Their lyrics celebrated sun, sand and surfing in glamorous 1960s California – but the Beach Boys have inspired a Hackney musician to sing about a slightly chillier coastline.

James Clarke, 45, has recorded a summer single called Love’s Gonna Be My Favourite Game as a tribute to one of his all-time favourite bands as well as the beaches of Norfolk and Suffolk.

The singer-songwriter, who was in the 1980s Liverpool band the Cherry Boys and now works as a government researcher, had not seen East Anglia’s shoreline until recently.

But thanks to his girlfriend Sheena Cameron in Norwich, he has now sampled some of the region’s most picturesque spots and chose to name-check his favourites in a romantic Beach Boys parody.

His song features the lyrics: “Take a little drive up to Holkham Bay, Stopping for Cromer Crab on the way, Southwold, G.Y(Great Yarmouth), Sheringham, Ohh la la la its Gunton Sands, Cruisin’ down the Acle Straight, tell mama we’ll be a little late.”

It samples Beach Boys classics such as California Girls, Surfin’ USA and Good Vibrations.

“As I started to think about the lyrics, it occurred to me that it might be interesting and an amusing idea to parody the band’s tendency to sing about surfing spots across California, and instead substitute with them with places in Norfolk and Suffolk,” said James, of Heyworth Road, Lower Clapton.

He is now hoping for pop chart success after his tune attracted the attention of the local press and he decided to release it as a single.

“I did not expect this at all,” said James.

“I just recorded as a song towards an album but it has drawn the attention because of the story behind it.”

The single will be released as a download on August 8.

You can also hear it on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydq12zvnUww