Imagine unity via music: we followed the Liverpool Beatles trail

With a little help from our friends, I wanna hold your hand, go on a magical mystery tour and imagine we all live peacefully in a yellow submarine. On a pilgrimage to Liverpool, we saw where The Beatles grew up and performed, we sang and danced, and we learned more about these musicians who accompanied my teen years.

This trip down memory lane was just plain fun!

But I also felt a pang of cosmic unity with my fellow Beatles fans. Surely the fab four would have appreciated that.

She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah

The Cavern Club Beatles are the Cavern’s resident tribute band.

Our first night in Liverpool, we headed directly for The Beatles mecca – the Cavern Club. Located on grotty Mathew Street in central Liverpool, the Cavern Club hosted performances by The Beatles 292 times on their rise to fame in the early 1960s.

From the street entrance, we descended many flights of stairs, emerging into the main area, which really is like a cavern. Rows of the iconic brick arches, low ceilings, stage backed by the multi-coloured artwork ala Mondrian, and an atmosphere of impending magic. A singer accompanied himself with guitar on Beatles songs. That´s the Cavern Club.

The Cavern Club Live Lounge, where the tribute band performs, is in another complex of rooms further behind that.

During the day, for a 5£ entry fee, you can wander freely, drink in hand, between all the rooms, checking out the memorabilia in glass cases everywhere, and listening to live music in the different rooms. However, in the evening, you must have a ticket to get into the Live Lounge to hear the tribute band. Fortunately, I had booked tickets ahead since the place was packed, even on a rainy Friday night in November.

We drank in all the Cavern Club´s details: the iconic brick arches and memorabilia, such as John Lennon´s guitar from his Quarrymen days.

James Morrison performed there, but we went to see the official Beatles tribute band.

As the warmup Beatles singer finished his keyboard performance in the Live Lounge, we jostled to the bar to get drinks, then shuffled our way around to examine the endless memorabilia:

• Snare drum signed by Pete Best, the first Beatles drummer before Ringo Starr took over.
• John Lennon´s guitar signed by his fellow bandmates in The Quarrymen – precursor to The Beatles.
• Posters from scads of famous bands that performed at the Cavern: The Who, Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Rod Stewart, The Kinks, The Hollies…

Feb. 9, 1961 – The Beatles´ first appeared at the Cavern, playing a lunchtime concert. Brian Epstein saw them in November 1961 and soon became their manager. After 291 more concerts, their last at the Cavern was Aug. 3, 1963 – just two-and-a-half years later. They worked hard on their so-called “sudden” rise to fame.

The Cavern’s resident Beatles tribute band led the singing and dancing to all the favourites.

The four faux lads finally leapt on stage, to whoops and applause. Not quite Beatlemania but, for a bunch of plus-and-minus septuagenarians, pretty close. (I was surprised at how many younger people, in their 20s and 30s, sang along too.)

Dressed in their early mop-tops and black turtlenecks, proxy-Paul, mock-John, acting-George, and surrogate-Ringo used “Love Me Do” to launch the singing and dancing that didn´t stop until the final chords of “Hey Jude” finished thrumming. A fifth guy onstage periodically added keyboards, percussion and vocals – similar to contributions made in-studio by their producer, George Martin.

The band played well, not spectacularly, but that didn´t matter. We and, it seemed, most others came for the trip down memory lane, not for musical expertise.

The Cavern hosted a long list of big names in music.

We descended a long dark staircase (left) to the Cavern Club, where we saw Pete Best´s signed drum, and a poster for Gerry and the Pacemakers.

During three band breaks, video montages of photos, film, posters, news events and more placed The Beatles in a wider context. They came back on stage in new costumes and wigs – Nero jackets, then Sergeant Pepper-type uniforms (John added his round glasses; George Harrison sported a mustache), and finally hippy hair, fringed vests and denim. Their instruments also changed over the years. Left-handed bass-playing Paul McCartney moved to the keyboards more often.  

High energy pulsated on “A Hard Day´s Night,” “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” and “She Loves You.” Subdued swaying on a few contemplative songs like “Penny Lane” and “Hey Jude.” They didn´t do “Strawberry Fields,” or “Long and Winding Road” – to keep the vibe upbeat, I “Imagine.”

