endroog

Yeah yeah yeah….. I went to Liverpool…. except to those two lame saddistic stadiums which one is in red and the other in blue. For all Beatles fan… it is a must to do a pilgrimage to Liverpool. Ok… we were there for the Beatlemania although I’m some 45 years late. I confess I’m a fan of The Beatles. Szer said she is also a fan.

The tour cost was about £12 per person. The tour starts at Albert Dock and ends at Mathew Street. The tour cover areas where the four band members – John, Paul George and Ringo stayed when they were kid. We also saw the places that was mentioned in their various wonderful songs – Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and Lime Street just to name a few. My Szer and I were the youngest among the “young” people in the bus. Some of the ladies grew up there seeing the Fab Four perfoming gigs before they became famous. They had since moved elsewhere and now they came back for a reunion and for the Beatles Magical Mystery tour. Some other guys came from as far as America to just to go on the tour.  Geez… the band may have disbanded many many years ago and 2 members were no more living….. but the mania still very much felt in Liverpool. Beatles is so timeless in Liverpool that it is part of their culture and proud history. Young and old people alike still move adn sing to the tunes like She Loves You, Please Mr Postman, Hard Days Night etc.

Beatles Story, Albert Dock. There’s even a Beatles-themed Starbuck coffeshop there.

This is where George Harrison use to stay when he was a kid. the house had long be sold to other people since  then.. and sometime I wonder how the current occupier can cope with the nuisance everyday that there will be a bunch of crazy people taking picture of their house. Ah well, I guess they must be very proud to have a connection or to be linked somewhat to the Beatles.

A closer view. We were early that day. The owner may be still sleeping at home at that time.

Ok… I forgot the name of this church..seriously. The tour guide however said they found a tomb of one “E. Rigby” in the church. Well, this must have been the mystery of the song Eleanor Rigby. Father Mckenzie writing a sermon? Anyone?!

This is the house of John Lennon. A semi-dee. And it has the blue-plate on it.

This is put up at the former house of famous people who had passed away for at least more that 20 years.

Ok. This is where Sir Paul McCartney used to stay… with his mom, Mary (of the “When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be… “ fame). The church were so fanatic of that song they made it into the collection of hymms in a book which you can find in the church. The guide told us it was here that many of the the famous songs were penned…. including Penny Lane and of course, Let It Be. See, Szer was so excited and smiling. “All you need is love… all you need is love… love is all you need…”. It may not be relevant in today’s materialistic world though. Kids, do not try this at home.

The guy on the right was our tour guide. A wacky and lovely chap… who is a hardcore Liverfool (read: Liverpool FC fan). He showed us photos of him with Sir Paul taken not long ago… telling how close is him to Sir Paul and all sorts of other Beatles related stories. He’s Liverpool local and the first thing he’d ask as his opening speech was ” Is there any Liverpool FC fan on the bus??” Well, of course he was obviously looking at the cap I was wearing, although it was a discreet brown coloured cap with a badge of the (Red) Devil… which I thought no one will recognise it is a MUFC cap… which I bought in Old Trafford the day before….. You just can bluff the eyes of the arch rivals. He kept on dissing Man Utd and praising the Liverfool team…. even Everton was not spared the diss.

There’s a Sgt Pepper signage on this disused building. Could it be the Sgt Pepper Lonely Heart Club?

Strawberry Fields….forever. It is the orphanage where John used to stay. Man, its a disused place. The local authority should keep it clean, restore and make it place nice for tourist alike. maybe they should turn the place into a museum. This can be a very important landmark in Liverpool.

Penny Lane. This is actually the Penny Lane in Liverpool. Not the one as describe in the song where there was a barber and so on… no shop is seen along this street.

The bus. It is so old school that the interior feels so 60s or 70s. Beatles music were played from the tour guide’s iPod.

The local authority replaced the signage countless time already. It is often stolen by pilgrims and Beatles fans alike as a memorabilia.

Back in town. They even name hotels to beatles related name….. like Hard Days Night Hotel. The Beatlemania is there to live forever…

Mathew Street… one of the most happening place in Liverpool where all the clubs, pubs and discos are located. It is here where the Beatles revolution started in a basement club, The Cavern Club.

There a names on the bricks, of those who performed here in the Cavern.

Marred by graffities.

Well, you dont see youngsters in these places doing hop hop. Haha. Those drinking at the bar are mostly twice my age.

The Magical Mystery Tour was something I wanted to do and at last I finally did it. The Beatles had became very much of the culture and history of Liverpool that will live one for generations to come. They even name the airport after John Lennon. I wonder if there is any other place where a rock band/music figure is so connected to the culture and history of their hometown. Perhaps, Elvis Presley and Memphis? The Selayang Connection Club Band and the town of Selayang? Hmm….