HMV, Liverpool One Picture: JASON ROBERTS
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In the
Footsteps of the Fab Four
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by PETER GRANT (with friend, above)
I
Meet the
T was fate... A summer fete, in fact, that created the most famous band the world has ever known. But that was 1957 – five years earlier, in September, 1953, John Winston Lennon arrived at Quarry Bank High School in Woolton. The respectable, residential location was favoured by his Aunt Mimi, who rejected the possibility of Liverpool Institute as being too far away. If he was daunted by the size of the school, John didn’t show it, preferring instead to assert his natural leadership instincts, either through fighting, or through his developing interest in his music. At least he had a friend from Dovedale Primary School alongside him - Pete Shotton. Pete was to become the washboard player when, in 1956, John formed his first band – The Quarrymen. With Eric Griffiths on guitar, Bill Smith on tea-chest bass and Rod Jones on banjo, the sound was pure Skiffle. Originally called The Blackjacks, the name was changed as an ironic tribute to the school. Members came and went – Bill Smith was replaced by Len Garry, and Colin Hanton joined on drums – having the added advantage of working as an apprentice upholsterer and so able to afford his own drum kit. But John WAS the leader. Colin, Rod John, Pete, Len and Eric would claim their snapshot in history as the line –up that played Woolton Parish Church’s Summer Fair, on July 6, 1957. With a young lad called Paul McCartney watching in the crowd. Mutual friend Ivan Vaughan introduced Paul to John. "Do you want to be in the band?" said a beery Lennon. The rest is part of the magical history story. To this day St Peter's Church is a pop pilgrimage. It really is where it all began... But it also began in lots of other places. Liverpool, is without knowing it, a Beatle theme Park. In 1970 when the Fabs split, the city did little to mark their contribution or its influence and when a councillor said “They couldn't sing for SCHOOL’S OUT: John Lennon’s former school, Dovedale County Junior on Herondale Road, is proud of its famous connection, but toffee” you knew that we didn't have the right attitude. has recently put up signs asking tourists not to take photographs while the current pupils are at play Picture: GAVIN TRAFFORD Time moved on and people from all over the world wanted to know where did THEY come from, these Moptops, fab fashion gurus, philosophical poets? It was Liverpool. Cavern City Tours, created by Bill Heckle and Dave Jones, made sure the Beatles legacy lives on. The Mathew Street Festival is the biggest free musical extravaganza in Europe where a splendid time is guaranteed for all 350,000 visitors. Beatle Day, instigated by Chas Cole of Summer Pops fame, is a celebration when fans don't let their hair down but put a wig on. SCHOOL ON THE HILL: Paul McCartney, left, at the It's true you can tour Joseph Williams School, Netherley, in 1952 and, right, Liverpool in the footsteps of Ringo at St Silas primary school in Dingle in 1949 the Fab Four by taxi (not a newspaper one), bus or by walking. You can see statues and landmarks and visit The Beatles Story at the Albert Dock and the Pier Head. In this supplement you will see their humble origins and the places the Beatles helped put on the map. Enjoy a bit of Beatle nostalgia. So welcome to the city that created four lads who shook FLYING: A 1962 aerial view of the city, showing the buildings of Liverpool Institute, the world. attended by Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Right: Shorefields The earthquake goes on. Comprehensive, which Ringo attended when it was Dingle Secondary Modern
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Quarrymen HALL TOGETHER NOW: St Peter’s Church hall in Woolton, where Paul McCartney was introduced to John Lennon at the summer fete in July 1957 that featured performances by The Quarrymen Picture: COLIN LANE
JUST 17: John Lennon playing a Gallotone acoustic guitar with the Quarrymen, left, at St Peter’s church fete on July 6, 1957. Right: Paul McCartney makes his debut with the band, including Colin Hanton, Len Garry, John Lennon and Eric Griffiths
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A
ROCK THE CASBAH: Pete Best in the basement of the Casbah as it is now, perfectly preserved Picture: COLIN LANE
CLUB CLASS: Early performances at the Casbah Club in Haymans Green, in West Derby - home of the Best family. Right: The Quarrymen, with George, Paul, Ken Brown and John, on the opening night in 1959
REPORTER once asked John Lennon “where did you play in Liverpool?” He said: "Everywhere." But where was the first venue? “Hi, everyone, welcome to the Casbah. "We are the Quarrymen and we’re going to play you some rock and roll.” When the enterprising Mona Best decided to clear out the cellar of her large suburban Victorian villa to turn it into a coffee bar, she wasn’t just opening a new venue for teenagers, but a whole new chapter in pop legend. The house, at 8 Hayman’s Green, West Derby, had been bought with winnings from a bet on the 33-1 winner of the 1956 Derby, Never Say Die. Both her sons, Pete and his younger brother Rory, and a good many pals turned to clearing and painting the underground rooms. Among the pals who turned up to paint was George Harrison, who brought with him Paul, who supplied a rainbow painted ceiling, and John, who painted stars on a black background. Together with Ken Brown, they were also to provide live music for the opening night with their group – The Quarrymen. The Quarrymen earned three pounds a night and would perform regularly until Ken left, following an argument, to form a band with Pete Best called The Blackjacks. The remaining Quarrymen became the Silver Beatles and left for a tour of Scotland. Returning to Liverpool, and without a drummer, they caught a performance of The Blackjacks, playing back at the Casbah, where Pete was now the drummer. Not long after, Pete was asked to join The Beatles, as they now were, and the Casbah would become the landmark venue for the FIRST Beatles performance in Liverpool. As Paul McCartney later commented: “The Casbah was the place were all that started. " We helped paint it and stuff. "We looked upon it as our personal club.” Years later, the Cavern, in Mathew Street, was the name that everyone would remember, but the Casbah was where it truly began.
