Des is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist with a lifelong obsession for the Beatles. The idea for Without the Beatles came when he realised he wouldn’t even be here if his parents hadn’t met as his mum was getting ready to see The Beatles in concert in Luton in 1964. He grew up on a rough estate in Luton and his careers teacher told him he wouldn’t work in the media and she could get him a job in a supermarket.
His journalism credits include The Times, The Daily Mirror, The Evening Standard, The News of the World, Mojo, Q, Record Collector Magazine.
After exposing one of the scandals that helpedto bring down John Major’s government and reporting on Princess Diana’s death, Des moved into TV.
He became a senior BBC producer/director, but also worked for ITV and Channel 4. He has been running a indie production company specialising in corporate communications since 2002.
TV credits include Glastonbury, The ITV Chart Show, the Mercury Music Prize, Michael Jackson and Friends, Leprosy in India (producer/presenter), The Ozone, Inside Tracks, Nancy Sinatra in Edinburgh, Eurovision, The Brits, and Pinter on Pinter for Sky Arts. He has made hundreds of corporate films for the BBC, NHS, local and national government, the London Olympics, and many private and public companies, trusts, and arts organisations.
Des has presented for In Committee on Radio 4, and was the host of Soho Radio’s Museum of Soho for 18 months.
He has interviewed, produced & directed, hundreds if not thousands of people. A selective list includes Paul McCartney, Michael Caine, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Kylie Minogue, Noam Chomsky, Mary Beard, Cass Sunstein, Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer, Sebastian Coe, Jessica Ennis, Bill Withers, Alice Cooper, Noel Gallagher, Simon Le Bon, Roy Wood, Blur, the Spice Girls, Jay Z, Robbie Williams, John Curtice, John Major, Muse, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Status Quo, Michael Morpurgo, Tony Bennett, Philip Pullman, Hilary Mantel, Gus O’Donnell, Fleetwood Mac, REM, Ralph Fiennes, Demi Moore, Ian McKellen, Rowan Atkinson, Jools Holland, Nancy Sinatra and many, many more.
Des is the author of two books in the Porter & The Gliss Investigations series. Book 3 of the trilogy is out in Winter 2024. A book of horror stories for teenagers, The Case Against Dr Timor Blackheart, is also due for release in the autumn.
He is also a composer and musician, playing piano, bass, drums, guitar and sax. He has 3 albums out under the names theghostorchestra and The Black Flames. Autumn 2024 sees the release of a trio of albums of 60s-style instrumental music under the pseudonym, Romano Chorizo - complete with a murder mystery book. There are also 4 solo albums under the name DES coming out in 2024.
He has performed as a member of the Dubious Brothers and occasionally produces music for others, including Dexter Bentley and Andrew Grady.
Des has a few Beatles’ credentials. His Dad saw the Beatles in the Top Ten Club in their final Hamburg stint. He first interviewed Paul for the Mirror at the launch of War Child in 1994, and subsequently for The Times, The ITV Chart Show, Record Collector, and the BBC. Des broke the UK news of Derek Taylor’s death and wrote his obituary for The Times. He has jammed guitar and piano with Macca, been invited with 4 other journalists to a private playback of Driving Rain, and had a few professional encounters at the BBC, MPL and onstage at the Golden Jubilee Concert. Des set up Macca’s famous appearance on TFI Friday. Des worked with the BBC and Apple on trying to get a Beatles night together - they wouldn’t do Parkinson, so it fell off the radar. However, the resulting hilarity with Neil Aspinall will no doubt come up on the podcast! Des appeared in the Radio Times as producer of the great lost George Harrison documentary that was scheduled to go out on Boxing Day, the year George died. Sadly, he only ever met George long enough for him to sign his Albert Hall ticket for George’s final gig.
He has interviewed many Beatles’ associates and friends from Tony Bramwell and Neil Innes, Geoff Baker and Klaus Voorman, Eric Stewart to Glenn Ballard. He’s also pissed Paul off enough for him to call him at work and tell him off. But, don’t worry, we patched it up.
(Pssst. Wanna see some pictures?)