I loved it all, and that´s all you need.

Road, that leads to your door

The Cavern Club always seems to be busy. Its street-side wall of fame is extensive.

The short and crowded road that leads to the Cavern Club door is called Mathew Street – Ground Zero for Beatles fans. Not just the Cavern Club, but the Cavern Restaurant, Cavern Pub, several other pubs (The Grapes, The White Star, where the fab four frequently imbibed), statues, murals, the Liverpool Beatles Museum and two walls of fame. All on a short, pedestrianized street – well, more of an alley.

The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, but soon included skiffle bands, of which the Beatles were fans. Skiffle music – new to me – is a blend of blues, jazz, country and African-American music. Most skiffle bands, such as John´s Quarrymen, quickly evolved into rock ´n´ roll.

Due to urban development, the club was forced to close in 1973 and the building at street level was demolished. However, in the 1980s, excavations revealed that the famous basement archways had remained intact. The Cavern was rebuilt using many of the original bricks and reopened in 1984. It now occupies 70 percent of its original space and, even though the entrance was relocated, has kept the same address: 10 Mathew Street.

On a less-rainy day, we strolled the street, dodging the crowds, stopping to read plaques and posing with statues. We met Cilla Black, who had worked as a Cavern cloakroom attendant during The Beatles years, before her own successful music career began.

We met Eleanor Rigby (top left), Cilla Black (bottom left), John Lennon (centre), and Brian Epstein.

A plaque honoured Memphis, U.S.A. and Liverpool as “Rock ´n´ Soul Mates,” bonded by their music heritage. “From Beale Street to Mathew Street, we salute Elvis and The Beatles, Memphis and Liverpool, the Home of Blues, Soul, Rock ´n´ Roll and Pop music respectively,” it read. “The iconic sounds from both cities changed the world and continue to influence music today.”

Another plaque said “Rock music in Britain was in large part inspired in the 1960s by the recordings and tours of American blues artists, including Muddy Waters, Howlin´ Wolf, B.B. King…”

The Cavern Wall of Fame celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the opening of the Cavern Club, Jan. 16, 1997, with a brick for each of the 1,800 bands and artists that had performed there from 1957 to 1973. More have been added since, including Adele, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, James Morrison, Cheap Trick, Gilbert O´Sullivan, and Sir Paul McCartney. Nearby, the Liverpool Wall of Fame featured the name of every Liverpool band or solo artist who has reached Number One in the U.K. charts.

We ducked into the extremely noisy The Grapes, where the Beatles nipped in for drinks between sets in the Cavern. A shouted Q&A with the bartender revealed that the pub didn´t serve dinner, so we left.

We found an excellent, quiet Italian restaurant around the corner: Casa Italia. (The tender calamari was amongst the best I´ve ever had.) Across the street, solitary Eleanor Rigby reclined on a stone bench below a plaque dedicated to “All the lonely people.”

Roll up, roll up for the mystery tour

We all sang in a yellow tour bus… not a submarine after all. The Magical Mystery Tour was my favourite Beatles activity in Liverpool. Bill preferred the Cavern Club.

We rolled up for the Magical Mystery Tour and had a rollicking, day-tripper time. Bus driver Dave and tour leader Jay led a lively, friendly, interesting excursion past the homes where John, Paul, George and Ringo had lived, to the gates of Strawberry Field, past various schools and churches that had figured in their lives, and along Penny Lane.

In between sights, Jay played all the favourites and everyone sang along with gusto, even Bill! My upper body danced in my seat.

“We all live in a yellow submarine…”

“All together now,” inserted Jay.

“Yellow submarine…”

“What colour?” asked Jay.

“Yellow submarine…”

Paul´s house (left) is run as a museum by the National Trust, while George´s childhood home (right, below the blue plaque) is owned privately.

Along the way we saw Quarry Bank High School, which John attended and inspired the name of his first band, The Quarrymen.  

Local fans apparently resisted Ringo at first, chanting “Pete forever, Ringo never” when they heard Pete Best had been replaced, said Jay. However, after they´d heard Ringo a few times, they relented.

