In this latest edition of the Liddypod podcast, it is David’s turn to interview Paul for a change! Paul has been a Blue Badge Beatles guide for many years and he tells us how Beatles tourism started in Liverpool, including all of its ups and downs.
Sit back and listen to a fascinating story of celebrating The Beatles in Liverpool.
Hope you enjoy it. Leave us feedback or questions?
David and Paul
Liddypod 
Excellent podcast! First time I’ve heard about the development of Beatles’ tourism; really interesting.
Thank you, guys!
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So glad you enjoyed it Tim, it is a fascinating story and Paul was there. So glad he mentioned all those important people too.
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Another great show and very interesting , but…….
I feel there was a glaring omission , and it was the reason I first came to Liverpool in 1977. No mention was made of Allan Williams and Bob Wooler , who organised the first convention on the weekend of October 8th / 9th of that year at Mr Pickwicks in Fraser Street.
They also organised a convention in July the following year , again at Mr Pickwicks and there was also a ‘ Xmas Beatles Party’ , this time at Romeo and Juliets in St John’s Precinct on December 28th that year , and again I attended both.
So while Liz and Jim Hughes took it on , mention should be made of the real Convention foundations.
This was at a time , as mentioned in the programme, when there was no Beatles tourism industry at all , and I remember Bob and Allan having running battles with the Council over organising said events.
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Thanks David, yes of course, we were covering so much we didn’t get round to discussing them. Allan and Bob were so important to the scene back then for the conventions. We will be covering conventions in a later episode so will mention them there. The tourism was an added bonus to the conventions as opposed to the main aim. But they aren’t forgotten, don’t worry. David
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I AM , THE COURTNEY FAMILY FROM ENGLAND. MY, FATHER WAS, EDWARD BAYARD COURTNEY. I WANT TO PLACE OUR FAMILY CREST ON HERE SOMEWHERE, TO SHOW YOU. BUT I CAN’T FIND A PLACE TO ATTACH A PICTURE. LOVE YOU GUYS. KEEP ME POSTED ON ALL THINGS, ENGLISH ✌💖🙏🎶🎶🎶🎶🎤🎹🥁🎸🎸🎸
ps. I am a singer songwriter. My project, THE MELT experience. You can listen to , From the PAST to the FUTURE, on SOUNDCLOUD.COM. then YOU’LL HERE the INFLUENCE of The Lads from, Liddypool. I hope you can. ✌💖
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Nice to hear you have English roots too. Keep tuned in to make sure you don’t miss anything as we have lots more episodes coming up soon.
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CHEERS TO YOU. LIDDYPOOL AND THE, BEATLES. SIR PAUL AND SIR STAR. HISTORY, HISTORICAL. THE ECONOMY OF, GREAT BRITAIN. EVEN AFTER THE START IN 64′ THE BRITISH INVASION STARTING WITH, OUR LADS. INSERTING AN ECONOMIC IMPACT, NEVER SEEN BEFORE, IN THE BRITISH ECONOMY. I STILL CAN’T FIGURE OUT, FOUR LADS FROM, LIVERPOOL, GO TO CONSERVATIVE SHORT HAIRED WHITE AMERICA. HOW THESE FOUR, CHANGED THE WORLD, IN PARTICULAR, THE UNITED STATES. WITH MOTOWN BEING SUCH AN INFLUENTIAL GROUP OF AMAZING MUSICAL GENIUSES. THEY OVERTOOK THE MUSIC SCENE. AND USHERED IN THE REST OF THE BRITISH BANDS WHO AS WELL IMPACTED POSITIVELY THE GREAT BRITAIN ECONOMY. SIMPLY, EXTRAORDINARY!
JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE AND RINGO. PICKED BY SOME SOURCE. FROM WHERE THEY CAME, WOULD BE AN IMPOSSIBILITY, YET IT HAPPENED. PICCADILLY, LONDON, JAMES BOND, AND SO MUCH MORE, BECAME, THE WAY WE THINK. FROM HAIR LENGTH TO FASHION STYLE. AND THEN THE MASTER OF MERCHANDISING FOR THE FIRST TIME. PROMOTING AND PUTTING, THE BEATLES NAME IN EVERY THING FROM ,TOOTH PASTE, TALCUM POWDER TO THE WIGS, GAMES AND MERCHANDISE THAT PEOPLE COULD TAKE HOME AND ADMIRE. THE GREAT VISIONARY, SIR BRIAN EPSTEIN. MUCH ✌💖🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎤🎹🥁🎸🎸🎸👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇸🇬🇧👣👣👣👣🗣♎💖😘
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Thanks Carmine, it is incredible isn’t it? Four lads from Liverpool and a wise young manager in Brian and they changed the world. Amazing the interest there still is today. Thanks for your kind comments.
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Terrific podcast, Dave and Paul! I had the same experience as the person Paul describes, when I first visited Liverpool in 2010. Upon emerging from Lime Street station and casting my eyes on St. George’s Hall across the street, I fell in love with Liverpool. And that love grows deeper each visit. It reminds me so much of my mid-size hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Another city of hard-working citizens who are incredibly proud of their city that bounced back from a reputation of a dark and grimy town of smoke-filled streets, whose commerce depended on its waterways and a thriving steel industry that suddenly dried up in the 1970’s, but reinvented itself as a vibrant cosmopolitan city of incredibly friendly and (still) hard-working people. We even share a tremendous pride in our highly successful football teams – LFC and the 6-time Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers – albeit “slightly” different types of football. Looking forward to Visit #4 this Fall – coronavirus-permitting – to finally introduce Liverpool to my wife Mary. Dave and Paul, keep up the great work!
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Thanks Nick, glad you enjoyed it. It will be lovely to see you and Mary over here and spend some time with you too. Our hometowns are similar indeed, though prefer our type of football as you know!! YNWA. Dave
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Great show and well worth a listen – as always!
Listeners might think the Liverpool music scene has been done to death in terms of detail but you’ve hardly scratched the surface so keep on keeping on. Subjects you could both still cover in-depth are Rory Storm, Bob Wooler, Sam Leach, etc. And how about the booking agents and the district clubs ? They rarely get a mention. Mr Hill and Mr Foreshaw are just two out of many. And of course we never hear about Bill Harry and his partner Virginia and the story of the Merseybeat newspaper, surely the most important story, since it put the Beatles on the map. It deserves more coverage than it gets. All in all these men shaped, promoted and publicized the music scene, long before the world got to know it existed. America still doesn’t know that Liverpool and the world didn’t begin or end with the Beatles. They simply highlighted the great talent that Liverpool had to offer. So, with a lifetime of untold stories to go at, there’s no shortage. Here’s to the next great podcast. We might even make another feature movie, you know. Oh, sorry, we’ve already done that.
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Thanks Garry, got lots planned and so much potential material too, including all the names mentioned! We have fun too! David and Paul
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David and Paul:
Brilliant as usual. Looking forward to more. History of Liverpool Tourism 1974 to present day. Sounds like a Book title to me…
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It has been such a fascinating story and one that lots of people have enjoyed. Another Beatles book? Dave
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