Beatles: Musicians get chance to play in Sir Paul McCartney's former home

Musicians are being offered the chance to perform in the house where the Beatles began writing songs to mark Sir Paul McCartney's 80th birthday.

Sir Paul forged his partnership with John Lennon at his home on Forthlin Road, Liverpool, and they wrote several of the band's early hits at the house.

The National Trust, which owns the house, said it was inviting aspiring artists in to "spark creativity".

Sir Paul's brother, Mike, said he hoped "some of the magic rubs off on them".

The performer, who will help choose the acts who will mark Sir Paul's birthday in June, said 20 Forthlin Road was a "special house", where their father had gave him a drum kit and banjo and his brother a guitar, because he saw music as a way out of poverty.

He said it showed that "from nothing, you can create something special".

"If that can be shared with anybody, particularly young people, particularly if they have got nothing and they come there and see they can do something from nothing like we did, then I will be even prouder," he said.

He said though he had fond memories of the property, it had not always been the easiest place to live, as paint "flaking down" from the ceiling when he had a bath and an armchair's springs "stuck out and ripped our clothes to shreds".

"I was 12 when my mum died and my dad had to bring up two boys, so the house was in a sorry state," he said.

He recalled paint "flaking down" from the ceiling when he had a bath and "armchair springs which stuck out and ripped our clothes to shreds".

McCartney's picture of the pair hard at work writing now hangs on the wall of the room and he told BBC Breakfast Sir Paul had spoken to him about how he felt when he looked at the image.

"Our kid once said to me, 'that is an important photograph, because it was two lads, two good friends, getting down to the nitty-gritty of writing songs," he said.

"You could hear them crafting the songs.

"I would be in another room and would hear them composing.

"Our kid would play music all round the house, including in the bathroom."

A National Trust spokesman said the Forthlin Sessions would allow artists to add their sound "to the house that made the Beatles".

He said those chosen to perform would be given "the opportunity to create a new song to perform at 20 Forthlin Road on 17 June", the day before Sir Paul's birthday.

He added that the sound the Beatles began in the house "went on to shape a generation, creating a legacy of creativity and freedom of expression that still endures today".

National Trust Director General Hilary McGrady said it was important to remember that the charity's sites "don't have to be stuck in time".

"They're here to keep sparking creativity, dreams, and new ideas," she added.

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