LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND
Liverpool, England
The Cavern Club
This photograph was taken at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. The Cavern is famously known for hosting The Beatles regularly in their early years. They played at the Cavern over 292 times!
Not only have the Beatles played at here but also famous musicians like The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Queen, The Who, and Black Sabbath.
The Cavern Club was inspired by the jazz district in Paris and was modeled after La Caveau de la Huchette jazz club!
I splurged and purchased a private Beatles Tour that took me through their childhood homes, schools, Penny Lane, St. Peter’s Church, The Cavern Club, The Casbah, Strawberry Fields, Albert Dock, and more.. but the Cavern Club was my absolute favorite. I cried when I was inside because I couldn’t believe I was physically in the spot that started it all.. The Beatles are my most favorite artist in the entire world and my trip to Liverpool was one of the most monumental trips I’ve ever taken in my life.
Fun Fact: Before my departure back to the United States, I tried desperately to find a job somewhere in Europe so I could stay.. I filled out many applications throughout my time backpacking across Europe and had different interviews but I actually was offered a position here!
However, upon returning back to the US, I found out I got the job to be a flight attendant and quickly switched my career path last minute.
It’s amazing how one decision can change the course of your life!
PROTIP: The best way to fly with extra pairs of shoes is to use shower caps. Take the backsides of the shoes and fit them into the shower cap so that way none of your items in your suitcase get dirty. This works best to make room for other items, as well as cutting down on using plastic bags!
Strawberry Field’s was originally a field of strawberries with a Victorian house on the property. The Salvation Army purchased the home and created it into an orphanage, which was named Strawberry Field.
John lived at his aunt Mimi’s home in Mendips and in his backyard, he had a treehouse in his apple tree. When I went through his childhood home, they let me go off and pick an apple from his same apple tree which influenced the lyric:
“No one I think is in my tree
I mean it must be high or low
That is you can't, you know, tune in
But it's all right
That is, I think, it's not too bad”
This is the viewed focus from John’s apple tree as he watches over the Strawberry Field orphanage from his backyard, meaning he can’t tune in as he could only watch from a distance.
In the lyrics
“Let me take you down
'Cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real
And nothing to get hung about
Strawberry Fields forever”
Nothing to get hung about was actually a common saying from John to his aunt Mimi, as John would often want to wander through the fields but his aunt wouldn’t want him to wander too far, and he would often say that “it’s nothing to get hung about”, (its not a big deal, don’t worry..etc). Which is heavily influenced in this lyric.
John wrote Strawberry Fields Forever while he was in the film “How I Won The War”, which many believe sparked his creativity into writing about his hometown, specifically Strawberry Fields.
Make it stand out
John Lennon’s Rolls Royce was created in 1965 after the boys were picked up by their manager, Brian Epstein, in Brian’s new Bentley, which was one of the first large purchases Brian made after The Beatles started to grow in popularity. Many believe that because John saw Brian’s Bentley, it influenced him to make the Rolls Royce purchase as his idol, Elvis, also had a Rolls Royce.
John was 24 years old when he learned how to drive. On the same day John got his license, they began to write “Ticket to Ride” and it was released that same year.
John’s Phantom V was customized to have tinted windows so when they could come back from shows and flights early in the morning when the sun came up, it would still be dark in the car for John. It was originally painted in Valentines Black but after John finished filming in How I Won The War, he requested a customized paint job with gypsy psychedelics, as it was the same time frame during the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967. He added in a customized bed in the backseat as well as a television, refrigerator, and telephone.
Another specialized detail John put in was loud speakers under the front wheel wells so he could use the speakers to prank his friends. He was often known to blast recordings of trains and jet engines to confuse pedestrians.
John kept Phantom V until 1977, to which he donated to Cooper-Hewitt Museum at the Smithsonian Institute, and in 1985 it was sold for 2.3 million. Currently it is on display in Royal British Columbia museum. It currently holds 35,000 miles and is valued at 7 million!