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All the Best cellars GOING UNDERGROUND: A Cavern membership card from 1962, left; early gigs at the Mathew St club, below and Sir Paul returns to the stage in 1999, bottom
ARCH RIVALS: When the Beatles first played the Cavern, left and right, it was largely a jazz club and their sound was resented by many of the regulars including original owner Alan Sytner who told John Lennon to “cut out the bloody rock’n’roll”
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NATIONAL TREASURE: Simon Osborne of the National Trust in John’s bedroom at Mendips, with a guitar similar to one John owned as a boy Picture: GAVIN TRAFFORD
GIVE ME SOME TOOTH: One of the more unusual exhibits at Mendips – one of John’s baby teeth Picture: JASON ROBERTS
A STARR IS BORN: Ringo leaves his then-home in Admiral Grove, Toxteth, for a gig at the Empire theatre in December 1963. Ringo also lived in Madryn Street, Dingle, as a child
GET BACK: Since Yoko Ono bought Mendips, in Menlove Avenue, and gave it to the National Trust, extensive research and work has gone on to return it to an authentic 1950s period piece
LATEST RELEASE FROM APPLE: Simon Osborne with a cake tin which releases the smell of apple pie into the kitchen. Picture: GAVIN TRAFFORD
WONDER WALLS: Arnold Grove in Wavetree, where George Harrison was born in February 1943. Unlike the former Lennon and McCartney homes, this quiet family home is not open to the public
★★★★
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From Me to View
Inside Mendips – the Lennon family home that Yoko gave to the nation
A
HER MAJESTY: John with Aunt Mimi, with whom he lived at Mendips and who was a strong influence after the death of his mother I’M ONLY SLEEPING: John’s bedroom at Mendips, right
good house in a good area.” Smart, surburban and semi-detached, “Mendips” would provide more for John than just a roof over his head through the 17 or so years that he lived there, from the age of five with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George. It was here that John received the stability that had been missing in his early years, where his modest, but comfortable front bedroom housed his imagination. The Wind In The Willows, Just William, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were all waiting to be read and re-read, in the little room above the porch. In this quiet house, the wildly imaginative seven-year-old John could compile his own volumes of jokes, drawings and cartoons, under the title of “Sport, Speed and Illustrated. Edited and illustrated by J.W.Lennon.” A highly artistic child, at the same time showing an awareness of the formal respectability that was instilled throughout the house by his Aunt Mimi. As John later said: “I was a nice clean-cut suburban boy, and in the class system I was about half an inch in a higher class than George, Paul and Ringo, who lived in subsidised government houses. We owned our own house, had our own garden.” But the neat and orderly nature of the house would soon begin to frustrate the teenage John as the hit parade of the 1950s rocked the porch, and rolled around the morning room. And, as regular as the mantelpiece clock, his Aunt’s warning was issued: “The guitar’s alright for a hobby, John, but you’ll never make a living from it.” Her words would become a permanent ironic reminder when John presented her with them engraved on a plaque. His growing restlessness began to wrestle him from the solidly normal routine of his life at Mendips – first through his friends (or ruffians in Mimi’s eyes) and then through the increasing visits of his fun-loving and wild-spirited mother. But the house remained a retreat in times of need – from the tragedy of losing his mother, knocked down and killed further down the road, to providing a home for his own baby son and new wife, Cynthia, as John became a Beatle.
