Boldly Go Solo

Cilla Black was a hat check girl at The Cavern in Liverpool, where the Beatles played in their early years. She was also a friend of the band’s. In fact, she debuted on the British singles charts in 1963 with a song given to her by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Those are the facts. The juicy bits I got from Phil, my guide at the Beatles Museum in Liverpool. He told the story of Paul McCartney asking Cilla out. Apparently, she couldn’t make up her mind.

Finally, Lennon sputtered, so Phil says, "He’s not asking you to "f***ing" marry him." It was the little push she needed. She said yes.   

Phil is a fount of "useful" Beatles information. He’s a Liverpudlian and grew up around the same time John, Paul, George and Ringo. And he knows many of the people who hung out with the Mop Tops before their hairdos were a topic of conversation worldwide.

For instance, he said that Ringo was in the hospital a lot as a kid and missed many school days. So a friend helped teach him to read and write. That friend also is a guide at the Beatles Museum.

These are fun stories to hear from locals who knew the group or knew friends of the group. Take them with a grain of salt or not. You don’t often hear the little personal bits on television. It’s generally all Ed Sullivan show, all the time.

And I don’t think I would have heard these interesting tidbits at the museum, either, if I’d been gabbing with a friend on my way through. I was glad to be there on my own, taking it in at my pace, staying close to Phil when he was speaking. Listening to the audio guide. Reading all the details on the walls. Going here, there and everywhere in the cavern-like museum.

Like millions of people, I’ve always had a thing for the Beatles. When I was young, my friends had posters of the Fab Four on their walls. Of course we had to choose our fave and mine was Paul.

I didn’t think there’d be that much more to see at the Beatles Museum but I was wrong. John Lennon’s yellow-tinted wire rim glasses are in a clear case and you can see lean down and look through them. Yup, the world through Lennon-tinted glasses.

I loved the video loops of girls fainting at the sight of the group. I watched those over and over. I enjoyed seeing the British bobbies smile as they carried the love-struck teens off.

The wax figures were cheesy. (The place isn’t perfect.) But then, there were the gray jackets I remember the Beatles wearing all those years ago. Just inches away.

Side note: I was surprised to learn that the first ever Beatles-themed hotel is slated to open in Liverpool any day now. How did this not happen sooner someplace, when you think about it?

All 110 rooms in the boutique, Hard Day’s Night Hotel, will have a painting by Shannon, an acclaimed Beatles artist, representing some aspect of the Beatles story. Those of you with fat wallets can choose to book the Lennon or McCartney suite.

Photos: Ellen Perlman.

1. Entrance to Beatles Museum, Liverpool

2. Photos in museum

3. Famous collarless jackets

Youtube video by: naniz2813