Beatles superfan rushes to see 'new Abbey Road'

A Beatles superfan has rushed from Belgium to Liverpool to be one of the first to have their picture taken in the location he says "could be the next Abbey Road".

Eddie Janssens, from Brussels, said he decided to make the trip after hearing about the upcoming release of Paul McCartney's first new album in six years, The Boys of Dungeon Lane.

After arriving in Liverpool on Thursday, Eddie said he asked his taxi driver to take photos of him in Dungeon Lane in Speke - where McCartney spent time as a child.

The lifelong Beatles fan said: "I think it's very nice that it's just a simple street. Other artists might call their record Times Square or Piccadilly Circus.

"That's just Paul McCartney, he chooses things that others wouldn't.

"That's why I love him."

McCartney's 19th solo album, to be released on 29 May, explores his youth in post-war Liverpool.

Eddie, who was visiting Liverpool for the 20th time, said of Dungeon Lane: "I'm sure there will be more people to come in the next years, weeks, decades.

"But I'm one of the first and I'm proud of that."

Eddie said he had met the music legend in person in 2012, alongside his daughter, after winning a radio competition.

"He was just a normal person, he talked to my daughter," he said.

"He's a simple, kind, warm man."

He explained he would also take the opportunity to attend the public funeral of Merseybeat legend Len Garry at St Peter's Church in Woolton on Friday.

Garry, who was a member of The Quarrymen and played alongside McCartney and John Lennon before the band eventually became the Beatles, died earlier this month aged 84.

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