HELP: Yoko Ono, above, turned benefactor to make sure Mendips was saved as a living museum, saying in 2003: “I wanted to preserve it for the people of Liverpool and John Lennon and Beatles fans all over the world.” She bought the house and gave it to the National Trust for the nation. Left: The sitting room at Mendips
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mers with Mike MODEL CITIZENS: Mabel Sum house the of el mod her McCartney and
YOU’VE GOT TO HIDE YOUR LOO AWAY: Keith Halstead of the National Trust shows off the outside toilet at Forthlin Road
GOLDEN SLUMBERS: Sir Paul McCartney’s former bedroom at the family home, 20 Forthlin Road, Allerton, scene of many early Beatle rehearsals Picture: NTPL / Dennis Gilbert
Visiting Forthlin Road
ADMISSION to the former home of the McCartneys in Allerton is by guided tour only – you need to book and can’t just knock on the door. You can go on a combined minibus tour that also takes in John Lennon’s former home in Menlove Avenue, Mendips. Depending on the time of year
and time of day, the tours leave from either the city centre or from Speke Hall. ● For full information, visit the National Trust website at www.nationaltrust.org.uk, phone 0844 800 4791 or email 20forthlinroad@nationaltrust.org.uk
GIVE PEAS A CHANCE: The McCartneys’ kitchen has been recreated at 20 Forthlin Road Picture: NTPL / Dennis Gilbert
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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Long and Winding (Forthlin) Road T
HE scene is Forthlin Road, Allerton, on a beautiful night. A man turns up with his son and knocks on the door of number 20. The man inside answers: “Yeah … can I help yer?” The visitor says “yeah” back, adding: “I used to live here.” The resident says: “I’m watching the telly.” And closes the door. It’s a great tale. It’s a Beatle tale. Sir Paul McCartney often comes 'home' and isn’t it ironic someone wouldn’t ‘let him in’. He’s proud of the place where he moved with mum Mary, Dad Jim and brother Mike in 1955, and where he wrote so many great songs with John Lennon. Paul's proud that the National Trust made a controversial decision to make a Beatle home a ‘must see’ place back in 1996. It’s now a National Treasure, like him. The fabulous pictures by younger brother Mike (born Peter and a fellow student at Liverpool Institute with George Harrison) are on the walls and show the house as it was in the late 50s and 60s. Home has always been where the heart is for the McCartney clan. To walk around the household – like Lennon’s Mendips – it’s all
by PETER GRANT so surreal. Wind our tape forward A woman who makes models of houses takes her sketch pad to Forthlin Road From her drawing she makes a painstaking scaled-down replica of the house. Mabel Summers of Huyton recreated the number 20 homestead correct in every detail and Mike McCartney gave it the thumbs up when he saw it. Mabel was so chuffed that she sent a photo of it to Paul just to let him know she’d done it. Well, would you believe it . . . a few weeks later an envelope arrived at her Knotty Ash house – a signed pic from Paul saying “From Mac to Mabel… Nice One.” When you leave Forthlin Road you will see a bus go on its way into town – the 86 collects at a bus stop around the corner from Paul's old house. At one concert in London’s Docklands I saw him standing there – our Paul. Arms aloft, before his encore, the Scruff from Speke said in a familiar soft Scouse accent: “Got to go, like, we’re getting the 86 bus home.” The Beatles left Liverpool – they had little choice. But Liverpool never, ever left The Beatles.
LET ‘EM IN: Fans pose for photographers, above, at the opening of 20 Forthlin Road as a National Trust property in 1995. The former home of the McCartney family, it was an early rehearsal venue for the Beatles. Right, Sir Paul was snapped by some neighbours during a return visit to Allerton
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TICKET OF PRIDE: Brian Corrigan, manager of the Lathom social club in Seaforth, where Beatles memorablia adorns the walls. Inset left: a ticket for a show at the Lathom featuring the ‘Silver Beats’ - better known then as the Silver Beatles Pictures: ANDY TEEBAY
KINGS AND QUEENS: The now-derelict Kingsway Club in Southport, above, and the Queens Hall in Widnes, below. Ringo made only his second-ever appearance as a full member of the Beatles at the Kingsway on February 5, 1962. Right: A poster for a performance at the Queens Hall
MEMORIES: The Grosvenor ballroom in Liscard, above, and Lowlands, below, in West Derby, were both early gig venues
★★★★
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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Hard Days and Nights From social clubs to glittering ballrooms, the Beatles played every kind of venue on Merseyside as they learned their trade
DISMAY TRIPPERS: The former Litherland Town Hall, now a health centre, where bosses have refused requests for a plaque to be erected to commemorate performances there by the Beatles, as they believe camera-toting fans would invade the privacy of patients Picture: GAVIN TRAFFORD TOWERING INFERNO: Tower Grounds, New Brighton, once the site of the Tower Ballroom, a regular venue for the Beatles. It was destroyed by fire in 1969. Right: The Beatles on stage at the Tower Ballroom in November 1961 Main picture: PAUL HEAPS; Beatles picture: SAM LEACH
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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‘In my ears ‘A barber showing photographs ....’
