When I was about nine years old, I had a next door neighbor who was thirteen. We hit it off very well and began to hang out together. As an early developer, I was already beginning to look like a teenager, so it was fairly easy for me to get away with it. I began to listen to the local radio station that all of the real teens listened to and really appreciated both the Motown music and the British Invasion. A particular British favorite was the Beatles. My favorite Beatle at that time was Paul – the cute one. I knew that his birthday was the 18th of June and his favorite color was blue. I was more than willing to share that information with anyone who might (or might not) be even slightly interested.
On one of my trips to London, I believe it was in 1997, I had gone on a London Beatles walk. We started at the Marylebone Train Station, where some of the opening scenes of “A Hard Day’s Night” had been filmed. Then we moved on to the flat where the “Two Virgins” photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was taken, the registry office where Paul & Linda and George & Patti were married, the EMI offices building (empty, but still recognizable), the former Apple clothing shop, the restaurant from “Help”, and Jane Asher’s father’s home (where Jane & Paul had lived for three years). Then we set off for St John’s Wood to Abbey Road Studios and the famous crosswalk where the Abbey Road album cover had been shot.
Many times I had thought of taking the train to Liverpool to explore everything Beatles that was there. I finally booked the excursion in 2019 to be a part of a trip I would be making to London in 2020. But the pandemic happened and that trip was cancelled. One of the many factors that made me decide to do this particular cruise was that we would be spending an entire day in Liverpool. The very first shore excursion of the entire cruise for which I signed up was called The Beatles Experience.
After a short general tour of the city, our first stop was the Cavern Club. Located on Matthew Street, the club was originally a jazz club. But they would allow skiffle music, which John Lennon and his band, the Quarrymen, would play. As time went on, the Quarrymen went through a few name changes before becoming The Beatles and a mainstay at the Cavern Club. I was really quite thrilled to see it.
Next we headed over to the Beatles Story exhibition at the Royal Albert Dock. They had early Quarrymen instruments as well as other early incarnations (The Rainbows, The Silver Beatles). The interior of the Cavern Club from the time that the Beatles played there had been recreated as well. There was so much to see. There were handwritten sheets of music, replicas of the Sgt Pepper uniforms, the Magical Mystery Tour bus, the inside of the Yellow Submarine. The exhibits were endless and continued on to the Beatles’ split and their separate careers afterwards. Absolutely mindblowing.
When I had worked in the recording industry in NYC for record producer Phil Ramone in the late 70s/early 80s, I had been blessed to have the opportunity to meet both George Harrison and John Lennon. When I met George, I was still quite new to the business and was very shy and nervous (I was also quite young – just out of school). Being that he was also fairly shy, it was a brief encounter which I nonetheless treasured. By the time I met John, I was determined not to let my shyness be a hindrance (especially after a disastrous meeting with Todd Rundgren when I shut down completely) and was actually able to conduct a relatively decent conversation with him. At least he didn’t act as if he thought I was a complete idiot. I do have to say that he was quite kind to me and went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. In between George and John, I also met George Martin, their former producer. He was quite charming and I was quite tongue-tied.
In the shop I purchased some baseball-style caps for my brothers and myself (they are also huge Beatles fans) and a T-shirt from the Cavern Club. Then we were off to Penny Lane.
After taking photos of both road signs, we got back on the coach and drove along Penny Lane while listening to the song. I did manage to get photos of the “shelter in the middle of a roundabout” and the barber shop. Although it isn’t the same barber shop as in the song, it is in the same location. There was also a statue of John near the roundabout of which I also caught a photo.
From there we headed to Strawberry Fields. Located in the suburb of Woolton, Strawberry Fields had been a children’s home when John Lennon used to play there as a child on the grounds. The original children’s home was torn down in the 70s with a newer building put up. The children’s home closed in 2005 and the site is now run as a tribute to John Lennon by the Salvation Army (who acquired the place when the children’s home closed).
There wasn’t any way for the coach to get anywhere near George Harrison’s childhood home. But we were able to see John’s Aunt Mimi’s home, called Mendips, at 251 Menlove Avenue in Woolton (where he grew up). We got off the coach and walked down the street to Paul’s childhood home. This was where he lived from 1955 to 1964. The address was 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton.
Ringo grew up in a number of houses. We went by a couple of them. The first was his birthplace on Madryn Street in Dingle. The other was the house they moved to next at 10 Admiral Grove, also in Dingle.
Our Beatles Experience was over and we headed back to the ship.
Next time – Liverpool: A Gentleman’s Club.