Ringo (real name Richard Starky) had been a sickly child. He suffered, in succession, a burst appendix, peritonitis, and tuberculosis. During his two years in a TB sanitorium, a nurse gave him his first drum.

I´ve never before been so excited to see a street sign!

We came to Penny Lane! We all piled off the bus to take turns getting photos at the iconic signs. (British people are excellent at queuing, so taking turns wasn´t a problem.) Back on the bus, Jay played the song and everyone sang lustily as we drove along the famous street.

“It´s like a choir of angels,” praised Jay.

Dave slowed down as we passed the song´s features: the barbershop (Tony Slavin Ladies & Gentlemens [sic] Salon), the bank (now a health clinic), and the shelter in the middle of the roundabout, which now houses Sergeant Pepper´s Bistro. Eleanor Rigby´s pub was nearby. Elsewhere, I saw Fab Fur pet grooming.

We saw St. Barnabus Church where Paul sang in the choir. He returned years later when his brother, Mike, got married there. So many fans surrounded the church that it took the bride an hour to get inside, said Jay.

We passed the Penny Lane salon of “a barber showing photographs of every head he´s had the pleasure to have known.”

Dave let us off on a corner so we could walk down an alley to peer down the short, private street where George had lived – very much working class.

“Be respectful to local residents,” Jay reminded us. “This is not a Beatles theme park.”

George and John are the only two with blue plaques on their former homes. Apparently, you must be dead for at least 20 years before you´re eligible for a historic marker.

We stopped at the famous Strawberry Field gates. When John had lived nearby with his Aunt Mimi, Strawberry Field was a Salvation Army orphanage for girls and unwed mothers. John used to sneak into the large, wooded grounds and often watched the girls. Aunt Mimi warned him not to, but John replied that no one would hang him if he got caught. Jay said that inspired the line “nothing to get hung about” in the song.

Christmas wreaths graced the beautiful red gates to Strawberry Field.

Strawberry Field now offers training for adults with mental disabilities, as well as a Beatles exhibit that features the upright Steinway that John used to write “Imagine.” George Michael had bought and donated it. The bus tour didn´t include the exhibit, so it´s a place to return.

Finally, we reached Paul´s house. John and Paul had been close, since both lost their mothers in their early teens. Jay said they wrote about 100 songs in this house. Paul´s bedroom was above the front door.

Jay played “Let It Be” as we made our way back to central Liverpool. As everyone sang, I felt a strange, unifying force settle over me. We were all strangers, yet united by this iconic music, even if only for a moment. In their later years, the four flirted with eastern philosophies, so I felt they would have understood.

Astounding, the long-lasting effects The Beatles had for a band that had been together just eight years (or so).

I realized that many memorable moments in my life had been accompanied by Beatles songs:

• In Mexico, after seeing where monarch butterflies overwinter, I joined my esteemed friend and mentor Eric and others, to sing “Imagine” at our final dinner. Each of us held candles.
• Find me a teenage girl who didn´t get caught, at the end of a dance, swaying with some sweaty goo-ball to the never-ending “Hey Jude.” It has taken me decades to like that song again. Bill admitted he may have been one of those goo-balls.
• “The Long and Winding Road” accompanied my first kiss.
• “When I´m Sixty Four” was in the repertoire of my quartet, Revelation, that I sang in with dear friends for 20 years.

This trip down memory lane was not just about the Beatles. For me, it was personal as well.    

Imagine all the people

The Beatles Story Museum featured a recreation of the Cavern Club stage where the four had played.

One benefit of visiting Liverpool in November was the smaller crowds, everywhere except on Mathew Street. So, we had to imagine all the people who jostled in high season to see the sights in the Beatles Story Museum.

A quick word about Beatles museums. Confusingly, there are 2.5 in Liverpool, each with their merits:

• The Liverpool Beatles Museum on Mathew Street is chockablock with authentic Beatles memorabilia, including Sergeant Pepper medals, bass speakers, guitars, drum kits, jewelry, clothing, posters, flyers and more.  
• The Museum of Liverpool – the city´s free museum on the waterfront at Pier Head – has a Beatles gallery, amongst many other galleries that tell the city´s history. (It counts as a quarter of a Beatles museum.) If you´re stuck for time, you can get a quick overview there.
• The British Music Experience – also at Pier Head and also counts as a quarter Beatles museum since it covers all British rock and pop artists.  
• The Beatles Story Museum, on Royal Albert Dock. We opted for this one because we were tired of the Mathew Street crowds and noise.  

