What an absolutely delightful way to spend a glorious sunny afternoon, the best day of the year weatherwise so far this year, listening to tribute band My Sweet George play a selection of George Harrison’s songs in the very house where George lived from the age of 6 at 25 Upton Green, Speke, Liverpool. And one of the first songs to be sung, ‘Here Comes The Sun’, couldn’t have been more fitting.
25 Upton Green was built around
the late 1940s, a small, brick-built council house designed to meet the urgent
housing needs of a city recovering from the Blitz.
The Harrison family moved into the
house after re-locating from their home at 12 Arnold Grove, Wavertree where
George was born in January 1950. The modest house built on two stories with a
small back garden offered the family more space and comfort than their previous
home.
It was a pleasure to be shown
around the house by Ken Lambert who is part owner of the house along with Dale
Roberts. Dale launched "The Liverpool Stories Podcast" with the aim
to document stories from the city of Liverpool; he conducts interviews with
guests inside George Harrison's childhood home and around the city.
In 2026 Dale started to deliver monthly
tours of the house, meaning that Liverpool finally had childhood home tours for
Beatles, John, Paul and George.
For further information see Dale
Liverpool tours ltd at https://www.daleliverpool.com/
We were fortunate to meet a former
owner of the house who was also at the event and provided us with the history
of the house from when she was living there.
The house has been lovingly
restored and reflects the furnishings of the 1950’s with vintage-style
furniture and décor which have been carefully selected by Ken’s wife to evoke
the era. Additionally, some of the original fixtures and fittings are intact such
as the small bath and wash basin in the very small bathroom upstairs and a
wooden cupboard in the kitchen. There are many photographs of George from his
youth on display plus some beautiful sketches of George and The Beatles. Importantly, the living room houses a piano –
George was taught piano in that very same room by Paul McCartney and visitors
can play Beatles LP’s on the record player whilst staying there. Outside, in
the back garden a mural has been painted on the outhouse wall by Sandra, a
Ukrainian artist, which depicts George sitting in the garden of his Friar Park
home from the cover of All Things Must Pass and there is a plaque outside the
front of the house denoting that the house was a regular meeting place for The
Beatles and The Quarrymen to practice in.
This event included a performance
from tribute band, My Sweet George in the back garden.
The house is a gem worth visiting
for any Beatles fans and the icing on the cake for my visit was the performance
of George’s hit songs from tribute band, My Sweet George, more information can
be found about them at https://www.mysweetgeorge.co.uk
The five piece band performed many
of George’s hit songs from his Beatles days, Travelling Wilburys time and his
solo career. The band were given a warm reception and treated the audience to a
variety of hits plus an encore of the early Beatles song, ‘In Spite Of All The
Danger’ with Ken on vocals before finishing off with Chuck Berry’s ‘Roll Over
Beethoven.
The audience was graced with
Colin Hanton of Quarrymen fame who regularly practiced at the house during his
youth. The house became a regular rehearsal spot for The Quarrymen and The
Beatles, with stories of John, Paul and George rehearsing and playing in the
living room, bedroom and the outhouse which still has a working toilet which we
were told has been often visited by George John and Paul.
The house is available to rent from Airbnb, for details, see
https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/578931326117943145
For Beatles fans wishing to stay
at the house it is a magical step back in time to 1950's Liverpool; visitors
will be able to see family photos of a young George Harrison in the living room
where he learnt to play guitar, they can sleep in the bedroom where George
rehearsed with John and Paul and bathe in the original bath tub George used
after performing at dozens of Liverpool gigs. Guests staying at the house will find
that it is more than just a place to stay, they will experience a living piece
of Liverpool’s musical heritage brought to life by the ambiance of Beatles culture
and famous history.
For details of My Sweet George future events see https://www.mysweetgeorge.co.uk/bookings/
Reviewer: Anne Pritchard
On: 21st March 2026
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