Liverpool Beatles Museum

Roag and Pete Best’s mother, Mona Best, used to run the Casbah Coffee Club where the band started and Roag’s collection first started when he rescued the original Casbah Coffee Club sign after his mother had thrown it in a skip. Roag’s father was Neil Aspinall, who was the Beatles’ road manager and later became head of the record label Apple Corps.

Growing up in a family so closely linked with the Beatles has allowed Roag to acquire an unrivalled collection over a 60-year period.

What to see at the Liverpool Beatles Museum

The museum boasts a large collection of authentic artefacts that have been collected by Roag Aspinall-Best with over 300 items on display at any one time. The museum is organised over three floors and the exhibits have been set up to chronicle the band’s rise to fame from their early years in Hamburg and Liverpool.

Exhibits at the museum include:

• Pete Best’s Premier drum kit
• Ringo Starr’s Ludwig snare drum and stool
• Paul McCartney’s bass guitar speaker
• George Harrison’s Futurama Grazio guitar
• John Lennon’s Sergeant Pepper medals
• The cello from I am the Walrus
• The Apple Corps boardroom table

Additionally, there are many other original artefacts on display including letters, telegrams, clothing and concert flyers.

How does the Liverpool Beatles Museum compare with the Beatles Story?

The Liverpool Beatles Museum is presented in a different manner to the Beatles Story in Albert Dock and the best option for most Beatles fans is to visit both museums.

Many prefer the Beatles Story as it has more professionally presented exhibits that tell the story of the band in a way that appeals to regular people with only a passing interest in the band but the Liverpool Beatles Museum has more authentic artefacts and the information presented next to exhibits indicates a closer, and more personal, relationship with the band, which many true Beatles fans appreciate. Both museums present the story of the Beatles chronologically and the audio tour is a bigger part of the visitor experience at the Beatles Story, while the Liverpool Beatles Museum has the advantage of being located right on Mathew Street where The Beatles first rose to fame.

Visiting the Liverpool Beatles Museum

The Liverpool Beatles Museum is located right on Mathew Street. It is next door to the Grapes, the pub where the Beatles would drink after playing gigs at the Cavern Club just a few doors down the street.

With a £17 admission charge, it is a fairly expensive attraction but if you’re a Beatles fan who has travelled a long way to see all the Beatles sights it would be a shame to leave the city without visiting this museum.

A visit to the Liverpool Beatles Museum is a must for a true Beatles fan but there are lots of other Beatles sights to see in Liverpool and adding up the entry fees to all the city’s Beatles sights comes to almost £100. If you’re a fan, you will also want to take the Magical Mystery Tour, the National Trust tour of John and Paul’s childhood homes, the tour of the Casbah Coffee Club (owned by Pete Best) and the visit the Cavern Club, the Beatles Story and the Museum of Liverpool.

Most people spend between one and two hours at the museum but you probably need around three days if you want to see all of Liverpool’s Beatles sights.