Live music is back at the childhood home of legendary Beatle Paul McCartney
The National Trust’s “The Forthlin Sessions” got music back to the birthplace of the Beatles (20 Forthlin Road), in a performance by four unsigned acts streamed on the charity’s social media channels on Paul McCartney’s 80th birthday.
After nearly sixty years, live music was once again heard at the childhood home of Mike and Paul McCartney.
The National Trust, which cares for 20 Forthlin Road and wants the house’s story to continue to inspire new generations of creativity, launched “The Forthlin Sessions” in April to offer a once in a lifetime opportunity for four acts to visit, write and then perform there on the eve of Paul’s 80thbirthday.
Serena Ittoo (from Enfield), Humm (Bath), Emily Theodora (Richmond) and Dullan (Wrexham) performed their newly-written songs, inspired by a previous visit to the house, where around 30 of the world’s most famous songs, including ‘Love Me Do’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘Hold Me Tight’, ‘I’ll Follow The Sun’ and ‘When I’m 64’ were written and rehearsed. They were joined by ex LIPA student Jan Holberg, who will perform a cover of one of Paul’s songs ‘My Valentine’, having been given personal permission to do so by Paul himself. The song ‘My Valentine’ was written by Paul for his wife Nancy during a rainy Valentine's Day holiday in Morocco.
The National Trust’s Celia Richardson was part of the judging panel for “The Forthlin Sessions” alongside Mike McCartney and music writer, DJ and founder of Needle Mythology Records Pete Paphides. She said, “The creativity that came out of 20 Forthlin Road has made such a huge impact on people’s lives over the years. Bringing music back to Forthlin Road, through The Forthlin Sessions shows how the stories of the places we care for can keep inspiring creativity among new generations.”
Mike McCartney, says: “I’m delighted that the home our kid and I grew up in is still – sixty years on - able to inspire a new generation of musicians through The Forthlin Sessions. It’s been fantastic hearing live music once again coming from our childhood home. Sixty years ago, I was here capturing the Beatles as they started on their journey to success and today, I am here to witness the start of some great new artists’ journeys. It was clear from the entries to The Forthlin Sessions that we have such a wide breadth of untapped talent here in the UK and I hope that this story - from an ordinary house in an ordinary street, amazing things happened – inspires more people to express themselves creatively. We want our little house to keep inspiring people for generations to come.”
To choose the artists who performed ‘The Forthlin Sessions’, the National Trust worked with Mike McCartney and music expert Pete Paphides and consulted with the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA). The opportunity was open to any unsigned, UK-based music artist aged over 18.
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