‘Behind the shelter in a pretty nurse is selli
THE ROUNDABOUT: As it is today, above, and in the 1950s, left
WE SEE THE BANKER SITTING WAITING FOR A TRIM: Tony Slavin’s barber shop on nearby Church Road
CHOIR PRACTICE: St Barnabas church on Penny Lane, where Paul McCartney used to sing in the choir
Pictures by JASON ROBERTS
‘A four of fish and finger pies ...’ THERE’S A PLAICE: The Penny Lane chip shop. The line from the song refers to a four penn’orth portion of chips . . . and a slightly smutty innuendo of the type the band liked to smuggle into their lyrics from time to time
★★★★
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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s and in my eyes’
n the middle of a roundabout, ing poppies from a tray’
‘On the corner is a banker with a motorcar’
AND THE BANKER NEVER WEARS A MACK: The bank in Smithdown Place (pouring rain not shown)
‘. . . there is a fireman with an hourglass’
P
ENNY Lane has always been in my eyes and ears. Ever since my dad took me to see Liverpool FC schoolboys play on the pitch near Dovedale Towers. “Dad, why are they singing about Penny Lane on the radio?” I asked. He smiled. I soon found out. Years later, fast forward the tape and that bemused kid in a duffle coat was standing opposite Paul McCartney for an interview. My mobile phone went off and the ring tone was Penny Lane. Paul looked at me, smiled and said: "You owe me for that." I think he's had enough royalties (only kidding, Paul, cheque's in the post. Penny Lane is actually the most unremarkable of streets you can imagine because it is just a thoroughfare off Smithdown Place where the song is really set. But Smithdown Place doesn’t scan. The Roundabout is still there – and the bank and the barber’s. And Barnardo's, as it is now, was once the photo shop (number 19) of Albert Marrion who took the first pics of the Fabs as a
by PETER GRANT favour for Brian Epstein in 1961. There was never any nurse selling poppies from a tray – in any case, Remembrance Sunday is in November, not normally a good time for “blue suburban skies” . The fire station, where a fireman dutifully cleans his machine (another Beatle in-joke), is in Mather Avenue further up the road. Woolworth’s, where Cynthia Lennon worked on the perfume counter, has now closed down and things have changed so much that there are wine bars along Allerton Road with tables outside. But it is a magical place – extraordinary for its ordinariness. John lived in nearby Newcastle Road and he would meet Paul at the roundabout (a bistro, now closed, named after Sgt Pepper stands there – Penny Lane was due to go on that very same album till Brian Epstein wanted a separate single released. Down in real Penny Lane which leads to Sefton Park (where John’s dad met John's
mum Julia and where a bequest from George helped to save the famous Palm House from dereliction) you feel as if you are in Beatle land (South Liverpool, that is). The story goes on. Penny Lane was recreated for the video of the ‘reunion’ single Free As a Bird. Penny Lane is still a place of pop pilgrimage. Take a camera, click away at the buildings that are still there. the street signs embedded so you can't steal them ... as for the characters, well, they were the products of Lennon and McCartney's imagination. But, The Beatles helped put Liverpool firmly on the world map. Even The Rutles paid homage to Penny Lane with their track on the fictitious Tragical History Tour album, called Denny Laine. Yet even now when you see the leafy Penny Lane itself, your mind wanders again. Mind games . . . what were they playing at? John and Paul wanted to capture parts of their childhood for posterity. They did.
