Take Me Home, Abbey Road

Though the London tour clearly rounded out the Beatles experience as this is where they spent most of their later years together, it still felt a little bittersweet as I know my trip was coming to an end.  The places that we were able to see were so important to the Beatles, and I feel honored that I was able to visit them.

We began our tour at the famous MPL building.  The MPL stands for McCartney Productions Limited and Paul can still be spotted there on a lucky day (unfortunately not our lucky day but what can you do?).  It is still a premier music publisher.

We visited Carnaby Street which was and still is the most exclusive shopping district in London.  This is where the Beatles and other celebrities would buy trendy clothes that the general public tried to imitate.  On Carnaby Street there is a breath taking mural on one of the buildings that closely resembles the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  It is called the “Spirit of Soho” and is quite a site.  There are all types of people and places put together in this great collage and it truly shows the influence the Beatles had on England and London in particular.

Another memorable landmark was the “Gentlemen’s” bathroom where John Lennon really showed his smarts and sense of humor.  The story goes that John was denied entrance into a popular club for celebrities and other elites called the Ad Lib Club.  Apparently one needed a have a tie to enter such an exclusive club and John was not wearing one.  He retaliated by dressing up in “gentlemen’s” clothing and posing outside of the restroom aforementioned.  While many celebrities would throw a fit if they were denied entrance into their favorite club, John handled the situation with class putting the joke on the club.

Next we visited Trident Sound Studios where the Beatles recorded many of their most famous songs.  The songs they recorded there had deeper meaning than some of their earlier songs and showed just how much the Beatles had matured as a band.  Other popular musicians recorded there as well including Elton John, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Queen, Carly Simon, Lou Reed, James Taylor, George Harrison (as a solo artist) and Ringo Starr (as a solo artist).

We stopped at 3 Savile Road to see the Apple Corps Studio where the Beatles had their last live performance on the roof of the building.  This is one of the most important land marks of the Beatles and to this day people still go there to see the place where the Beatles performed together last.

Abbey Road was my favorite place to visit on the London walking tour.  Out of all the other places I knew about this one the most and had always wanted to reenact the famous Beatles album cover that was shot there.  It was pretty incredible to walk in the footsteps of a view of the most famous people to walk the planet.  As my group attempted to do the crossing of Abbey Road I insisted on being John Lennon every time.  The funny part was that I was trying way too hard to walk just like the Beatles had and ended up looking like I was doing the robot across Abbey Road.  We did however manage to take a view pretty good pictures with my robot dancing and all.

The London walk helped me realize that Liverpool was not the only place in England that was important to the growth of the Beatles.  In fact I would argue that London was far more important than Liverpool in the bands later years.  Though it was sad to know my trip was coming to an end, the London tour was the perfect ending to our journey.

Liverpool loving

Travelling to Liverpool to visit the birthplace of the Beatles was an absolutely amazing experience.  I was able to explore the Beatles museum, go on the Magical Mystery Tour bus which took us to many infamous Beatles land marks such as Penny Lane and the Cavern Club, and even go inside the houses where Paul McCartney and John Lennon spent their childhood.  It was so interesting to learn about the early lives of the four members of the Beatles and how their friends, family, and other events influenced the most famous band in the whole world.

I started my Liverpool adventure at the Beatles museum.  There I was able to learn all about the early lives of the four Beatles and the other important people and places that were involved in their youth.  One important event that occurred was the day that John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met.  In the museum there was a display of a huge picture of Lennon performing in his first skiffle band, the Quarry Men.  A mutual friend of the two had told Paul about John and the Quarry Men.  Paul being so interested in music as well decided to ride his bike out to see the live performance of the Quarry Men.  This is when the fateful moment occurred and John and Paul met for the first time.  This event was so significant because if Paul had decided not to go see the Quarry Men perform, John and he would have never met and the Beatles would have never formed.

Another display showed the local music store where a few members of the Beatles purchased their first instruments.  What was unique about this store was the fact that one could buy an instrument and pay for it over time.  This was so important because none of the boys of the Beatles were wealthy enough to buy instruments in one full payment.  By paying in increments, the boys were able to purchase musical instruments they could have never have afforded otherwise.

One display in the museum explained the meeting of George Harrison with John Lennon.  Paul and George had become friends when they met on the bus that took them to school.  The bus driver on the Magical Mystery Tour explained that Paul and George started talking about music and found that they both loved rock and roll and playing musical instruments.  So after John and Paul became friends and Paul joined John’s band, Paul decided to introduce George to John and consider him for a spot in the band.  At first John was very hesitant about letting George join the band because George was three years younger, practically a baby to John.  Eventually John agreed to listen to George play the guitar, and when he did John immediately changed his mind about George.  George could play the guitar better than John could!

