Twelve years on from the start of Beatlemania Derek Mead is still their number one fan. And to prove it he will play their records non-stop for four weeks when he makes an attempt on the world disco record.

Amateur disc jockey Derek, 23, a carpenter at Watford Council’s Holywell depot, has already gone without sleep for three nights practising for the marathon at his council flat on the Holywell estate.

He became a Beatles fan at the age of 11 and his admiration for the four lads from Liverpool has grown over the years.

He has even named his six-month-old son John Paul and says the baby already enjoys Beatle music.

“When the Beatles started I used to rave about them. I used to save all my pocket money to buy Beatle records,” said Derek, who has every Beatles record except one he wasn’t keen on.

He contacted the Guinness Book of Records and found out the present world disco record of 580 hours was set in the USA and Australia. He is aiming at 672 hours and under the rules will be able to sleep while an LP is on, provided he wakes up to put on the next.

He says his wife, Linda, 22, is not over-impressed with his plan. “She thinks I’m mad,” he said.

[From the Watford Observer of April 4, 1975]