When planning our driving tour so very long ago from northern Wales to Scotland via the serene Lake District in England, Steven and I made sure to set aside enough time to stop in Liverpool as both of us were big Beatles' fans. The city was right on the way and only a couple of hours' drive from our last stop in Conwy, Wales, so it made perfect sense to learn more about the Fab Four's early days. We didn't have the time, unfortunately, to see the pair of striking cathedrals, any of Liverpool's museums and take in the charms of the Liverpudlians, as we had a long day ahead of us. Better than nothing, we thought, was taking in as many Beatles-related sights as possible in a short amount of time so the Magical Mystery Tour was the best bet.
Dale, our very enthusiastic commentator, remarked as we passed by St. Paul's Anglican Church that it was the biggest Anglican church in the world and also had the world's largest pipe organ. Paul McCartney, Dale added, was denied entry to the choir because his voice wasn't good enough! After Paul returned to the cathedral for a classical concert, he invited the same choirmaster who quipped that he was the one who made Paul famous for not having him in the choir!
Dale told us that Ringo Starr came by his first name because he liked to wear gold rings on every finger so his mum told him he looked more like a Ringo than a Richard! After Pete Best, the Beatles' initial drummer, saw Ringo playing in Hamburg, Germany, and noticed how popular he was with the female fans, he told the other Beatles that Ringo would be a better addition to the band.
Dale pointed out Sefton Park, Liverpool's largest park, where John Lennon's parents met.
It was fun stopping for a few minutes in Penny Lane because of the song of the same name that was made famous when it was released in February 1967 with Strawberry Fields Forever. Written primarily by Paul McCartney, the lyrics referred to the sights and characters that McCartney recalled from his upbringing in the city.
Specifically, the song's lyrics depicted the goings on "near the shelter in the middle of the roundabout." It was at the bus shelter that Paul, George and John transferred to get to central Liverpool and back.
Our psychedelic bus next stopped at the end of a lane so we could all walk down to see where George Harrison was born, the youngest of four children, at #12 Arnold Grove on February 24, 1943. The family of six all lived in the 'two up and two down' home for seven years that had an outdoor toilet and its only heat came from one coal fire.
Dale said it was only a few years before George died that he found out he'd actually born on February 25th, not the 24th, as he'd been told all his life. Apparently, his mum had written down the date she'd finished reading the paper and not the date he was born!
As the bus wasn't allowed to stop, we next drove past one of John Lennon's homes on Queen's Drive when he lived there in the 1970s. Dale explained that Lennon and Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager, often played for hours in the room with the large windows on the bottom floor. Epstein prided himself on having the largest record collection in England. I never knew that John played guitar with just four strings because he'd learned to first play the banjo. He made his debut with The Quarrymen in 1957.
Dale said that after Epstein died in 1967, arguments started straight away among the Beatles as to their management and finances. The band broke up in 1970 with John crediting Brian as being an intuitive, theatrical guy.
Strawberry Field was a Salvation Army children's home near Lennon's home. I read that Lennon used to climb the fence to play with the kids there. All we could see was the red gate that formerly belonged to a Victorian mansion from the 1870s.
For most of his childhood, Lennon lived with his Aunt Mimi at a middle-class home called Mendips even though he sang about being a working-class hero. I read that his aunt once told him, "A guitar's all right, John, but you'll never earn a living by it." When John became famous, he bought her a cottage in the country and etched those prophetic words over the fireplace!
In 2002, Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, bought the house and donated it to the National Trust that now runs tours of the home. It was lucky that the bachelor who owned the home decades after them didn't upgrade it, so the interior remained mostly unchanged after the Lennons left. If we'd had more time, it would have been fun to enter the home through the kitchen just as McCartney did when he visited Lennon, seen the living room where The Quarrymen practiced and visited John's bedroom where he lay awake listening to Radio Luxembourg.
In 2002, Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, bought the house and donated it to the National Trust that now runs tours of the home. It was lucky that the bachelor who owned the home decades after them didn't upgrade it, so the interior remained mostly unchanged after the Lennons left. If we'd had more time, it would have been fun to enter the home through the kitchen just as McCartney did when he visited Lennon, seen the living room where The Quarrymen practiced and visited John's bedroom where he lay awake listening to Radio Luxembourg.
Notice the blue historical plaque on the upper story? Dale said that was only possible because Lennon had been dead for a minimum of twenty years.
A short walk away was St. Peter's Church where Lennon and McCartney met and also where Eleanor Rigby was buried.
The National Trust also conducted tours of McCartney's home located at 20 Forthlin Road where Paul lived until 1964 when he was already a superstar. As budding musicians, Lennon and McCartney would take a shortcut through a golf course to walk to each other's house to listen to music, play their guitars and write songs. It was fun thinking that more than 100 Beatles' tunes were written here, including I Saw Her Standing There, on days when Paul and John skipped school!
What added so much to our enjoyment of the tour was listening to Beatles' tunes being played that were apropos to the part of the tour where we were. Penny Lane at the roundabout, Strawberry Lane before we reached the red gates, P.S. I Love You at Paul's last home, etc. Dale stated that Paul lived in the room above the door and that the Beatles became the most important rock and roll band in history because so many of their songs were written at this home in the front room. A lot of the songs were also written in the bathroom because it had the best acoustics, according to Dale!
Travel writer Rick Steves wrote that famous musicians performing in Liverpool often tour the Lennon and McCartney homes. Bob Dylan once showed up for the tour disguised in a hoodie and Paul himself also pops by, too!
The two-hour tour ended with our being dropped off in the part of central Liverpool known as the Cavern Quarter so we could then wander around some more of the sights linked to the most famous band in music history. Imagine staying at the Hard Day's Night Hotel located in the heart of the city amid all the Beatles' sights! Statues of the Fab Four decorated the hotel's second story.
The Cavern Club opened in the basement of a grocery shop in January of 1957 at 10 Mathew Street. It quickly became the most famous club in the world with the Beatles building a rabid, local following. Though the site became synonymous with the Beatles, it had to be demolished in 1973 to allow construction of a ventilation shaft for an underground subway.
A recreated version of the club was opened next door which was designed to mimic the original as much as possible. Filled with memorabilia, the club is constantly packed with bands playing Beatles' hits.
The Wall of Fame bricks celebrated all of the 1,801 bands who performed at the club from 1957-1973 together with other artists who performed at the reopened club since April of 1984. When 15,000 bricks from the old site were used in the new building, $500,000 was raised for the Sally Ann!
A statue of John, wearing an early Beatles leather outfit, faced the entrance of the new Cavern Club.
Our guide's knowledge about the history, the meanings behind the songs and his ability to answer questions made this tour so interesting and entertaining. If you are ever also lucky enough to be near Liverpool, I think you'll also have a blast taking the Magical Mystery Tour especially if your guide is also as full of passion for both the city and the Beatles!
Next post: Onto the Lake District for a few hours before finally spending the night in Hexham near Hadrian's Wall just shy of the Scottish border.
I am concurrently writing posts about our trip last month to Sri Lanka that was supposed to have been the beginning of a four-month long adventure to Asia and the Middle East before the coronavirus pandemic swept the world. This is a link to the most recent post of our tuk tuk tour of Colombo, including the Wolf Church!
Posted on April 1st, 2020, that is anything but the normal April Fool's Day in the age of Covid-19. Please stay healthy, safe and connected to all those you hold dear.
Cheyenne Mtn Zoo in Colorado Springs had a young giraffe named Penny. So named because she listened to music and liked Penny Lane best. Cute... Janina
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