Visiting Liverpool: Beatles places | Page 5 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

Ahhh Girl said

Woohoo!!! Another place to visit in Liverpool…the central library.

Like the majority of libraries there is a ‘Music’ section (which is located on the third floor), unlike the majority of libraries the music section is one of the largest sections in the library and suitably so, as it’s based in the city with perhaps the most famous of musical stories, the rise of The Beatles. With hundreds of books dedicated to ‘British music and culture’, ‘American music and culture’ and ‘music theory’. Next to the ‘British music and culture’ is the section that got us excited. The library is home to nearly 100 ‘Beatles books’ such as ‘Revolution in the Head’ and the amazing ‘The Beatles: Anthology’ book and there are also a number of rare reference books that cannot leave the library.

On the top floor of the library you will find a few pieces of Beatles memorabilia encased in glass casing including original ‘Merseybeat’ posters, letters between Brian Epstein and the local council and also an essay handwritten by Paul McCartney , aged 10. The essay was written in 1953 in a competition open to all junior members of Liverpool’s libraries which marked the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Paul’s essay went on to win the under-11 category of the competition.

Liverpool Central Library adds another reference point for knowledge about The Beatles to the city of Liverpool by giving anybody the option to learn as much as you can about the world’s most famous band with the majority of books, CDs and DVDs that are available.

Here’s @Joe’s blog post about the essay: McCartney school essay discovered 50 years on

The essay wasn’t on display while I was there. I think it was only on display for a special celebration. Visitors can only see/hold a photocopy of the essay. You have to request it, and usually you have to give them 24 hour advanced notice. I happened to request it when someone else had already requested to see it (wonder who it was) so it was available for me to see.

If you want to see it, contact the Liverpool Record Office, Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EW
http://liverpool.gov.uk/librar…..y-history/
archives@liverpool.gov.uk
01512335817

Here’s the library archive’s catalog record for the essay. The call/class number is 782.42166 MACC.

Here’s an image of the essay.

His local library was the Speke library. I like the way he double crossed some of his capital letter A’s.

Silly Girl said

I say, he had incredibly neat handwriting as a ten-year-old.  

A driven personality from an early age.

Here’s an article about the essay and it tells what his prize was for winning the essay contest.

A discovery in a Liverpool library has revealed that Paul McCartney ‘s talent for writing was winning him prizes when he was just 10 – though for an essay about the queen, rather than a hit song.

A British researcher said he found an essay written – in very tidy, curling script – by the future Beatle for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.Kevin Roach said Sunday that he found the work in records at Liverpool’s Central Library. Roach said the writing is “advanced – you would say it was written by someone who was older than 10 years old, more like 14 or 15.”

“It’s unique in its own right. It shows his handwriting at that age and shows how Paul was thinking at the time,” said Roach, who is working on a book about the McCartney family history.

According to excerpts published in the Sunday Times, McCartney – who gave his age as 10 years 10 months – contrasted violence which occurred on the coronation day of William the Conqueror with the day celebrating “our lovely young queen.”

“No rioting nor killing will take place because present day royalty rules with affection rather than force,” the essay says.

McCartney won the under-11 age category of the essay competition, and was given a prize – a gift certificate for books – by Liverpool’s Lord Mayor.

“I can just recall Paul being nervous and getting this book token from the mayor,” his brother Mike told the Sunday Times.

Pretty cool that QEII knighted him years later.

A PS to an earlier post…I find it strange that call/class number ends with MACC. Shouldn’t that be MCCA?

#3. #3. #3.

Trust RN, because you might be looking at the wrong page in your guidebook and take a picture of the wrong door. Yep, I know someone who did that. I’m surprised RN put up with me sometimes on that trip.

A BBC news article reports that 

The legacy of The Beatles adds nearly £82m to the Liverpool economy each year, new research has suggested.

The band’s impact also supports 2,335 jobs in the city, claims the report commissioned by Liverpool City Council…

…The report said the Beatles-related economy was growing by up to 15% a year and that the band’s songs were becoming increasingly popular in Brazil and China alongside the more established fan bases in Europe and the US.

The research, produced by Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool, is the first study of the contemporary value of the quartet that achieved worldwide fame in the 1960s.

It also recommended the launch of a “Beatles Legacy” group to develop the sector.

Anyone else remember how in the 1970’s some Liverpool Councillors wanted to distance themselves from the band?

£82m a year is just a ridiculous amount for a group to bring to their home city/town.

And their music is gaining popularity 47 years after they split!!

[x-posted in ‘Beatles News‘]

Makes me wonder if we will get some Chinese members on the forum. Is their internet free enough to allow them to visit this site?

I know we have at least one from Brazil.

I offered to buy you a rolling bag.

More details on the Beatles incredible impact on tourism in Liverpool. The end of the BBC article is particularly 

The overall impact of The Beatles may well be higher than the £82m the academics and economists arrived at. They stripped out economic benefits they said would have materialised anyway and those which benefitted the wider ‘city region’ around Liverpool or the rest of the UK’s economy in general.

So how much do The Beatles still contribute to the UK or indeed the world?

“Calculating the equivalent value at national and global level would be a substantial, expensive undertaking because it would involve media monitoring of coverage in many different kinds of media and in the many countries where The Beatles are known,” the report said.

“The sums involved would undoubtedly be enormous. For example one radio station in Mexico plays Beatles music for an hour every day. Four TV documentaries about The Beatles recently screened in China were watched by 70m and a further 50m viewed them online.“

Finding out, then, would be a whole other Magical Mystery Tour .

It’s quite simply insane.

Ahhh Girl said in post 64 in this thread

Perhaps these aren’t the most conventional Beatles places to visit when touring Liverpool, but I want to see them.

1. Brian Epstine’s grave in Kirkdale Cemetery.

This site seems to indicate that the cemetery is only open on Sundays (listed as being open 24 hours – perhaps from sundown on Saturday to sundown on Sunday).

The Google street view car went by when the gate was open.

2. Stuart Sutcliffe’s grave in Huyton Parish Church Cemetery on Blue Bell Lane

We made it to Stu’s grave, but didn’t make it to Brian’s. I had someone driving me around so I don’t know the bus stops near them. I’ll take a look this weekend if no one posts the answer first.

Stu’s grave is towards the back left-hand side of the cemetery.