New York cabbie with a mouth as big as the city

Some say that New York has the biggest mouth in the world. This is the tale of Peter Franklin, the New York taxi driver with a mouth to rival that of his native city - a man who built a broadcasting empire on being able to talk the talk - some feat in the Big Apple.

He's the regular guy who regularly appears on the Pat Kenny radio show regaling listeners with tales of life on the city streets. It was RTE which helped start his broadcasting career. There are people who refuse to leave the side of the radio when he's on. Franklin has serious fans.

But RTE is not the only recipient of the wit and wisdom of the man they call the Gabby Cabbie - he now does 40-50 radio broadcasts a week, on more than 400 stations in 71 countries. "I gotta tell you, on an average month I got 300 million people listenin' to me all over the world," he says in that straight-down-the-middle New York accent.

Right now his phone is hopping. From Hong Kong to Belfast they want Franklin's take on the Clinton saga. Stars, politicians, legal eagles - he gets them all in his cab. "They tell me things, I check 'em out, and I pass 'em on," he says.

Once upon a time Peter Franklin was just a regular cab driver. Then fate intervened and now he is probably the most famous cabbie in the world. Franklin tells it best:

"I was born in New York in the South Bronx, I married here, had my kids here. One day this kid from the BBC gets into my cab. Wants to go to Brooklyn to see his girlfriend. The guy wants to interview me. Says I'm a typical New York cab driver. I tell him I'm not. I mean I can speak English."

Franklin ended up on the BBC World Service. "Then a producer on the Pat Kenny show rings me up to find out what's goin' on in New York. So Pat started calling me. I have a wonderful relationship with Pat. Any time I get an Irish person in my cab I tell them he's my cousin," he says.

That was 10 years ago. After his debut on RTE, Franklin and his wife decided they had hit on something. "We said why can't we contact stations all over the world saying, `Hey. You want someone available 24 hours a day to tell you what's goin' on?' " Hundreds did.

Franklin accepts what he calls "token payments" from the stations, but his main source of income now comes from the tours of New York he gives to visitors in his cab, or in Franklinspeak, "my yellow mobile conveyance lounge".

The stations are more than happy to advertise these tours. People, "lots of Irish people", he says, come from all over the world to New York and make it their business to hook up with the Gabby Cabbie. He shows them the seamy as well as the slick side of New York.

"You see I'm a regular guy and people appreciate that. They know there is no hidden agenda," he says, attempting to divine the secret of his success.

"One morning Gerry Adams was in New York and I went to have a look. I was talking to the BBC in Belfast and I mentioned that Gerry Adams was a cool lookin' guy. A whole bunch of Protestants complained to the station about me saying that. My reaction? I said: `You guys should send someone cool for a change, too, instead of complaining.' Now only I could get away with that," he declares.

He has written a book about his exploits and has an award-winning Web site (http://www.gabby.com) maintained by his 16-year-old son. "I've taken calls at all hours, at baseball games, in bed, in the bath. It doesn't disrupt my life. It's fun, but I have to be careful, I check my information very carefully and don't do commercials. I know almost every radio presenter in the world. I treat it with respect. I mean no one's gonna fire me. You can't say that about the regular presenters."

So what is his take on the Clinton saga?

"That guy's in a lotta trouble. The US public don't trust him, but if he is clever enough he will survive. All the kids think he is some kinda bum. He is supposed to be bringing peace everywhere, but how can he when he is worrying about his zipper?"

Franklin sends weekly news bulletins to his clients, who pick out the stories they want him to talk about. Recently he wowed Kenny's listeners with the nugget that "Monica Lewinsky's mom wrote a book in which she spoke of having an affair with Placido Domingo."

Peter Franklin's meter is ticking. "If you need to know anything that's happening in New York give me a holler," he says.

Well, who else you gonna call?