This is the van that took us to John and Paul's boyhood homes. These are the homes they lived in when they met. We were taken into the homes by the caretakers, given a tour, and then allowed to roam through them and ask questions. In John's home my family stood in the foyer and sang a verse of "Eight Days a Week." The caretaker told us that The Beatles, while not allowed to practice at Mendips often (Mimi was averse to the idea of a rock group), did work out a few harmonies in this very room because of the good acoustics. "Please, Please Me" was written in John's home. Many more songs were written in Paul's home. Paul's father was a musician and much more tolerant about their music. Both homes have been furnished circa the 1950's to reflect the time. It's pretty much a time-warp to go inside. Many furnishings were donated by family members and are the original items. The caretakers informed us what was original and what was replicated. John's home has a blue English Heritage plaque on it. Paul won't get one until he's been dead for 20 years. You can see it in the next picture.	This is John's boyhood home where he lived with his Aunt Mimi. When it was built there was no such thing as street addresses in the area. The builder gave the homes names. He called this one Mendips. John's mother was killed on July 15, 1958 just down the street from here. She was hit by a drunk driver. John was 17. He wrote three songs about her; "Julia", "Mother", and "My Mummy's Dead". The house is on Menlove Avenue, which I think ties in quite well with the person he eventually became famous for being. Although it's entirely possible he would prefer for it to be Humanlove Ave. In his earlier years John was nowhere near the calm peace-loving person he evolved into. He hated the world. He drank and fought all the time and was failing out of school. Rock-n-Roll was rebellion music in the late 50's. He loved it. In the back yard was a treehouse. This is referenced in the song "Strawberry Fields Forever" when he says "No one I think is in my tree" The line "Nothing is real" refers to the fact that John, as a child, used to go to Strawberry Fields, which was a nearby orphanage, and play such games as "Cowboys and Indians", and "Cops and Robbers". None of this was real. They were only pretend. It's much more innocent than an acid trip. Incidentally, this is a very nice neighborhood, especially considering the time in which John lived there. They weren't poor, or even working class. More like upper middle class.	This is Paul McCartney's childhood home. His mother died of Breast Cancer on Oct 31, 1956 when he was 14. The song "Let it Be" is about his mother telling him that everything was going to be ok. She came to him in a dream during the later, more turbulent days with the Beatles. "Mother Mary" in the song "Let it Be", is his real mother. Hence the line, "When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be." The caretaker of Paul's home here at 20 Forthlin road is a dead ringer for Paul too. It's uncanny. The cover photo for "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" was taken here in the backyard. It's a much smaller place than John's, and connected to the other homes, kind of like poor townhouses. Paul's childhood was definitely closer to working class than John's. The caretaker told us that the flooring tile in one of the back rooms is the original tile. He said, with a very serious look and tone, "All four Beatles actually walked on this very tile here." He then told us that one visitor got down and rolled around on the floor when he told her that. When Paul lived here there were always instruments around, which may help explain why he was the better craftsman of the two. I'm not saying he's a better musician or songwriter, just a better craftsman. Paul crafted his songs while John worked more off of inspiration. Paul also had much more patience for rehearsing and getting it just right before committing it to record. You can hear the difference on their solo careers. The sound on Paul's records is refined while the sound on John's solo music is a bit rougher around the edges. Compare "Instant Karma" to anything Paul did. They really were counterpoints in almost every way.

Ringo Starr's birthplace. No 9 Madryn Street. An area known as "The Dingle". Ringo moved from here at the age of 6. Somehow I don't have a photo of No. 10 Admiral Grove, his home from 6 on until fame. I'm sure we must have gone by there though. Isn't it just typical that poor Ringo would get this kind of treatment? But ya know, I think he's pretty happy. Imagine being Ringo; He drummed for the greatest band that has existed, and the songwriting team for this group, at the height of their songwriting powers, sat down and wrote songs especially for him. George was the troubled, frustrated one.	12 Arnold Grove. George's birthplace and home until he was 7. It's six windows down (count them using the top floor). It's a simple two-up, 2-down (two rooms upstairs, two rooms downstairs, that's the whole house) His parents didn't mind him playing music. They encouraged him. Later in life George used the name "Arnold Grove" as an alias. It was also the name of an album that is apparently very hard to find, though it is available at musicmp3.ru	A straight on view of 12 Arnold Grove. Can you imagine living here or in Ringo's birthplace? Tourists would never stop photographing your house. Lennon generally viewed Harrison as a young inferior who followed him around in the very early days. A three year difference is a lot when one person is 14 and the other is 17 (year 1957). It wasn't until Revolver that George started showing real accomplishment in songwriting with "Taxman" (and three songs of his on the album). When he wrote "Something", which appeared on their last album (but the second to last to be released) there was no doubt that he had come into his own. It must have been incredibly difficult to compete with Lennon/McCartney, who gave him no help and showed him no mercy.	Clearly no one was born here. This gravestone is merely yards away from where Paul and John met for the first time. Look at the gravestone carefully and about halfway down you will see a familiar name. This is one amazing case of pure coincidence. Paul McCartney claims to have never known of this grave until it was pointed out after he wrote the song. Some say it must have entered his subconscious as a child or young man. Paul says it's a combination of Eleanor Bron, an actress he met on the set of HELP! and "Rigby and Evens Ltd." A sign he saw once in Bristol. He liked the Eleanor part for being feminine and a bit older, kind of lonely sounding, and he liked the Rigby half for being a bit more masculine, thus rounding the name out some.

