It's been a roller coaster ride over the past few years, from a Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do than go to some Beatles Fair to three trips to America in one year!! Read how it all happened.

Ten or so years ago Phil Matthews and myself went along to a Beatle Fair in Nottingham. There we met George and Kath Gunby putting on their second Beatle event, by the next year we were helping to run it, and now I run the whole thing myself.

But that isn't the whole story, along the way I have met lots of people and helped to put on many events in some amazing places. These events have taken me not only around Gt. Britain but also to America, places such as Nottingham?, Liverpool, London, Dublin, Chicago, Boston and New York, and I am still astounded that it all came about by meeting George Gunby at his Beatle Fair. The many friends I have made along the way are too numerous to list, unfortunately some of the best are no longer with us, Johnny (Guitar) Byrne, Alistair Taylor, and Eric Griffiths to name just three.

Here are some of the most memorable events I have been involved with.

The Day John Met Paul, (1997), a 40th anniversary re-creation of the Woolton Fete in Liverpool where John Lennon met Paul McCartney in 1957. George Gunby, Jean Catharell, Phil Matthews and myself were mainly responsible for getting the event up and running. The event was designed to raise awareness of the importance of St Peter's Church Hall, Woolton. Which is where John met Paul.

John Lennon's Quarrymen, who had played at the fete in 1957, were brought together again for the first time in 40 years, Rod Davis, Len Gary, Eric Griffiths, Pete Shotton and Colin Hanton, came together once again. They played a set in the school playing field exactly the same time as 40 years before, as well as re-enacting the parade around Woolton where once again they played skiffle whilst being driven along on the back of a lorry, incidentally the lorry was driven by Doug Chadwick as he had done 40 years earlier!
Guests included, The Quarrymen, Alistair Taylor, Charlie Lennon, Johnny Guitar, Geoff Rhind (he took the famous photo of the Quarrymen in '57), and John Duff-Lowe. Jim O'Donnell who wrote 'The Day John Met Paul' although unable to attend was very helpful and supportive.
Telegrams of support arrived from The Queen, Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney, Cynthia Lennon, Sir George Martin and PM Tony Blair.
Around 3,000 people attended the 40th Anniversary Fete, quite an increase on the normal amount of 200 to 300. The day rounded off with a concert in the Church Hall with Ringer and of course the Quarrymen. Meeting the Quarrymen and actually becoming good friends with them was great reward for helping to organise the event.

Penny Lane Beatles Fair, the first event ever held at the famous Penny Lane. An all day memorabilia fair with live music from The Fab4 and special guests Alistair Taylor, Bob Wooler, Johnnie Guitar and Uncle Charlie. A great day, some of the Quarrymen also dropped in and Uncle Charlie sang 'My Bonnie' with The Fab4.

Alistair Taylor and The Fab4 at LIPA, The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts or LIPA as it is known, has a small theatre where we put on our show 'From Cavern to Rooftop'.
The Fab4 performed songs from various stages of the Beatles musical career interspersed with Alistair Taylor's fascinating stories.
This was the first ever Beatles Tribute band to perform at LIPA. It is understood that McCartney would have to be advised of any shows of this kind and give permission!

The Quarrymen in Derby. The Quarrymen played at a special Beatles Day we organised at The Derby Playhouse. This was the first time they had appeared outside of Liverpool since they reformed. The FAB4 were there too and members of the cast of 'Eleanor Rigby', a musical, performed some of the songs from the show. We were able to reunite the Quarrymen with Nigel Whalley their first manager who they hadn't seen since the 50's.

Beatle Days. Over the years George Gunby, Phil Matthews and myself have put on Beatle Days around the country, Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, Birmingham and Liverpool. As well as supporting similar events in Northampton, London and Dublin.

America. In 2002 George Gunby wrote a book about Alistair Taylor entitled 'Hello Goodbye'. Due to the fact that Alistair's own book had finally just been published in England we decided to pursue the idea of selling it in America
Mark Lapidos organises 3 Beatle Days each year. New Jersey in March, Chicago in June and Boston in November, so we contacted him. He was very keen on the idea, Alistair was a good friend as well as one of the most popular guests they had ever had at the Beatlefests over the years, and the outcome was that we did all three events, all financed by sales of the book.
The first one was New Jersey, where we found out just how popular Alistair was in America. People travelled 100's and 1.000's of miles to see him, but none of this prepared us for Chicago.
Chicago was amazing!. From when the doors opened until they finally closed again we were swamped with the most friendly Americans we had met. As many of you will know I can be a little quiet! but in Chicago I never stopped talking, it was a magical event.
The third event was in Boston, it was much quieter, but there were some friendly people, one lady in particular!! But again Alistair proved to be very popular.
After Boston George and Kath Gunby, Alistair and myself took a train to New York where we spent 3 days as tourists. Spending time with Alistair was always a pleasure as far as I was concerned, a very nice man - and so well connected! The reason for the 3 days was a treat for Alistair as much as anything. Over the years Alistair had visited America for dozens and dozens of Beatlefests but had never had a holiday in America, so this was our way of thanking him for getting us there.

Tributes to Alistair. Following the death of Alistair Taylor, myself and George and Kath Gunby were invited by Mark Lapidos to attend the Chicago Beatlefest for a 'Salute to Alistair'. It was a wonderful experience and we shall never forget those friends of Alistair we met in America. For much of the day no one was coming up to the table we had set up with photos of Alistair and video shows. Then in the early afternoon George Gunby did a tribute to Alistair in the conference room, after which people began coming to the table, most had been too emotional to come earlier, and didn't want to come before the tribute. Then it seemed all Alistairs fans and friends came to see us, many in tears, us too much of the time. The day ended with the band Liverpool playing a great tribute to Alistair using my video show as a backdrop.

Tribute to Alistair, Matlock. I really didn't have a great deal to do with this brilliant evening it was all the work of George and Kath Gunby.

I never thought when I bought Sgt Pepper in 67 that I would get so much fun out of a love of The Beatles music. Most of the pleasure has been the great friends I have made along the way, sadly a few of them are no longer with us, but I'm so grateful I knew them even for a short time. I hope I can continue to put on Nottingham Beatles Day, it's fun, at times, and I'm sure there are plenty of Beatle Fans out there who want it to continue.