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During a visit to The Hard Days Night Hotel, there’s no better place to start your Beatles tour of the city than at The Beatles Story museum, located a short walk away at The Albert Dock.
The Beatles Story invites visitors (priced at £15.95 per adult) to explore the transformation of four ordinary lads from Liverpool, with extraordinary talent, and how they carved their place in rock and roll history.
As you would expect from a museum, it houses artefacts such as George Harrison’s first guitar and a pair of John Lennon’s famous rounded spectacles, but the set up at The Beatles Story invites you to walk back in time and experience 1960s in the city.
The museum is home to replicated scenes from the Casbah, Mathew Street and The Cavern, meaning you get a feel for the origins of Beatlemania along the way. Whether it’s stepping into the offices of The Mersey Beat, Brian Epstein’s record shop NEMS or taking a seat on the Pan Am flight the boys took to the USA ahead of their record breaking debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Broadcast to 73 million viewers, the largest audience Sullivan had had, making The Beatles a household name overnight and securing their worldwide domination.
Easily digestible information is yours for the choosing on easy to use audio guides, voiced by Lennon’s sister Julia Baird. Simply pick a number and you’ll get an intimate breakdown of the items or theme in each section, along with audio snippets from professionals or fans who witnessed the events first hand.
It takes 2-3 hours to absorb all the museum has to offer. The journey takes you through Strawberry Fields, Eleanor Rigby’s graveside and Yellow Submarine to the final roof top performance and the band’s subsequent split. To round off, John, Paul, George and Ringo’s separate careers are detailed, with the lyrics to ‘Imagine’ emblazoned across a white wall housing a white grand piano. There’s a striking collection of memorabilia on display with tributes from a host of modern day artists paying thanks to the Beatles for their inspiration.
It’s a hop, skip and a jump from the Albert Dock to the Pier Head to see the ‘Hidden Gallery’. A free exhibit of rare, intimate photographs documenting The Beatles’ 1963-4 tour with Helen Shapiro.
Taken by photographer Paul Berriff when he was a 16-year-old editorial assistant on the Yorkshire Evening Post, the photographs were “hidden” in his attic for almost fifty years.
The previously unseen images show John, Paul, Ringo and George relaxing backstage are a must see for all Beatles fans.
If you’re visiting with children then The Fab 4D experience is a fun way to introduce them to Beatles’ music. It’s an impressive 15 minutes of animation but if you aren’t in the company of younger folk, it’s probably not worth the wait outside the interactive theatre. Make sure you wear clothes you don’t mind getting slightly wet! Also on site at the Pier Head is also the Beatles Story Discovery Zone for children of all ages with interactive screens and a giant piano.
There’s only a few weeks left to see the ‘Elvis and Us’ exhibition, closing in October 2014, which allows fans to see the influence The King had on John, Paul, George and Ringo.
For information and tickets visit www.beatlesstory.com