Paul McCartney’s childhood home in Liverpool, where he and John Lennon began their songwriting partnership, will be opened to unsigned musicians to write and perform there.
The National Trust, who owns the building, announced the Forthlin Sessions initiative on Tuesday 5 April. It is intended to honour McCartney’s 80th birthday and “spark creativity” for aspiring artists.
Those chosen by the Trust and McCartney’s brother, Mike, will be invited to use the house and write music where the Beatles began. They will perform at 20 Forthlin Road on 17 June, the day before McCartney’s birthday.
“This house to me, is a house of hope. And I hope it will be for the young people that come through the doors,” Mike told Mike told Sky News.
“I would be in the other room learning photography, but whilst I’m doing all that I could hear guitar noises coming from this room. In there were what turned out to be two of the world’s greatest songwriters, McCartney and Lennon. They were rehearsing from a school book on the floor, that’s why this house is so unique.”
Hilary McGrady, National Trust Director General, said in a statement: “It’s a pleasure to care for the Beatles’ childhood homes... Our places don’t have to be stuck in time; they’re here to keep sparking creativity, dreams, and new ideas.”
McCartney and Lennon wrote many of their hits at the Liverpool address, including “Love Me Do”, “When I’m 64”, and “I Saw Her Standing There”.
Unsigned, UK-based music artists aged 18 and over can apply on the National Trust’s website.