An early pressing of Love Me Do spelled Paul´s last name “McArtney.” The museum displayed many Beatles instruments.

The Beatles Story Museum entry fee included an audio guide, narrated by John Lennon´s sister, Julia. We donned headphones to listen to an interesting combination of music, old recordings, quotes, information and fascinating tidbits.

“The Casbah was the place where it all started,” said Paul. “We looked upon it as our personal club.”

The Casbah Coffee Club  (a house in suburban Liverpool and tricky to get to without a car) was opened by Mona Best, mother of original drummer Pete Best. The Beatles played there before the Cavern Club, and helped paint the walls and ceiling, earning it the moniker “Sistine Chapel of the Beatles.” 

The long, winding path through the museum took us through recreated sets of their formative Hamburg, Germany gigs, the Cavern Club, a music shop where they bought instruments, the Merseybeat News office, Abbey Road Studios, and the Ed Sullivan Show, where they made their North American debut. A photo showed Ed wearing a mop-top wig.

An OPP officer gave this badge to Paul during a Toronto visit.

We saw their guitars, music and costumes, and uncovered loads of great trivia:

• Fans gathered on Mathew Street when John died. They also gathered and nearly rioted there when Ringo replaced Pete Best.
• The deep bow after each song, in the early years, was Brian Epstein´s idea. He knocked the rough edges off them, insisting on no gum or smoking on stage.
• On a display of their Sergeant Pepper uniforms, we recognized an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) badge on the arm of Paul´s blue outfit. (Look carefully at the album cover and you can see it.) Someone from the force gave it to him while guarding them during a Toronto gig. A certain Sergeant Pepper of the OPP denied it was him. 

While not a Beatles song, since John wrote it after their breakup, Imagine is an anthem to world harmony, unity and peace.  

We came to a white room, displaying a white grand piano, with white feathers spelling Imagine on the wall. You may say I´m a dreamer, but my heart still constricts when I hear that song.

Like everyone of a certain age, I recalled where I´d been in 1980 when I learned John Lennon had been shot. Home for the weekend from university, I stood in the family room, and watched the news today, oh boy, with horror.

Such a tragic loss.

I wanna hold your hand

We were lucky to get a photo with Paul, George, Ringo and John without crowds of people around. 

I slipped my hand into John´s at Pier Head, a waterfront area. A larger-than-life bronze sculpture of the fab four attracts hundreds of Beatles fans every day.

The sun came out, briefly.

“I can see why they wrote that song,” Bill said, about “Here Comes The Sun.” In Liverpool, especially in November, the sun is a glorious surprise.

Liverpool´s skyline probably has more newer towers mixed in with the graceful old buildings than when The Beatles sang aboard the ferry that crosses the River Mersey. 

Celebrating the weak warmth, we bought tickets to ride and hopped aboard the “Ferry ´cross the Mersey.” That song was made famous by Gerry and the Pacemakers, who performed on four-hour ferry dinner cruises called the Riverboat Shuffle. So did The Beatles!

We rode on the very ferry where they performed – the Royal Iris, launched in 1950. Before Beatlemania, The Beatles took any gig they could.

The ferry did a touristic circuit downriver, then upstream, stopping on the far side for people who wanted to visit Wirral. We did another loop upstream and back while audio commentary described the historic sights – the Three Graces (beautiful old buildings), the biggest brick warehouse in the world, a shipyard, a six-sided clock tower used by ships to set their time – none of which are Beatles related. (Liverpool does have lots of great non-Beatles things to see and do!)

Regardless, taking the ferry is an approved Beatles pilgrimage activity.

Na, na, na, na-na-na-na

The elaborately decorated Philharmonic Dining Rooms were a favourite Beatles hangout.

