BLOG # 3

     I would like to start by presenting an overall view of the the way I felt in Liverpool as compared to London. While touring Liverpool, whether by bus or on foot, the people were always friendly. The Beatles, a band that has not been together in over forty years, is still a huge source of revenue. The Beatles were and are a huge part of London, but they really are not something that anyone gives much thought about.  Liverpool is a small city with a population of approximately 500,000 and is very dependent on tourism for it's economy. The shipping industry that sustained the economy had been largely lost after WWII . The claim of fame for Liverpool for many years was that it was the home port of the Titanic, and the birthplace of the Beatles. London however, is an international city were over 300 languages are spoken and 8 million people live. Therefore the history of the Beatles and their movements is not very significant except to those die hard fans who are still interested in all things Beatles.
     The reason I started this entry with the comparison between the two cities is that it helped me to understand why so many of the important sites in London were in disrepair. The building at 3 Seville Row where Apple Corporation had their offices and a recording studio in the basement is a building that is in poor condition. This is also the roof top where the Beatles played their last live set. From what our guide said, there did not appear to be any plans to do anything to bring the building back or make a museum out of the property. If this building had been in Liverpool it would be treated as a national treasure. Although, even in Liverpool they tore down the original Cavern Club. There was some amazing things to see in London both on our walking tour and the extended tour some of us took with Professor Roos.
      To see the offices of Paul McCartney's publishing company was incredible. The story of John Lennon's glasses coming about as a joke. When Lennon was refused entry to the Ad Lib Club a local comedy television show fixed up a public toilet and named it the Ad Lav Club. Lennon, at the last minute, put the glasses on and proceeded with the bit. These were the glasses that the government gave out to poor families who could not afford better glasses. The kids refused to wear the glasses because it meant that your family was poor. After Lennon wore the the glasses they could not find enough pairs to satisfy the kids. This was a small example of the kind of power the Beatles had over the young. When it became known where the Beatles bought their clothes, the shops were mobbed so the group could no longer shop their. This is the type of power the group had in the sixties.
     Spending the entire day going from site to site the lack of acknowledgement of the Beatles presence in the city is amazing. There are obviously exceptions like the Abbey Road studio and the famous crosswalk where we all had our pictures taken. There are numerous plaques on buildings that refer to John Lennon since he has been dead long enough to be recognized. I believe that the group is held in high esteem everywhere, but after spending time in London I realize that nothing matters that is under a couple hundred years old. We walked through many neighborhoods that were older than our country. The British just do not think like we do about anything. I am sure as soon as George Harrison is dead for twenty years he will receive his plaques. The things that we think of as being old are just not seen the same way.There were many things that were certainly worth seeing like Ringo's apartment where John was busted for weed. Knowing the history of this arrest and then seeing the apartment really helps make the whole thing more real. This small event was used by the US government to keep him out of the US. And after he was here his lawyers continually fought extradition. Walking around the city and seeing where many of my favorite Beatles songs were written and then going to the National Library and seeing the hand written lyrics was worth the trip. The opportunity to cover songs in the classroom and then see the locations fleshed out on the streets of London and Liverpool is an opportunity I will never have again.

Liverpool

     Looking back at the trip to Liverpool reinforces what I have always felt about the Beatles. The Beatles were from the beginning and throughout most, if not all, of their existence John Lennon and Paul McCartney. George Harrison was truly a gifted musician and was far better than Lennon or McCartney as a musician. However, even in a time when guitar was not all that popular an instrument, you could find some one who could play the songs. Ringo Starr was certainly the type of personality that they needed but again many people could have fit that position. The dedication to song writing by Lennon and McCartney, and the endless hours of working together to perfect their craft, is what made them the Beatles. Even before the first time they met in 1957 at a church picnic their lives seemed to be destined to come together.
    John was taken in by his aunt and uncle, Mimi and George, after his mother was convinced to surrender him to a more stable life. The home, which is called Mendips (I do not have a clue as to  why)  was in a nice part of town and his guardians cared for him like he was their own child. When John's uncle died at only fifty-two his aunt was determined to hold onto the house for John sake. She wanted to continue the stable environment he was living in. She took in student boarders, and for three pounds a week they had a clean comfortable place to live and two meals a day. Latter when the need for money was greater she rented her own bedroom in order to bring in three more students and another nine pounds a week. In order to do this she had to sleep on a cot in the dinning room and early each morning she would put the bedding away and prepare the kitchen and dinning room for the the students and John's breakfast. The determination of Johns aunt is what kept him  where he was in a position to meet and develop a relationship with Paul.
      Paul's family was far to poor to live in the same area as John and his aunt Mimi, but after the war a small section of the neighbor hood was developed as public housing and Paul and his mother and father and brother moved into the area. Paul's mother was the section nurse which helped them to afford the rental on the house.John and Paul developed mutual friends that finally lead them to the meeting at the church picnic.The amount of struggles that they had to go through in order to come together as a song writing duo over the early years was staggering. Both boys lost their mothers while in their teens. John had just really established a good relationship with his mother when she was killed by a car crossing the street in front of Mimi's house. John was waiting for her at her house when she was killed. Paul's mother died and left Paul and his brother to be raised by their father along. They said that after John's mother died he retreated to his bedroom and played music for hours on end. You wonder how many of the seeds for the incredible music that came latter were buried in that pain. Aunt Mimi wanted John to just get past this music thing and receive a proper education. Paul's father did not like John at all and believed that he would take away from Paul's educational opportunities and get him into trouble.
     The one thing that I have learned is that there is something divine about the gift to create and make music. For the fortunate few who have been blessed with this gift and the ( I will sacrifice anything to exhaust every element of my gift determination) there is little that can stop them. It is interesting to me to hear people who do not get it, try to apply the parameters of their discipline to the would of music. It is true that it can be taken apart lyrically and looked at note by note. You can use a computer to compose music. However, what came out of McCartney and Lennon for twelve years can not just be listened to it has to be ingested. The very first songs they sang in the Cavern Club in Liverpool to the final songs on the roof top in London were always cutting edge for their time. I believe that song writers painters writers and many other creative people operate on a different plain than the rest of us.The benefit of this class has been having a Prof. who understands how creative minds work and that they do not always fit into an easily understood pattern. And many times you just have to say I really do not know what the hell they are talking about.
     Liverpool has been a struggling city since the days it was the second most bombed city in England during World War Two. Being a port city it never really recovered as shipping moved on to other more convenient areas. However, it does not take long to realize that the music in this city is still very alive. The city in recent years has begun to turn economically. Much of the comeback in on the strength of tourism. And the wonderful thing is that much of that tourism is centered around the Beatles. I am not a fan of cover bands in any way, but some of the people that sing  Beatles music in Liverpool are amazing. I sat in the Cavern Club the other night and could have stayed there all night and just got hammered (I didn't). The music was amazing and every song that night was a Beatles song. So much of the Beatles music is a product of the environment they grew up in but much of it just can not explained. Was it life experience, drugs, relationships or just a divinely ordered purpose and gift. However you want to explain it Lennon and McCartney could have been teamed with anyone and nothing would have been lost