From Benwell Boy to 46th Beatle.....and Beyond

It was in Benwell, a working class area of Newcastle in the North East of England, that Bob Smeaton became obsessed with music; first as an avid listener and watcher, later as the frontman of White Heat – some say the best band to come out of Newcastle, who never ‘made it’!

What he couldn’t have imagined as he chased his dream of becoming as big as the Rolling Stones is that he would have his moment on stage at Madison Square Garden not as a rock singer but as a Grammy winner, for his role as series director on The Beatles Anthology documentary series.

While many of us can only dream of meeting our idols, Bob went on to work with many of the artists he grew up listening to. Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, the Who and Lou Reed are just a few of those whose stories he helped bring to the screen.

From the banks of the River Tyne where he ‘served his time’ in the shipyards, and onwards to an epiphany at the top of a mountain in Brazil, Bob’s story has its share of ups and down, all of which are told with down-to-earth honesty and humour, infused with a healthy dose of ‘I can’t believe this is happening to me’.

This is a tale for anyone who has dared to dream of ‘rising above their station’.