing' or it might be 'Folk Off!' in which Johnny Dee samples the delights of visiting a folk establishment.
Do the men all wear aaron jumpers, drink real ale, have pony tails, open toe sandals and sing with one finger stuck in their ear?

You'll have to tune in to find out. Broadcast times to follow. 15th July see's Johnny off to meet Nicholas Parsons in Canterbury, should be a wild night?

Bye for now - John