“I am fortunate to be receiving lots of writing commissions. So as well as getting on with the next book ( which can be loosely described as a music memoir) I have articles to write for The Oldie, New Statesman and Saga magazine ( the first and third aimed at fellow baby-boomers).

One of the most exciting consignments is to write a piece on ‘Sergeant Pepper at Fifty’ for the Guardian. As anyone who has read my books will know, I adore the Beatles ( the clue is in the titles of my memoir trilogy).

On Friday 26th May the newspaper sent me to Liverpool to see some of the performances , based on the 13 tracks of that iconic album, which will take place in the city as part of the celebration.

The piece is due to be published in G2 (the arts supplement) on Thursday, June 1st – the actual 50th anniversary of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’s original release. 

Who would have thought then that those four lads from Liverpool would be as big in 2017 as they were in the sixties. “