Liverpool - yeah, yeah, yeah!

By KEVIN JONES

Carl Gustav Jung, the esteemed psychologist and thinker, famously described Liverpool as "the pool of life" before his death in 1961.

Old Carl wasn't far wrong - and he dropped off the twig a year before the Beatles had even scored their first hit song!

Liverpool has always had plenty going for it but since the Beatles came and went in the Sixties, it has become inextricably linked with its four most famous sons.

Interest in the Beatles (pictured) remains as strong now as ever - the three surviving members of the band made a lazy couple of million dollars each last year - nearly 30 years after their big split and in a year where they didn't release any product. They have published their autobiography and industry sources believe they made more than $1 billion - yes, billion - from it.

Liverpool was painfully slow in getting the hint about the Beatles and the international publicity they generated for the city. One city councilor in the Seventies - obviously a Rolling Stones fan - famously voted down a proposal at a Merseyside County Council meeting to name four streets after Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr.

"What did the Beatles ever do for Liverpool?", he asked an incredulous gathering of hitherto snoozing councillors.

Warming to his theme and, clearly pleased to have grabbed his colleagues' attention, he spat in a metre-thick Scouse accent: "They just up and left once they'd made a couple of bob and buggered off to London!"

Amazingly, several councillors sided with him!

For years, Mathew Street, the small, inner-city street that housed the legendary Cavern Club, lay derelict and ugly. The building above the basement that was the Cavern had been demolished and the club site was filled in and covered to become an ill-used car park.

The "New Cavern" - an underwhelming night club - was built opposite the original site and, as far as civic and corporate Liverpool was concerned, the memory of the Beatles was buried with the old Cavern. The flame, however, always burned in local hearts.

In the late Seventies, by the time the New Cavern had become "Eric's", one of the premier punk/reggae clubs in the North-West, Liverpool had finally got around to putting a small, impressionistic statue of a mother (Mary?) holding three babies high on the wall above the club's entrance.

A sign was placed underneath, proclaiming Mathew Street to be "Beatle Street" and saying simply: "Four Lads Who Shook The World". Where was the fourth Beatle? Legend had it that Paul had grown Wings and flown away.

Liverpool has come a long way since those days.

If you were one of the thousands who trooped down Mathew Street at that time only to be disappointed to find a derelict, cobble-stone street with disused warehouses and one smoky pub, you would drop in your tracks these days.

It truly has become Beatle Street, with bars, cafes, museums - and the Cavern brought back to life. I'm sure patrons of the original complain about one or two minor details being different, but to this pair of untrained eyes, the recreated Cavern is uncannily like the original. If you're interested in heading over there, click here for some well-priced accommodation.

Mathew Street is at the heart of a thriving Beatles tourism industry in Liverpool, but is only part of it. You want to see Strawberry Fields? Penny Lane? Sir Paul McCartney's old house? You can. There are tour packages to suit every Beatles fan.

Just as Merseybeat grew up around the Fab Four, Merseybeat tourism has now evolved around the new Beatlemania. Try taking a ferry 'cross the Mersey to Wallasey or Birkenhead and drink in the atmosphere that inspired Liverpool's other big pop exports, Gerry and the Pacemakers.

Liverpool has just staged a wildly successful Mathew Street Festival. This annual music and pop culture celebration attracted around 250,000 over the week it ran.

The city offers far more than just Beatles memorabilia. Remember, it was the Pool of Life even before the Fabs came on the scene.

A rich, merchant city that was once one of the biggest ports in the world, multi-cultural Liverpool has stunning architecture, two awesome cathedrals, a thriving arts and university scene and is one of the sporting capitals of the UK.

Liverpool might have made its money under dubious circumstances - it was one corner of the Slave Triangle - but it spent its money well.

Check out the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, or St George's Hall (pictured), or the Walker Art Gallery and be impressed.

If millions worldwide think of the Beatles when Liverpool is mentioned, almost as many would think "soccer" at the sound of the city's name. Liverpool FC has been one of the most successful football clubs in the world, much to the chagrin of its biggest rival, Everton FC, the city's other big club. You can do tours of Anfield and Goodison Park, their respective home grounds.

Liverpool has a rich Irish heritage - Scousers, as Liverpudlians are known, declare the city to be the capital of Ireland, north and south. You don't have to go to a generic "theme-pub" with an Emerald name to find an "Irish House" in the 'Pool.

This is no great surprise as Liverpool has been the gateway into England for the Irish for centuries. Ferries still run regularly between Liverpool and Dublin and Liverpool and Belfast. You can also catch a ferry to the beautiful Isle of Man from Liverpool's spectacular Pier Head precinct on the banks of the Mersey.

That aforementioned ferry 'cross the Mersey will give you the best views of the famous Liver Building, Liverpool waterfront and the cathedrals as you travel over to the Wirral Peninsula.

On your return to the Pier Head, take a couple of hours to stroll down to the Albert Dock.

The Albert Dock is not only Britain's most popular heritage attraction, it's also the largest group of Grade One-listed buildings in the country and home to some world-class attractions.

These include the Merseyside Maritime Museum where you can explore Liverpool's fascinating maritime past and the Tate Gallery Liverpool, which displays the best of the national collection of modern art.

The Beatles Story (there's no avoiding them) traces the life and times of the Fab Four from their early days in Hamburg to fame and fortune and their eventual split.

The Albert Dock also offers some interesting shops and some great cafe bars and pubs where you can enjoy a relaxing break from shopping and sightseeing.

If you base yourself in Liverpool for a while, you will have easy access to North Wales, Wirral, Manchester (a 45-minute drive), and you will only be a couple of hours away from the stunning Lake District.

By the way, no visit to Liverpool is complete without getting a local to serve you up some scouse, the local dish that gives the people and the dialect its name. It's more than just a stew - it's the elixir of life in the pool of life.

Links

Liverpool Accommodation
Merseyside.org
Liverpool.com
Mersey Guide