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Queen video gets Peterborough in music heritage guide

BBC Queen in the 1970sBBC
Queen filmed the video for their single Breakthru at Nene Valley Railway

A music video by rock band Queen has helped put an area on the "world's musical stage", according to DJ Jo Whiley.

Peterborough features as a musical heritage destination in a new series of audio guides voiced by the BBC Radio 2 presenter.

Queen, Andy Bell from Erasure and Maxim of The Prodigy, are all mentioned, along with their links to the city.

The National Rail guides are available to train passengers via a free app.

Jonathan Birch / BBC Andy Bell photographed on the Graham Norton show on Radio 2Jonathan Birch / BBC
Andy Bell grew up in Dogsthorpe before moving to London

Train passengers will receive geo-targeted stories about the music behind 30 places they are passing through, including Peterborough.

Queen visited the city's Nene Valley Railway to film the video for the single Breakthru in 1989.

They performed on a platform attached to a moving train, the Miracle Express, which broke through a polystyrene brick wall.

The Prodigy's Maxim performing at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend Swindon in 2009
The Prodigy's Maxim was introduced to the Peterborough reggae sound system scene by his older brother

Bell, one half of Erasure, who dominated the charts in the 1980s and 90s, features as he grew up in Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, before moving to London.

The Prodigy's Maxim - real name Keith Palmer - was born in the city and introduced to the Peterborough reggae sound system scene by his older brother.

Whiley said of the guides: "They have been made to encourage Brits to rediscover Britain's rich musical heritage by train because nothing beats being able to experience it first-hand.

"There are 30 guides, and they tell the stories behind some of the places that helped put Britain on the world's musical stage, and you can visit them by train."

Good Broadcast Jo Whiley on a trainGood Broadcast
DJ Jo Whiley narrated the guides, which have been developed by the rail industry

She added that one of her favourite stories involved Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones having a chance encounter at Dartford railway station.

The pair had been students and bonded over a shared appreciation of Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.

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