WIRRAL musician Dean Johnson has written a song supporting a campaign to turn the former Birkenhead Town Hall into an arts centre in memory of late DJ John Peel.

The song, 'It's Gonna Cost Ya', follows an open day at the historic Hamilton Square venue, where he was asked by the Hamilton Partnership - a consortium who submitted the proposal - to write a song raising awareness of its intentions for the centre.

Dean, 50, from Oxton told the Globe: "I think I was in the right place at the right time, and it's an honour to be involved in helping to raise awareness for a project as important as the John Peel Centre is.

"I know there's a lot of financial stuff, but I'm just a songwriter reacting to the campaign with music.

"John Peel gave voice to countless thousands of people on his revolutionary show, so I'm just giving voice to this place on his behalf."

Led by Wirral arts campaigner John Gorman, the Hamilton Partnership plan to use the building to create The John Peel Centre for Community, Innovation and Creative Arts.

In December, the group learned it was the only group that had made it through to the final stage of a council selection process. It should find out in July whether its bid has been successful, subject to consideration of its business plan.

If approved, the centre would include theatre and studio space, arts workshops and academy, the John Peel archive, business and enterprise centre, a wedding and conference venue and a resource centre for the community and voluntary sector. It would be a lasting tribute to Heswall-born Radio One DJ John, who died in 2004.

Dean said: “John Gorman told me to write from the heart about the project and be as honest as I can.

"So, I looked at the situation and articulated it in the best way I could. I hope it gets the message across."

Dean has been in the music business for more than 25 years and spends much of his time helping aspiring Wirral songwriters.

He is also working on a musical play based on the life of the First World War Birkenhead war poet Wilfred Owen, entitled ‘Bullets and Daffodils’.

Dean made himself the envy of Beatles fans across the world when asked by Radio Merseyside presenter Spencer Leigh to complete the lyrics of a song written by George Harrison. The song has now been recorded.

He was invited to put the finishing touches to a fragment of Silence (Is Its Own Reply), written by the late guitarist at the height of the band's fame in the 1960s.

The original ten lines were given to the Fab Four's biographer Hunter Davies by Harrison for inclusion in a biography, which was published at the time.

The lyrics, which hint at an uneasy relationship between George and bandmate John Lennon, were put aside and forgotten about until they were recently rediscovered.

The completed song has now been recorded and is waiting for a release date. Dean said: "It was quite controversial and became the subject of a lot of discussion on the Internet and the world media.

“Harrisongs and Apple contacted me because they became aware what was happening. So, there were copyright ramifications that had to be sorted out in order to move forward.

"That's done now, everything's sorted and I’ve managed to appease George's widow, Olivia Harrison.

"The proceeds are going to a charity, which has got to be a Harrison-linked one, so I’m really excited about it."

Looking to the future, he said: "I hope to be involved in the centre myself, because I am becoming more involved, culturally, in the area now.

"I really want to pull back from being on the road nationally. Because of the George Harrison thing, my profile was raised. So I want to become more of an ambassador now and contribute on a local stage.