Real estate has certainly become a hot commodity in the world of pop culture memorabilia as of late, with enterprising individuals snapping up famous houses and transforming them into vacation rentals. Fans can currently live out all their big and small screen fantasies at such famed properties as the mansion from “The Bachelor,” the farm that inspired “The Conjuring” and the St. Helens home from the original “Twilight.” And now Beatles aficionados can gear up for the ultimate Fab Four experience across the pond as George Harrison’s childhood home has just hit the short-term rental market!
Standing at the northern edge of a circular road at 25 Upton Green in Speke, a suburb about ten miles outside Liverpool City Centre, the terrace house landed on the auction block in late 2021. (Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.) Three thousand miles away, the sale piqued the interest of New Hampshire resident and longtime Beatles fan Ken Lambert. As the N.H. Union Leader details, “Lambert first learned that Harrison’s old home was going to be auctioned off through multiple news reports last November. Some of his buddies also forwarded him the stories and encouraged him to bid, but they were half-joking. While he considered bidding, Lambert didn’t get serious about it until the day before the Nov. 30 auction, when he finally decided to pre-register through the auction house. The auction was held with bidders who placed bids online, via phone and in person. Lambert was shocked when he placed his bid and no one outbid him. A minute later, the hammer came down, and he was declared the winner. ‘I think the final price was a reasonable number,’ he said.”
Being that the guitar Kurt Cobain strummed during Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged in New York” concert fetched more than $6 million in a 2020 sale, Lambert’s winning bid of £171,000 (about $220,000) actually seems relatively low for such an esteemed piece of music history.
Ownership of the trophy pad secured, Lambert had to figure out his next move. He told the New York Post, “Once I realized I was the winner, it was pretty shocking. I really started to think about what I was going to do with the property. I’m not a wealthy individual. It’s not like I go around buying up properties. I’m a Beatles fan, yes, but I am a big George Harrison fan specifically.” As such, he opted to share his good fortune with like-minded enthusiasts by reimagining the place as a Fab Four-inspired vacation rental. Available through Airbnb, the three-bedroom, one-bath, 936-square-foot homestead is being offered to parties of up to five guests with rates starting at about $260 a night.
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Image Credit: Airbnb Born on February 25, 1943, the youngest Beatle moved into the residence, then a council house, with his parents and three siblings in January 1950, shortly after it was built. Prior to that, the family lived in an austere brick-faced property at 12 Arnold Grove in nearby Wavertree that, according to Wikipedia, “had an outdoor toilet and its only heat came from a single coal fire.”
The Speke dwelling was a definite upgrade. In “George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door,” author Graeme Thomson writes, “Their new house was a step up: much more room, modern, with an inside toilet, part of a community of similar houses built around a neat central green.” It is there that Harrison, who was six when he moved in, spent his formative years, honing both his guitar and music skills.
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Image Credit: Airbnb It wasn’t until high school that fate intervened when George met Paul McCartney while waiting for the Liverpool Institute school bus. The two quickly forged a friendship and Paul eventually brought his new buddy, who was three years his junior, to audition for his skiffle group, The Quarrymen. Though bandmate John Lennon (whose high school, Quarry Bank, inspired the ensemble’s name) initially thought the then 14-year-old was too young for the job, a second audition secured Harrison’s place as third guitarist. One bonus to having George in the group? According to the Ultimate Classic Rock website, “His mother didn’t object to the boys coming over and rehearsing. In fact, she welcomed it and would often give the teenagers small glasses of whiskey.” As such, the Quarrymen would regularly gather at 25 Upton Green, perfecting their sound in both George’s bedroom and the floral wallpapered living room (pictured above).
The group changed their name to The Beatles in 1960 and two years later, George’s family moved about three miles north to 174 Macket’s Lane in Hunt’s Cross. Beatlemania was just around the corner. The band landed a contract with Parlophone Records soon after and, following a membership shakeup that had Ringo Starr replacing then-drummer Pete Best, began to develop a massive fanbase in England. Then on February 9, 1964, the Fab Four made their debut appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” a watershed moment in pop culture history during which they performed four of their songs to massive fervor, making immediate fans of the 728 guests in attendance and the 73 million viewers watching from home and cementing their place in the musical zeitgeist.
George became known as the “quiet Beatle” thanks to that performance, though the nickname was a misnomer. He was actually suffering from strep throat at the time and was told to keep talking to a minimum so as to save his voice for the show. He did as advised and was forever branded as media-shy and elusive. In truth, though, “He never shut up,” at least according to his good friend Tom Petty.
The band famously went on to become one of the best-selling musical acts in history. Following their break-up in 1970, Harrison found success with a solo career and pursued other endeavors, including film production and philanthropy. He passed away far too soon from lung cancer at 58 in 2001. His music, movies and legacy live on, though – as does his childhood home. And now fans can experience the place firsthand!
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Image Credit: Airbnb The property has been renovated since the Harrisons’ tenure, however Lambert has reinstated some familiar touches from the family’s time there, including outfitting the living room with a floral-printed couch and wallpaper similar to those that were in place in the 1950s. Many photographs of a young George, John and Paul hanging out against the blossomy backdrop are featured in the Airbnb listing.
As Lambert told the Union Leader, “You can literally sit there in the front room on these retro sofas in George’s house and play ‘Eight Days A Week’ or whatever. That’s a really cool feeling. You can do whatever you want in there within reason. I want you to take the selfies. I want you to take a video clip of yourself strumming the guitar in the front room. That’s part of the experience that I’m trying to do.”
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Image Credit: Airbnb A few original elements of the home do remain intact, including the closet doors, the bathtub, the bathroom sink and a kitchen buffet, now painted green and white. As Lambert effused to the Union Leader, “So George got pots and pans out of that hutch!” And now you can, too!
There’s good news for those who don’t have the time or funding to book a stay in the house. Each Wednesday, Fab 4 Taxi Tours brings visitors there, allowing fans to catch quick up-close and personal glimpses of the interior. The property is also close to many other landmark sites in Beatles’ history, including the Cavern Club, where the band regularly performed in their early days, and the childhood homes of McCartney and Lennon, both of which are open for tours. As Visit Liverpool notes, “From immersive experiences, museums full of memorabilia, tours of every kind and even Beatles themed hotels, there are plenty of ways you can soak up the home of the biggest band in the world.” And now, there’s the perfect spot available to rest your head after a hard day’s night of Beatles sightseeing, as well!