The legendary Beatles recorded some of their greatest albums at the famous Abbey Road studio in North West London. As I emerged from the underground station I was filled with excitement and did not need to ask directions to this musical shrine as I simply followed its worhippers.....mainly foreign tourists of all ages.
My excitement was also backed up by laughter when I endured the site of tourists walking across the famous zebra crossings to the annoyance of the taxi drivers. To step where the Beatles trod is one thing...but to risk your life...
I must admit, being a man born with a sense of humour, I would not be outdone by our visitors and kindly asked a German tourist to take a photo of me whilst I........yes....walked across the worlds most photographed black and white road markings.....well it's not every day I come up here.
As I entered the temple of musical creativity I was met by receptionists who pointed me in the direction of the waiting room...or in this case the canteen. On the way, famous musicians who had graced these corridors were proudly displayed on the wall. For a brief moment it felt as if I was strolling casually through an art gallery or even travelling through time if I let my imagination go.
I could continue here and talk about all the legendary faces that were on display......as I entered the canteen and looked around, the area was filled with the leading faces of both black and white contemporary music in the UK. I'm not going to name names just yet but will leave that to a future blog backed up by pictures and suitable captions.
Today was about something else..... an experience that I will find hard to put into words. Les Moir and Lawrence Johnson are two of the leading Producers and Musical directors in Christian music and British Gospel repectively. Both men have gained respect from the highest levels of the secular and Christian music divide. Today, these men made a great sacrifice and reminded me that despite what we achieve in life, humbleness and generosity is required of us. These men were generous with their time and skills and humble enough to remember thousands of victims in Haiti who as one person pointed out today....'not part of the headlines anymore'.
I walked away form this experience today, not as a singer...I'll leave that to others....but as a spectator. By having the freedom to walk around and look at this musical display from many perspectives I came to one final conclusion.
The television images of a tragedy in a Caribbean Island many thousands of miles away fired up two British men to bring together a multi-cultural singing unit that would raise badly needed funds.
These men responded to the same call after the 2004 boxing day Tsunami.
Les and Lawrence, I am proud of you both and what you have done today reminds me that no matter how high we fly........use our skills for the benefit of the less fortunate.
One day a book will be written about these guys, but I do get the feeling that they are not done yet.