One night last year, Fran Raya had a strange dream. In it, she encountered John Lennon in Piccadilly Gardens on a balmy summer evening, and invited him back to her home. When they arrived, her late husband Rob opened the door with a smile and the words “I knew you’d bring him back.” Fran was in no doubt what the dream meant.
Only a few days before, she had stumbled upon an autobiographical diary she wrote in 1974, collecting dust. The diary chronicled her years as a Beatle-obsessed teenager in 1960’s Manchester.
She thought little of it until a friend suggested she turn the story into a book, planting the seed of an idea. She had the dream that very night.
To Fran, this was Rob – who passed away in 2020 – sending her a message.
“I truly believe Rob wanted me to write the book from that dream,” Fran explained, “He wanted me to bring the Beatles back to life.”
The next day, she was inspired to put pen to paper and start writing ‘Beatles and Beacons.’
We’re only a few minutes into our conversation, and I could feel Fran’s creative energy buzzing through the phone.
The 73-year-old Mancunian had spent the last six decades writing and performing music, poetry, comedy and, in recent years, had pivoted to novels.
Before we got stuck into her latest, I needed to know where she still found that creative energy after all these years.
“Creativity is like an animal inside you. It never goes away and it will always come out if you have it,” she told me, “I’ve been writing since I was five years old. Whether its a book, a poem or a song, its about something that moves me.”
Given her varied background, I wondered whether she saw herself as a writer or a musician at heart.
“Years ago I’d say a musician, but I’ve really got into literary projects recently. I can pick up a guitar or go to the piano and it just comes to me. Writing a book is the same sort of ilk.”
Her latest project is a marriage of the two. It tells the story of Becca Beacon, a sassy Manchester schoolgirl, and how her life is transformed by the cultural phenomenon known as ‘Beatlemania’, which took the nation by storm in the early 1960s.
What was so special about those four lads from Liverpool?
“They were like the Mozarts of the 20th century,” Fran told me with glee, “They had the music, the talent, the looks, the comedy. There was nothing like them.”
Through the book, Becca journeys through adolescence in foggy 1960s Manchester, using her wits to outsmart the teachers and relatives who want to crush her dreams of a musical career. It is her obsession with the Beatles that gives her the strength to get through, and to find herself.
I couldn’t resist asking how much of Fran Raya went into Becca Beacon: “Oh, I was Becca. Everything she does, she thinks, she creates, was me.”
She talked tenderly and often about Rob, her partner of 49 years. Their love story is reflected touchingly in the book, as she dedicates the character of Becca’s soulmate (also Rob) to him. She found solace in the writing process following his death, and strongly recommends it to anybody as an antidote to grief.
“Writing really was a saving grace during that period. Its very therapeutic and it helps you offload, because you can put your emotions onto your characters.”
On the subject of her characters, we delved further into Becca. I observed that one theme I notice throughout the book is triumph. Becca is always fighting against the forces trying to suppress her, and she always fights back and comes out on top.
Did she write Becca as a heroine? She pondered for a moment.
“Regardless of her cheekiness and sass, she followed her dream and didn’t allow anybody to stop her, even though people tried. I think that makes her a heroine.”
I wondered where that resilience and strength of character came from.
“I think from my parents’ generation. My father was a soldier in World War II and his experiences made him very stoic. He used to have a fantastic saying – ‘Smack life back in the face.’ I put that spirit into Becca’s character.”
We mused what Becca’s life would look like if the book was set today and not in the 60s. Would she be queen of the talent shows? Fran laughed.
“Absolutely. She’d be first in line for X Factor, and would probably find a way to win it ! Her sass would resonate much more today than it did in the 60’s. Even though it was called the Swinging Sixties, women were very suppressed back then, and I tried to show that in the book.”
We turned from Becca’s story to Fran’s own. As a lifelong musician, with spells touring the world, she must have some tales to tell. Give us a good one, I asked.
“Touring with Eric Clapton in the 80’s was incredible,” she said, “I remember once on tour in Helsinki, he threw me a big birthday party. Gary Brooker, Pattie Boyd, all these big stars singing happy birthday to me. It was surreal. Unfortunately the security wouldn’t let Clapton in because he wasn’t wearing a tie and they didn’t recognise him.”
Whilst we were in nostalgic mode, Fran reflected back on a life spent in the arts. She insisted she would do it all over again without hesitation. What advice would she give to an aspiring young performer?
“Be true to yourself, keep faith in your own abilities, and don’t let anyone influence those abilities. You will achieve your dreams in the end. Oh, and make sure you don’t hurt anybody along the way.”
Before we parted ways, I noted that ‘Beatles and Beacons’ closed at the end of Becca’s teenage years. Will we ever get to find out how her life turned out?
“Never say never. The marriage between Becca and the Beatles is what leads this story, so who knows what will happen without them. Just watch this space!”