When I went to visit John Lennon’s childhood home, Mendips, I learned much about Lennon’s youth.  One tragic event that occurred seemed to scar John for life.  John’s mother Julia was absent for most of John’s youth.  He was essentially abandoned by Julia and raised by his aunt and uncle.  As John got older, he and Julia began to see each other more frequently and eventually began to heal their broken relationship.  Julia was the one to help John learn how to play the banjo and also encouraged him to follow his dreams of becoming a musician.  Without her, John might have given up on music as his aunt Mimi thoroughly discouraged his musical dreams.  One day when John was in his teens and his and Julia’s relationship was at an all time high, she was struck by a car while trying to cross the road.  John was completely devastated by this event.  He mentioned that it was like losing his mother not once but twice; once when he was young and she left him and then when she died.  This tragedy did however bring some good as the bond between John and Paul was strengthened because Paul had lost his mother as well.

On the Magical Mystery Tour I learned more about how Ringo Starr became the drummer for the Beatles.  Originally Pete Best played the drums in the band.  Pete’s personality was not really clicking with his other band mates who were a bit more wild and crazy.  He had a different sense of humour than the other three and didn’t seem as if he was ready for the rock and roll life style.  Also, it was rumoured that Ringo was quite the ladies’ man and could help the other band members meet a lot of girls.  The rest is history as Beatles manager Brian Epstein called Pete to his office and told him he was out of the band.  The museum had newspaper clipping announcing the firing of Pete and the uproar from the fans loyal to him.  Whether it was right or wrong to fire Pete, the Beatles as we all know them were complete.

The Cavern Club was one of the most important places to the development of the Beatles.  It was there that the Beatles performed frequently and became extremely popular in Liverpool.  If there had been no Cavern Club Brian Epstein would have never discovered the Beatles!  I really enjoyed seeing the replica of the club in the museum and the remake of the bar and club itself because of its importance to the formation of the Beatles.

I had such a great time in Liverpool learning about the four men who became a phenomenon.  My favorite part of the trip was being invited on the stage of the new Cavern Club to sing “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.  It was like a dream come true for me.  I felt like a had become a part of the Cavern club legacy and joined the ranks of all the bands who had performed there previously.  I will never forget my experience in Liverpool and hope that everyone has the opportunity to do the same.

The British Musical Experience

Visiting the O2 and getting to see the British Musical Experience was absolutely amazing.  I wasn't quite sure what exactly to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised upon my arrival.  It was like nothing I have ever seen before; there were seven different rooms filled with memorabilia, historical documents, clothing, and tons of information about important events and music starting from the 1940's all the way up to present day.  The room that featured the 1960's was by far my favorite because this room had most of my favorite musicians and trends.  What was really interesting was looking at all the different trends that had evolved from other influences.  The type of music, clothing, dancing, and world events that were taking place had a definite influence on the trends of the 1960's and all other time periods as well.  One machine I used allowed me to focus on a popular photograph and then gave me all of the historical information surrounding the particular photo.  One picture brought up the death of John F. Kennedy.  JFK's death had a major influence on the music of that day.  JFK, the young and popular President of the United States, was greatly loved by Americans and especially by the American youth who really identified with him.  He had promised change for the better and brought hopes of a brighter future.  When JFK died many young Americans felt as if they had no one to identify with and help them through their teenage angst.  These feelings paved the way for many rocking roll bands, especially the Beatles, to become popular among the youth of America.  The four young men of the Beatles sang about teenage love and other popular things that young people identify with.  The Beatles helped to heal the wound that JFK’s death had caused. 
One activity called the “Atlantic Crossing” showed how American and British musicians influenced each other.  One example of this was the early American rock and rollers who had a profound influence on the different members of the Beatles.  Musicians such as Buddy Holly and others were real sources of inspiration to the band.  What is really amazing is that the Beatles were heavily influenced by mostly American musicians and after their “American invasion”, the Beatles became a new source of inspiration for all other musicians to follow.  This shows the give and take relationship between American and England.  No one country can be given credit for different types of music because people can be influenced by other people all over the world.  The give and take relationship between America and England shows how rock and roll and other popular trends evolved.
Another interesting display had the infamous outfits that the many musicians in each era had worn.  In the 1945-1962 room, the clothing consisted of more plain and formal pieces that were definitely novel but not too out there.  As I moved from one room to another it was crazy to see how clothing had evolved.  Starting with the more formal attire, each room after the first contained outfits that were more revealing, eye catching, and peculiar.  By the time I had reached the 1993 to present day room, the clothing had completely changed.  Musicians started out wearing suits and pretty dresses and as time went on musicians expanded their looks from the previous generations.  Another display showed a pair of reading glasses from the 1960’s.  The glasses were plain and simply served the purpose of enhancing one’s eyesight.  When I got into the 1980’s room, the pairs of glasses were huge, oddly shaped and colored, and encrusted with rhinestones.  I think I would be correct in saying that these glasses were not used to help eyesight!
There was one station at the BME where you could select a certain type of dance and after showing the dance, it recorded you trying the dance yourself.  This I could not resist, and so my roommate and I brought out are dancing shoes and started to groove.  We tried to do the twist because this was a dance that had been extremely popular in 1960’s.  It was different from dances that had come before it because earlier dances usually involved a partner, but the twist could be done with one person.  I think the twist was also a bit more risqué than dances before it had been.  That was to be expected though as music had become more sexy and, to some, more vulgar the types of dances to the music did the same.
The BME gave me so much insight into the world of music and how it has changed and evolved throughout time.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in music!