AND THEN THE FIREMAN RUSHES IN: The fire station on Mather Avenue. Left: Woolworths, where Cynthia Lennon once worked
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ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE: American Beatles fans Paul Davies and Linda Thomas were married next to the famous gates in 2006 Picture: EDDIE BARFORD
NOTHING IS REAL: At least, the original Strawberry Field children’s home building is no longer real, having been demolished some years ago. The building that replaced it closed as a children’s home in 2005
I KNOW WHEN IT’S A DREAM: People surround the "Imagine" mosiac in the Strawberry Fields section of New York's Central Park, on December 8, 2005, the 25th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon
RED IS THE COLOUR THAT MY BABY WORE: Beatles fan Colin Unwin, from Rochdale, re-paints the gates last year Picture: PAUL HEAPS
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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‘Let me take you down’ A
S a Beatle guide on the Magical Mystery Tour bus, the most moving of all destinations has to be Strawberry Field. In the song, John is singing about the sandstone pillars and gates of Strawberry Fields (Forever). In the plural? It was rumoured it was originally called ‘Calderstones Park . . . Forever’ – near to John’s home. But it doesn’t scan – or does it? Try singing it. Imagine . . . John looking down from heaven listening – he’d like that. Mimi took him there from the nearby Mendips. As a kid he would ‘sag off ’ school too – play truant – with his mates Ivan, Nigel and Pete. And with his pals sell bottles of lemonade at the garden parties and summer fetes. So when he sang, in his famous nasal twang, “No one I know is in my tree” – he was talking about the great branches that sprawled before him over the entrance.
Sun 5 Sept Eduardo Niebla Experience Wed 15 Sept Corinne West & Kelly-Jo Phelps Sun 10 Oct Opera Evening Concert Thurs 16 Oct Pete Quinn & the London Lasses
by PETER GRANT Years later, critics thought it had LSD influences. No, it was pure memories of innocence. On the coach tours I did twice daily, packed with Beatle buffs from around the world, this was THE Footstep everyone wanted to walk in. I used to carry a box of tissues on every trip. This part of South Liverpool is like a fairy tale – people thought it was all imagined. Many would cry when they heard Lennon’s beautiful voice as the coach (a replica of the one used in the 1967 film) trundled down Beaconsfield Road. Most stood there, tears in their eyes, as they kissed the wall and left a piece of glorious graffiti. “Love yer, John XX,” and “We miss you, John XXX,” It was originally a Salvation Army Children’s Home in 1936. Demolished in the late 60s it was rebuilt.
John cared about it till the day he died. Yoko made sure of that, sending gifts and cheques every Christmas. She visited it with Sean in 1984. Came at midnight, too. In 1985 a twin garden was created in Central Park, New York. Some believe John’s ashes are scattered here in Liverpool (I do) – others know his spirit is there. Now the gates are said to be the most photographed in the world followed by Buckingham Palace and Elvis’s Graceland. They symbolise Lennon in a way. Like nearby Penny Lane, ordinary things can reflect something far more. Going back now you can see what appealed to young John Lennon – sitting there drawing his doodles, creating characters out of nowhere. They would come bouncing out . . . walrus, a Blue Meanie, Polythene Pam, Mean Mr Mustard and an Egg Man. Strawberry Fields really are forever.
The Magical Music Venue For more information about events call: 0151 726 9304 or visit www.palmhouse.org.uk For tickets: www.wegottickets.com Find us on Facebook Sefton Park Palm House, Sefton Park, Liverpool, L17 1AP
NOTHING TO GET HUNG ABOUT: The gates at Strawberry Field, in Beaconsfield Road, Woolton, remain a world-famous landmark for Beatles fans. Sadly, souvenir hunters or vandals did get hung up about the gates a few years ago, and un-hung them. They were later returned and restored. Picture: PAUL HEAPS
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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PREMIERE LEAGUE: The Beatles on the balcony of Liverpool town hall in 1964 for a premiere showing of their film A Hard Day’s Night. With John, Ringo, George and Paul are Alderman Louis Caplan and Lady Mayoress Mrs Fanny Bodeker. Forty-four years later, in 2008, and then-Lord Mayor Steve Rotheram recreates the scene with the help of some waxwork Beatles Lower Picture: COLIN LANE
GOOD NIGHT: Fans gather behind the town hall in Exchange Flags for the northern premiere of A Hard Day's Night in Liverpool, above. Right: The Beatles arrive at Speke airport on their way to the screening. Left: Actor Wilfred Brambell, who appeared in the film (perhaps better known as Albert Steptoe from the TV sitcom Steptoe and Son) outside the town hall
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
★★★★
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Do you want to know a secret?
