Childhood Homes Of John Lennon, Paul McCartney To Be Preserved
The childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney will be preserved under a new ruling in the UK, it has emerged. Lennon and McCartney, possibly the finest songwriting duo in the history of pop music, were the two principal songwriters of The Beatles.
Both grew up close to one another in Liverpool, and the pair wrote some of their early songs in their childhood homes, which have now been granted a grade 2 listing. That means the properties cannot be altered without special permission from authorities.
Many Beatles songs reflect the Liverpudlian upbringing of Lennon and McCartney, who combined to write the bulk of the band’s massive back catalog. Songs such as ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane,’ for example, are tributes to favorite childhood haunts in the Liverpool area.
As a youngster, Lennon lived in a comfortable 1930s duplex house at 251 Menlove Ave, while McCartney resided in nearby Forthlin Road, just over a mile away.
The two legends-to-be would stage practice sessions for their first band The Quarrymen while living at these houses, and ‘Please Please Me,’ the first of 22 UK number ones for The Beatles, was written at Lennon’s house.
Interestingly, English Heritage, a government-sponsored body that decides which buildings to preserve, decided against preserving the childhood homes of Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison and drummer Ringo Starr.
Emily Gee at English Heritage said Lennon’s and McCartney’s homes had been preserved because “they were scenes of huge amounts of rehearsal, of composition of songs, really intense creative hubs.”
