Alf Bicknell lives on as an app

“The qualities of a chauffeur are to be a good driver, to be discreet, to be honest and not to get carried away with the people in the back of your car,” said Alf Bicknell, chauffeur to the Beatles during their glory years. Alf passed away in 2004 but lives on through a new app for the iPhone / iPad / iPod touch. He had a knack for being in the forefront of the technical revolution, Alf. As far as I can tell, his DVD “The Beatles Diary” was the first official Beatles-related release on that medium. This was back when DVDs were still sold in CD cases. Alf kept quiet about his Beatles involvement from 1966 to 1989, and then he published an autobiography, Baby, You Can Drive My Car! After that he went pioneering by reissuing the book as a video package, “Alf Bicknell’s Beatles Diary”, which later became a DVD.

Alf, who narrated and conceived the idea behind Beatles Diary, was the Beatles’ chauffeur for three years. From 1964 to 1966 he drove John, Paul, George, and Ringo from gig to gig and airport to hotel. He was with them when they visited Elvis, played Shea and he got beat up in the Philippines.

The new iPhone app version of Beatles Diary is a behind-the-scenes look at the Fab Four’s history and meteoric rise to fame, offering never before seen letters, photos and videos. The unique content in Beatles Diary originates from Alf Bicknell’s archives. Thanks to Google Maps integration, users can also take a virtual tour of the places that played a part in life of The Beatles in Liverpool. Beatles Diary 1.0.1 is priced at $4.99 (USD) and available worldwide through the iTunes App Store in the Entertainment category. Purchase here or use your iPhone (but beware; it’s a heavy 376 MB download)! Beatles Diary is released by Dynamedia of America, a Tampa FL based advertising company.

Your’s truly behind Alf Bicknell in Studio 2, Abbey Road around 1996.