Besides their homes and early concert venues, there are many places around Merseyside which had special significance for the Beatles and their songs – some better known than others, explains Beatles expert PETER GRANT
T
ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK: A regular meeting place for the young Beatles, Picton – or Wavertree – Clock at the junction of Childwall Road, Church Road North and the High Street is one of south Liverpool’s best-known landmarks. But did it also inspire one of the band’s best-known songs? Picture: ANDREW TEEBAY
HE Picton Clock -now there's one of Liverpool's greatest secrets. But don't expect a Beatle to back it up. After all, Paul still says that Eleanor Rigby was a made-up name even though there's a gravestone to the lady in St Peter's churchyard. The Picton Clock, or Wavertree Clock, around the corner from George's house in Arnold Grove is now photographed by tourists. Why ? On the tour coach I always pointed out that this was where John, George and Paul would get the bus into town (they'd get Richie along the way). George's dad, Harry, was a bus driver and if they were lucky they didn't have to pay. But the meeting place is important. Did Paul read the poem (photographed here) and memorise the key words and years later put them into Lady Madonna? .... SEE HOW THEY RUN They also make a guest appearance in I Am The Walrus. It’s not hard to imagine the words becoming embedded in the fertile mind of a young songwriter, only to appear again at a later date as perhaps an unconscious reminder of adolescent years. Here’s the poem – see what you think. But one thing is for sure – in this part of Liverpool you are always treading in the footsteps of the Beatles.
Hereby we see the minutes, how they run: How many make the hours full complete: How many hours bring about the day, How many days will finish up the year, So minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. Pass’d over to the end they were created, Would bring white hairs unto a quiet grave. It’s more than 50 years since the young John, Paul, George and Ringo first began to explore their city. But despite the pace and scale of change in recent times throughout Liverpool, you’ll always come across a familiar place that has links with a piece of Beatle history – as the pictures on these pages, and the following two, prove.
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PUB ROCK: Round the corner from where Ringo used to live, in the famous Welsh streets of the Dingle, The Empress, left, featured on the cover of his solo album Sentimental Journey, above Main picture: EDDIE BARFORD
Beer, there and everywhere ... GRAPES OF FROTH: Paul McCartney, Pete Best, George Harrison and John Lennon enjoy a pint in the Grapes Pub in Mathew Street
DRINK YOUR PHIL: The Philharmonic on Hope Street. John once said that being able to have a quiet pint in the Phil was the thing he missed most about life before fame Picture: TRACEY O’NEILL
THE Beatles had many favourite watering holes around Liverpool – and most are still very much open for business. Here’s a Fab Five: ● The Grapes Located on Mathew Street, just along from the world famous Cavern, the Grapes rightfully occupies a prime position in the hit parade of Beatle landmarks. When the queues of predominantly teenage fans stretched down the street, whatever the weather, The Grapes was guaranteed to be always crowded – particularly as the Cavern was an alcohol-free venue. The Mathew Street webcam number three, hosted by the pub, provides you with a chance to preserve your own personal memory within the on line gallery of over 1,000 images. With its lively mix of memorabilia on tap to quench even the thirstiest of enquiring Beatle fans, you could still find yourself sharing a table with someone who can truthfully tell you “I was there”. ● The White Star Just around the corner, where Allan Williams is immortalised on the wall. ● Ye Cracke Clinging to the steeply inclined streets surrounding Liverpool Art College, Ye Cracke provided a regular meeting point for John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe and a great many other students, alongside poets, painters and pub-politicians. With a rough and ready interior, not much has changed since the grainy black and white photographed days when the myopic teenage John frowned and squinted at the camera as he posed with college friends outside the pub – the famous NHS glasses firmly kept out of sight.
FAB FAVE: Ye Cracke, in Rice Street ● The Philharmonic When asked what was the biggest drag about being a Beatle John said: "Not being able to have a pint in the Phil." ● The Jacaranda Another Bohemian haunt popular with art students, the Jacaranda was opened in on old watchmaker’s shop in 1957 by Allan Williams who was to become the Beatles’ first manager and known forever after as the man who gave the Beatles away. It was outside ‘The Jac’ that the Beatles climbed into the van that would take them to Hamburg for the first time. Now veterans of cramped and dimly lit living-room sized clubs across Merseyside, they would find little improvement in the way of comforts or facilities in the red light area streets of Hamburg.
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Here, there and everywhere . . .
