Music tourism thrives in Liverpool with a ‘little help’ from the Beatles

“This is the most important house in the history of the most important group in the contemporary music”proclaims Dale Roberts, guide to “Magical Mystery Tour”the tour buses that go to the places where the beatles they lived in Liverpool.

In this city in the north of England, the economy is based on “football and the Beatles”sums up Victoria McDermott, marketing director of Cavern City Tours, the company that owns the Magical Mystery Tours and the famous Cavern Club, where they took their first steps “Fantastic four”.

The nearly forty passengers get off the bus to take pictures or pose in front of the little brick house where he grew up paul mcarneyclose to the famous Penny Lane or Strawberry Fields park.

“I am very excited”, says Graham Biley, musician “semi-professional” who received this visit as a gift for his 70th birthday.

“Don’t be long or you will stay at Strawberry Fields…forever”Roberts jokes, in a reference to the title of one of his best-known songs to the laughter of his audience.

“The first time I heard ‘The long and winding road when I was 10′, I cried”explains Hiromi Beckstrom, a 56-year-old Japanese fan of the legendary quartet, who now lives in the United States and makes this pilgrimage with her daughter Alexandra.

Liverpool built its prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries thanks to the so-called “triangle trade”that is, the slave and raw material trade, at the dawn of the industrial revolution, says Roberts over the public address system between two stops.

four lucky breaks

But two world wars, the Great Depression and deindustrialization plunged the city into a long decline.

Liverpool “he then benefited from four lucky breaks: John, Paul, George and Ringo!”says the guide about this “little help” reminiscent of the title of another iconic song.

Statues of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Star can be seen throughout the city. Liverpool has two museums dedicated to them, as well as countless restaurants, bars, souvenir shops… that generate fat profits.

48% of the commercial taxes collected in Liverpool come from tourism, explains councilor Harry Doyle. It is estimated that the legacy of the Beatles contributes about 100 million pounds (US$127 million) annually to municipal coffers. The Cavern Club alone claims 800,000 visitors a year.

But there are not only legends of the past. Maria Morgado, 53, has come from Portugal with her partner to attend a concert by the ska band Madness. after one night “incredible”They also visited the Beatles museum.

Elsewhere in the UK, Oasis nostalgics head to Manchester, Belle & Sebastian fans to Glasgow and fans of soul singer Amy Winehouse to London’s Camden to gather around her statue.

Hiromi and Alexandra are also planning a visit to the famous Abbey Road studios in the British capital.

big festivals

Not to mention the spate of big summer festivals that the country hosts.

The most mythical, Glastobury, which began on Wednesday, attracts about 200,000 people each year on the outskirts of a medieval village in the South West of England. This year’s lineup includes British artists Elton John, Arctic Monkeys, Cat Stevens, Alison Goldfrapp, Americans Lizzo and Lana del Rey, and many more.

In total, music, including recordings, brought in £4bn in the UK in 2021, according to the latest available figures. It is still a long way from the pre-pandemic £5.8bn, but the industry believes the rally is underway.

Other countries also profit from their artists: Graceland and Memphis in the United States, for example, attract fans of Elvis Presley, and the memory of Bob Marley is manna for Jamaica.

An example of the economic weight of musical superstars: the concert of the American Beyonce in May in Stockholm “probably” it generated up to 0.3 percentage points of inflation, according to an economist at Danske Bank. This was due to the influx of tourists who packed hotels, restaurants and shops, he explains.

Source: AFP