Former Liverpool College of Art where John attended (sort of) after Quarry Bank High School. He met Stuart Sutcliffe here, his best friend and a former Beatle. Sutcliffe died tragically at the age of 22 of a brain hemmorrhage just as the Beatles were making it big. He had already quit the band to live in Germany with Astrid Kirchherr and study art. There is a very good movie about this called Backbeat that is well-worth seeing. It's miles above all the crap that gets made that even tangentially concerns The Beatles. John hated high school and didn't find Art College much different. People were still telling him what to do and it was still academic, not bohemian. A teacher named Arthur Ballard was the only teacher to like him and actually held classes in Ye Cracke, a pub just around the corner. This wasn't to suit John, he was an unconventional instructor just as John was an unconventional student.	Former Liverpool Institute. Paul and George's high school. This is across the street from the art college that John was (sort of) attending. John was older than the others (except Ringo, but he wasn't in the picture yet), so he was in college while Paul and George were still in high school. Paul was actually doing well in his studies and didn't blow them off until The Beatles and music took over his life. The trips to Hamburg certainly must have affected his and George's studies. Paul McCartney revitalized this school and occasionally teaches here. It is now the Liverpool Institute for Performing Art.	YE CRACKE! This is where John Lennon spent most of the time he was supposed to be in college. We walked into this local pub and immediately stuck out as complete tourists. I walked through the door, the bar was right there, and all conversation stopped. There was a small crowd there and not much room to get by. I was twice as wide because I was carrying so many cameras. A woman gave me the universal sign with her arms to "Come on in", and accompanied her actions with the very same words. Then my posse of wife, two sisters, and father trailed behind me.	Here we are sitting at a picnic table in the backyard of Ye Cracke. I bought my dad a beer. It was odd not to tip, but that just doesn't happen there. Him and my sister each had a pint while we were surrounded by the locals, who were probably mostly art students. Just like in 1957. (Deater took the picture).

The War Office This is the room where Arthur Ballard sometimes took his students for class. One of my favorite pictures. Not sure why, it just means something to me to be in here.

The former maternity hospital where John Lennon was born	The plaque to signify	A picture of me inside the Cavern Club. It's underground. It's quite an impressive long way down too. It's hot as hell, and was built with the original bricks from the original Cavern in the same place. There's a full accounting here: Cavern Club. That's the band on stage through that arch.	We were incredibly lucky that night, Thursday, May 17, 2007. I walked down the stairs to the Cavern. It seemed to take forever (there are 30 steps). When I got to the bottom I heard "I am the Walrus". Holy Shit! It's a Beatles tribute band playing the Cavern. And I'm here! I was able to hear Walrus, which they performed with full sound effects at the end, then "Birthday". After that they played "Good Morning", "Sgt. Pepper (Reprise), and, "A Day in the Life".

There's a nasty reference in the middle of the song Penny Lane. My family will be reading this, so it's up to you to look up what a fish and finger pie is.

	This is the Barber who shaves another customer. During the time when Paul wrote the song it was actually called Bioletti's, but it was a barber shop, still is.	This is the banker with a motor car who never wears a mac (Macintosh raincoat) in the pouring rain...very strange
	This is where the fireman keeps his engine clean. In his pocket is a portrait of the queen	The famed shelter in a roundabout. You can see that someone tried to make a cafe out of it and called it Sgt. Pepper's. Not very convenient in the middle of an intersection. It failed and is closed.

Thank you for reading my page.

A special treat: Here is the Beatles Tribute Band we saw in the Legendary Cavern Club in Liverpool, England doing "A Day in the Life". The sound lacks a little, especially the bass, but it's worth a look. If for no other reason than to see the inside of the cavern. At the end of the video the lads come offstage and walk by me. I must be cool. It's hot in there.

Strawberry Fields Forever

Jayna, Jennifer, Jeff, Leslie, Dad.
We hope you enjoyed it.

Get Back Home Loretta