PARK LIFE: The bandstand in Sefton Park which is thought to have inspired Sgt Pepper and, right, the Palm House which George helped to restore. Pictures: PAUL HEAPS, above, and STEPHEN SHAKESHAFT, right
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EORGE Melly loved The Beatles. He told me so. In a suit as loud as one of their Sgt Pepper outfits, I drank with the colourful singer before he went on stage in London. "Dear Boy, " he said, “they ARE Liverpool. "You think of them and the city comes up in your mind." How right he was. On the day I met him he had, in his inside pocket, a white envelope. "Do you know, old chap,” he said ( after two large G and Ts I went from a boy to old chap). “What do you think is in here?” I told him I wasn't a psychic. He laughed. And he said: "It's a cheque from George Harrison to go towards the renovation of the Palm House." The beautiful Sefton Park Palm House was in an ugly way and a campaign was
by PETER GRANT mounted to restore it to its former glory. As a journalist I asked Mr Melly how much it was for and he put his finger to his lips and said “never shall be told”. George Harrison, he pointed out, didn't want publicity. In his autobiography I Me Mine, George Harrison dedicated it to Gardeners Everywhere. If he hadn't been a Beatle he would have been a gardener. People ask for a monument to George but he wasn't into statues The Palm House is where, maybe, we should put a fountain. It's in Sefton Park where all the Fabs went as kids. The bandstand is where Sgt Pepper type brass bands played.
It is now officially recognised as an inspiration for the Lonely Hearts Club Band with a sign board. Paul used to row boats there in the lake with his dad. Brother Mike took pictures. A lot of romances were made there. They must have ended up in lyrics. There is a Beatle tour now in London. You can jump on a bus and listen about their capital achievements. But that's there. This is Liverpool – they were born and brought up here and would have stayed had fame not come along. The Fab Four are as much a part of the fabric of the city as football, humour and music.
MY SWEET LAWN: Olivia Harrison, George’s widow, with Ringo Starr in a garden dedicated to George’s memory at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2008. George’s love of gardens was revealed after his death in his secret support of the Sefton Park Palm House restoration project
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in association with ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE: The statue of Eleanor Rigby by Tommy Steele in Stanley Street and, below, stone mason Lee Dillon repairs the real Eleanor Rigby’s grave at St Peter's Church, Woolton – scene of the famous Lennon and McCartney meeting Below left: the statue at Cavern Walks Pictures: JASON ROBERTS and JAMES MALONEY
THESE BIRDS HAVE FLOWN: Cherie Blair and Yoko Ono, left, with the statue of John Lennon at Liverpool Airport, which was renamed in his honour in 2002 Picture: EDDIE BARFORD
YOU WON’T SEE ME: Arthur Dooley’s statue of Four Lads Who Shook The World, above, being carried as babies by a Madonna-esque female figure, is perched high on the wall in Mathew Street and could be missed by some tourists Picture: HOWARD DAVIES
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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0844 847 1616
Clay trippers Where to see the Beatles immortalised in statues and memorials by PETER GRANT
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STATUE, GEORGE? The Fab Four’s statue above the Beatles Shop in Mathew Street
HERE was a time when there wasn't a statue in Liverpool to mark The Beatles. It took DJ Pete Price to start a campaign to get something set up in honour of the band. The late Arthur Dooley created the now famous Mathew Street statue Four Lads Who Shook The World. Since then they've sprouted up every where. There is the Cavern Walks creation, by John Doubleday – at the unveiling, Mike McCartney said: "Which one is our kid?" Outside the Cavern you have a leather clad, solo Lennon staring down Mathew Street. He is depicting his Hamburg days but he's home now and standing in front of all of the 'fame bricks' detailing everyone who had played the venue just like he did – 292 times. Perhaps unsurprisingly, because of its location, this is one of the most popular, photographed statues in Liverpool. The Beatle Shop down the road has a fantastic version of The Beatles peering out over their door way. On the day George died someone climbed up and planted a rose near him. Around the corner in Stanley Street is Eleanor Rigby – lovingly crafted by Tommy Steele. Inside her bronze frame she has a copy of the Liverpool ECHO. And the Hard Days Night Hotel has all four Beatles standing on the ledge. There are plaques to the Beatles all over the city even one in Ye Cracke pub, and they can be found in the remotest places where they played. Isn't it a pity there isn't one for George Harrison outside his house ... sadly, you have to be dead for 20 years before they’ll do it. George would have loved the irony. At John Lennon International Airport we have Tom Murphy's Lennon with his peace sign. It was unveiled by Yoko and photographed by everyone who passes through. What did Ringo think of that? "They could have named the baggage carousel after me." Quite.