At the gorgeous bar in the Philharmonic Dining Rooms (really, a fancy pub), I surveyed the fancy beer taps and chose a cider while Bill selected an ale. We settled into armchairs in a corner and took in the ambiance of a favourite Beatles watering hole. Beautiful tiles, etched glass windows, stained glass ceiling, chandeliers, cozy nooks, and a notoriously famous men´s room. I sent Bill in to take photos, and he confirmed it. Pink marble urinals with a large matching water tank above.    

Before traveling to Liverpool, we had watched Carpool Karaoke, the episode where host James Corden drove Paul all over the city. So we knew that, of all the pubs where the Beatles hung out and imbibed, this was a must-visit. James organized an impromptu concert in the Philharmonic, and delighted patrons got to hear Paul play and sing. “Hey Jude” was the grand finale.   

Paul performed an impromptu concert in the main salon of the Philharmonic Dining Rooms (centre and left). The famous marble urinals (right) and water tank in the men´s room really are impressive.

During the episode, Paul talked about the writing of various songs. When he and John had finished composing “She Loves You,” they performed it for Paul´s dad. His response? He liked it, but thought the “yeah, yeah, yeah” was an Americanism, so shouldn´t they sing “She loves you, yes, yes, yes”? Paul and John thanked him for the feedback but, obviously, ignored it.

In a touching moment, Paul recounted how, in times of trouble, his mother, Mary, used to say, “Let it be.” That´s what inspired that song.  

When I find myself in times of trouble

A sculpture of suitcases and guitar cases includes several attributed to The Beatles. In the Liverpool Cathedral (bottom right), we saw a plaque honouring Ronald Woan, who turned down Paul as a boy chorister.

Even when we tried to see non-Beatles sights, we ran into traces of the fab four.

When we visited the Liverpool (Anglican) Cathedral, a wonderful volunteer guide named Bruce showed us a plaque dedicated to choirmaster Ronald Woan, the man who had famously nixed Paul when he auditioned for the boys´ choir.

“He said, ´Sorry Paul. Your voice isn´t good enough for the choir,” recalled Bruce. “We both taught at the same school.” 

But Paul didn´t let it be.

Decades later, he ventured into classical music, composing “Liverpool Oratorio,” which premiered at the Liverpool Cathedral in 1991. So, his work, at least, was performed there, even if his angelic child´s voice never did.  

The four bells in front of the Catholic cathedral are nicknamed John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Across the street from the cathedral, we saw LIPA – Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts – co-founded by Paul and located in the former Liverpool Institute for Boys building, one of Paul´s old schools. Jay said he still comes to hand out graduation diplomas.

Further down Hope Street, we saw the Liverpool Metropolitan (Catholic) Cathedral, which we´d seen from atop the Anglican bell tower. The conical 1960s architecture has earned it the nickname Paddy´s Wigwam. The four bells in front are officially named for four apostles. But unofficially, they´re called John, Paul, George and Ringo.

There are places I´ll remember

The Beatles hung out in The Grapes pub, but I doubt they saw this candy store portrait of themselves – composed of 15,000 jellybeans.

You´d think, with four days in Liverpool, we could have seen all the Beatles sights. But no. When I return to Liverpool, I will visit:

• Strawberry Field to see the Beatles exhibit and John Lennon´s Imagine piano.
• The museum-like Casbah Coffee Club, to learn more about their early years.
• Liverpool Beatles Museum.
• The Jacaranda Club and the Cavern Pub, for live music.
• Hard Days´ Night Hotel for afternoon tea in the lobby.
• Other pubs where the Beatles hung out, including The Grapes, The White Star and Ye Cracke.
• Paul´s and John´s homes. They´re the only two open to the public, but you can´t just waltz in. You must book a tour, well in advance, with the National Trust, which runs the restored homes as museums.

If you haven´t watched the movie “Yesterday,” do go and stream it now. Fabulous. A quirk in time results in everyone forgetting that The Beatles had existed except for one young musician. He´s so dismayed at this cultural loss that he begins performing their songs and – surprise! – people love the music.

“It´s a love that lasts forever…” 

We visited Liverpool in November 2025. Find out where we are right now by visiting our ‘Where’s Kathryn?’ page.