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This site is to recount and exhibit all of the Beatles memorabilia and items I have collected over the years.
As far back as a 6 year old in 1968, I can remember my older brother who was then 17 baby sitting me as my parents went out to their local for a drink. He had his friend over and the two LP albums (records came on a black vinyl discs back then for all you youngsters) that were constantly played were the latest two releases from the Beatles, The oldies album from 1966 and 'last years' newest offering, the magnificent Sergeant Peppers lonely hearts club band.
As I got older and heard more of their back catalogue singles, I realised i'd heard these before and were already in my subconscious, a lot of them being on the oldies album of course. However, it wasn't really until around 1975, when my dad was playing some old Philips reel to reel tapes to see what was on them as he'd forgetten, that I heard an old 1967 chart programme that he must have taped off the wireless (a transistor radio to all you...oh, I can see i'm going to be explaining myself a lot)
At No.2 on this chart was a fantastically atmospheric song which mentioned a fireman and his fire engine, complete with bell effects and it was called Penny Lane though I didn't know at the time it was a place in Liverpool or indeed that it was by The Beatles. I was more bemused that a soppy ballad called 'Release Me' by a bloke with a name that would win you 97 points in scrabble was keeping this gem off the top of the hit parade.
And so my love affair with the Beatles began in earnest. For my birthday and Christmas that year, my dad and my brother, the latter, a newly re-acquainted Beatles fan, through me, went down to Rumbelows on Whitechapel which had NEMS below (again, the historical connection was lost on me at this time) and the White Album and others were bought. Next port of call was a book shop that was near to the top of Bold Street on the right hand side before news from nowhere was ever there.
1976 proved fruitful as, as if by magic, EMI Parlophone decided to release all the Beatles Singles back catalogue in special green sleeves. My dad was particularly amazed, recounting that the early 1970s had been pretty much Beatle free era, even the Cavern was demolished, 'The what' I asked.
So much was I into the Beatles back then that my mates Brian and Chris also became avid fans, it helped that our school science lab technician, Harry (the hippy) was also into them and practised his acoustic guitar in his little back room to the chords in the thick black Beatles songs book.
1977 saw the three of us attend the first ever Liverpool Beatles Convention held across the road from our tenement blocks. This took place in Mr. Pickwicks in Frazer Street. Allan Williams, the first Beatles manager and Bob Wooler, the ex cavern dj were in attendance as were a number of Beatles copycat groups from all over the place. Rare albums, books and other memorabilia were on sale and I was hooked. It was a whole weekend jobby and on John Lennon's 37th birthday, Sunday 9th October, the 2nd day of the convention we partook on the first magical mystery tour coach around the city to the lads most famous haunts.
By the next year, all things Beatley were gathering momentum. A John Chambers was trying to get together donations for a statue (now you can't move for them), councillors were pillorying their predecessors for allowing the Cavern to be demolished and husband and wife team Jim and Liz Hughes were running the 'Magical Mystery Store' Beatles collectables shop in North John Street which Chris and I often frequented.
1978 also saw me come 3rd in a Liverpool Beatle Quiz competition, i'm sure I read that the winner was a certain Mark Lewisohn, now recognised as the toppermost Beatles expert with many books on the subject to his name as well as having worked on their Anthology albums. In this same year, I took 'The Beatles story' as my English oral CSE exam where I had to speak before Mr Duggan, himself of the 60s era and a Beatles fan who quizzed me mercylessly about them. It became one of my 5 grade 1's.
My dad accompanied me to other Liverpool Beatles sites i'd since become aware of, snapping away on my new kodak disc camera, going everywhere by bus. In the next three years, the annual Beatles Conventions were held at Mr Pickwicks again and then Zhivagos in Temple Court and Romeo & Juliets in St. John's precinct.
Around this time, my mate and I started a scrapbook. We'd cut out everything from every newspaper and magazine, Radio Times, TV Times, Melody Maker, New musical express - anything we could get our hands on, like the anoraks we'd become. We were even in Kit's chippy in Everton Brow one day getting a portion when we spotted him nearly putting our dinner on an Echo article about them and we shouted 'No stop' and grabbed it. It was pasted into the book less than an hour later.
That book is featured on these pages and is so thick that it just won't close.
Oh what joy when the Christmas T.V. adverts started previewing that they'd be showing all the Beatles films, even including 'let it be' - this was fantasy land, it's like they were doing all this for their newly recruited fans, for us. The reason was, the EMI boxes set of singles mentioned earlier and now, new albums 'Rock N' Roll' and 'love Songs' had all blasted to near the top of the charts giving them a 2nd lucrative career.
The Beatles recording contract with EMI had come to an end in 1976, it meant free from contraints, the record label was re-releasing and re-packaging everything they could, they even marketed a single from the Sgt Pepper album where there hadn't been one before, even at the original time of the album's release (something George Martin later said he regretted)
Around 1979 I could be found drumming away on my bed with two pieces of dowl to drummers favourites such as Good Morning, Good Morning, Rain, Paperback Writer and Birthday. The likes of Yesterday, Michelle, Julia, well, what good were they to me. Brian, Chris and a couple of other lads, Paddy and his cousin Carl would muck around on guitar, the problem was they all played rhythm. My dad had got me a proper set of 2nd hand drums out of the echo from a fella in Billinge. We felt part of the scene hanging around probe records, the joss sticks smell there becoming known to us as 'Wally juice', we called the regulars 'Smellies'. Being 'musicians' meant frequent visits to Hessey's and Curly music in Stanley Street.
It was a great time to mix around Liverpool city centre, Erics was booming, punks coloured the place, the Moonstone pub in St. John's was rocking but our local clubs were more like Livvo's and Gatsby's. 1979 was also the year Chris, I and many others slept out by the subway in Lime Street near the Penny Farthing pub, this was for tickets to see Wings play on the Royal Court Theatre. It was mayhem when the box office opened next morning with a huge stampede. Paul's tour didn't last long, he went off to Japan just after this gig and was subsequently busted for drugs. Lime Street subway must've seemed like heaven compared to a Japanese jail.
The next year was further joy. John lennon released Just like starting over and his Double Fantasy LP with rumours about a UK tour. He was re-invented from the house-husband he'd become after Sean was born 4 years earlier - his USA green card issues now sorte. Things were looking up then - WHAM (No, not George Michael - he was still four years off) - but the news that JWOL had been shot by a deranged madman. I attended the 'wake' memorial with thousands of others down at St. George's Plateau - the city mourned as one.
On a personal level, the lad's interests in a group soon fell away, Brian and Chris going nelson eddy with a couple of girls. Being uglier I stuck with the drums and soon teamed up with a couple of ex school lads Robbie and Colin and together with their mate from Mabel Fletcher music college, John, we formed a group which was to perform locally for an intense period throughout 1981.
The set included our near perfect renditions of 'I feel fine', 'Come together', 'Got to get you into my life', 'Get Back', and later when Pianist Les joined us, 'Let it be' and 'Lady Madonna'. We were all clearly influenced by our city's most famous sons. I'd taken in so much knowledge about the Beatles by now that I remember watching Bob Monkhouses '$64,000 question' - a sort of forerunner to 'Who wants to be a millionaire' and a bloke on there was answering questions on the Beatles and I got all of them right and would have loved a go on a programme like that where you could pick your specialist subject. It's true to say i've probably forgotten more than a lot know about them, the trivia that once filled my head on them being so OTT.
On the other pages that you can click on below, you'll see just what I accrued over the years. I would love to see this whole collection go to a good home, perhaps an overseas fanatic (with lots of money :o) - else, a Beatles style museum or hotel - now there's a thought - Enjoy.
