A BOOK about nine friends from Liphook who travelled around the world in a bus has been launched where the journey began and ended.

Author Richard King launched Band on the Bus: Around the World in a Double-Decker at the Deer’s Hut pub in Liphook.

Richard and his eight friends started their world trip at the Deer’s Hut in September 1969, and completed their adventure back at the same pub in July 1972.

The group travelled around the world in a customised Leyland PD2 bus, with a mere 700,000 miles on the odometer, called ‘Hairy Pillock’.

Along the way they became honorary citizens of Texas, drove through the Khyber Pass, released a folk music record as The Philanderers in Australia, performed for the Shah and Empress of Iran, and appeared on numerous television and radio shows around the world.

In Band on the Bus Richard recounts the entire trip, from navigating perilous Turkish mountain roads and fording flooded rivers in Pakistan to the kindness of strangers and the deep bonds of friendships forged on the road.

Richard was joined at the launch by Adrian Bird and Clive Hughes, who were also on the trip, which had come about due to a bet over a free pint of beer.

Richard explained: “We were sat in the Deer’s Hut mucking around and landlord Bert Oram said we were all mouth, so Bert said if we could drive a double-decker bus around the world he’d give each of us a free pint.

“The whole thing was an absolute shambles, but I think it is probably one of the best decisions I ever made.

“Apart from getting married it changed my life more than anything else.

“The trip unlocked the potential in us, and nearly 50 years on the memories are very much still in my mind.”