Liverpool

The above footage is early Beatles at The Cavern Club which is where I was this past Saturday night dancing and having a good time to Beatles covers. Liverpool was an amazing experience because it is just like any other midsized city in the UK except for the fact that the spirit of the place has been forever changed by a four piece band that played together only ten years. I am not sure that it can be said that any other musical group has meant more to a city than the Beatles mean to Liverpool. I was able to visit the childhood homes of John, Paul and Ringo. Even the Cathedral in Liverpool, despite being the largest Anglican church in the world, is forever known as the place Paul McCartney was rejected as choir boy. It was also the place where the memorial service for the slain John Lennon was held. All of the bars and clubs in Liverpool's city centre are named after something to do with The Beatles. Grapes was the pub where the band members would go to escape adoring fans. There is also a pub there called The Quarrymen which was the name of Lennon's first band that eventually became The Beatles. At the Beatles Story museum I was able to learn a great deal about the evolution of the band. I find their lyrics to be straight forward, catchy and heartfelt especially in the early days. As time went on The Beatles drifted apart artistically and in spirit but for ten years they created something very special and certainly put Liverpool on the map. You can't be in Liverpool and not think about them and after this weekend I have a much better understanding of what is meant by "Beatlemania".