TWO OF US: Julia Baird, John Lennon’s sister, with his statue in Mathew Street, one of the most photographed spots in Liverpool Picture: ANDREW TEEBAY
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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in association with
Are these places you’ll remember? Test your knowledge of Beatle places and facts in our quiz
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4 10 11) I Am The Greatest, from Ringo's debut solo album 12) C) Kensington 13) The Everyman 14) Royal Court 15) Backbeat 16) False. Dick Lester used a London pub and changed its name for filming. 17) John Lennon on October 9, 1940 18)a The Zebra Crossing; many believe it is here in Liverpool
19) B) The Bluecoat 20) Mersey Beat 21) True. The Bootles was the name Neil Innes liked when he saw the sign as he drove into Liverpool. Eric Idle didn't like it 22) Hessy's. 23) It's where John married Cynthia. It used to be a Register Office 24) St Nick's Church at the Pier Head 25) Paul, as told to the Liverpool ECHO.
2) The Beatles mentioned Liverpool once on an album track – which one? 3) When Paul played his Cavern comeback, where did he go for a post-show lager? 4) George Harrison made a flying visit to his home town in the late 90s with wife Olivia. What city centre pub did he stop off at? a) The Grapes b) The White Star c) The Crocodile 5) True or False: the video for the Beatles Penny Lane/ Strawberry Fields double A side single was filmed in the actual locations. 6) Paul returned to the Liverpool Empire for a concert to mark George's death. What song did he sing for his old pal? 7) Which pub featured on the cover of Ringo's Sentimental Journey album? 8) True or False: Paul once worked in Lewis's department store and later went back with his band to play a corporate do when they were nearly famous. 9) True or False: George Harrison was an apprentice electrician in Blacklers? 10) What was the real name of the Fish and Chip Boat, on which The Beatles used to play 11) In what song written by John, for Ringo, does he say "When I Was a Little Boy, Way Back Home in Liverpool?" 12) In which part of Liverpool will you find streets named after the Fab Four? a) Toxteth b) West Derby c) Kensington 13) Which theatre hosted the world premiere of the musical Lennon? 14) Where is the Lennon musical being re staged in 2010? 15) The Odeon in London Road played a big part in Beatle history. What film about their early career premiered there on March 24, 1994 16) True or False: A pub on Merseyside called the Liverpool Arms featured in the film A Hard Day's Night 17) Which Beatle was born at Liverpool Maternity Hospital, Oxford Street? 18) When tourists come toLiverpool what are they sometimes disappointed NOT to find? a) The Abbey Road zebra crossing b) A Yellow Submarine c) The Cavern Club 19) Yoko appeared in Liverpool before she met John , at an 'art happening'. Where was it? a) The Playhouse b) The Bluecoat c) The Japanese Culture Club 20) What famous music paper had its office in 81a Renshaw Street? 21) True or False: The Rutles were originally going to be called The Bootles 22) Which famous Liverpool guitar shop The Beatles frequented was featured in the film Ferry 'Cross the Mersey? 23) Why is 64 Mount Pleasant significant to Beatle fans? 24) Where was the funeral service for Cavern DJ Bob Wooler held, attended by hundreds of Merseybeat musicians? 25) Which Beatle said: “Liverpool keeps me feet on the ground.”
Only solutions (as John would say) 1) Glass Onion 2) Maggie May on Let It Be 3) The Sports Bar next door 4) C) The Crocodile 5) False: They were filmed in Hyde Park. 6) Yesterday 7) The Empress in Dingle 8) True 9) True 10) The Royal Iris
1) On which album track does John sing about Dingle's ‘Cast Iron shore?’
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a chas cole for cmp entertainment presentation
liverpool summer pops festival 2010 Liverpool’s very own ‘RED NOSE’ day!
presented by SJM
All proceeds to The Beatles Day Foundation
8pm LIVERPOOL ECHO ARENA
2 HOURS OF CLASSIC BEATLES LIVE!
...a must for Beatles fans, old and new!
presented by SJM
Note-for-note, production - brings one of Rock ‘n‘ Roll’s greatest landmark albums back to life... A HOST OF MUSICAL STARS CELEBRATE THE MUSICAL LEGACY OF THE BEATLES...
OTHER BEATLES DAY ACTIVITIES Live Bands all day at Zeligs Restaurant & Cavern Club Family Fun in Williamson Square & Chavasse Park Magical Mystery Tour Charity Abseiling event
0844 847 1616 24hr hotline/vip experience Gigantic 0115 959 7908
ALL TICKETS SUBJECT TO BOOKING FEE
echo arena box office 0844 8000 400
See Tickets 0871 220 0260
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Official Partners
ticketline 0151 256 5555 Ticketweb 0844 477 2000 See Summer Pops with Merseytravel
www.merseytravel.gov.uk
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