HAMPTON – The former home of the Beatles legend george harrisonat 25 Upton Green in Speke, Liverpool, now owned by a man from Hampton – not England, but New Hampshire.
“I never imagined myself being in the Beatles industry now, if you will,” said Ken Lambert, who lives on Alexander Drive.
It’s a purchase he made on a whim last November at an online auction, and he’s been preparing Harrison’s former home as an Airbnb rental for fans looking to spend some time since then. night when the Beatles repeated in their youth.
by Lambert online ad the townhouse available for rent at $210 a night.
“Beatles and George Harrison superfans!” the list reads. “There’s plenty in Liverpool to help you discover the Beatles, but nothing quite like it.”
Harrison’s family lived in the house from the age of 6 until 1962. Lambert says the band rehearsed in the front room and in the bedroom, first as Quarrymen, then as Beatles name.
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Lambert bought the house for £171,000, or around $223,000. It seemed like a modest investment for hallowed ground in Beatles lore, which was an important consideration for “just a normal person” with a family and a mortgage, as he described himself.
“I had to make sure it was reasonable,” Lambert said. “I thought it wasn’t a crazy number, and I’m a huge Beatles fan.”
George Harrison is his favorite
Lambert said he became a huge Beatles fan in college. As a fan, he says, you must have a favorite, and he’s always loved George, less famous than Paul McCartney and John Lennon, but still known for some of the band’s biggest songs like “Something” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. .”
Lambert also loves Harrison’s solo catalog, including the 1970 album “All Things Must Pass,” the 50th anniversary edition of which received a Grammy this week for “Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package.” Lambert owns an original printed copy of the album, somewhat frayed over time.
“I’ve always been a huge George fan,” Lambert said.
Harrison died in 2001 at the age of 58.
Last November, Lambert saw the news feeds reporting that Harrison’s childhood home will be auctioned off. He checked the website of the auction house Omega Auction out of curiosity.
“I looked at it, I put it away, I didn’t think about it,” Lambert said. Then, he saw that the auction was about to start online on November 30. The day before, he felt the need to pre-register.
“The next morning I decided to make an offer on it,” he said. “And I won.”
Lambert has since traveled to Liverpool to prepare the house for future use as a rental, working closely with a property manager who oversees the place while Lambert remains in the United States. When he arrived, there was nothing inside the house, not even a refrigerator.
“I had a lot to do and buy,” Lambert said.
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Restore the house to its former glory
Lambert said he was focusing on the front room, as the drawing room is known in England. He looked at old photographs to match the wallpaper and recreate the furnishings so guests could feel like they were in the Harrison house. In the corner is a record player he has placed with Beatles LPs and 45s available to play. He also left an acoustic guitar on a rack for people to pick up and strum.
“I wanted to do it for myself, play guitar and play the Beatles in the room where the Beatles played guitar,” Lambert said. “I thought that was a really cool thing for people to experience.”
Lambert also discovered that the attic still contained much of the home’s original trim – old baseboards and door frames that have since been replaced. He bought a $10 handsaw and cut a piece off an old door frame to bring back to Hampton as a souvenir.
Opening of “George’s House” to fans
Lambert said he was the third owner since the Harrison family left, as well as the first person to use the house as an attraction.
Previously, a family had lived there for about 40 years, staying there until their old age, he says. The house was then sold in 2014 and rented out to regular tenants without any Beatles fanfare. Lambert said the previous owner told him there were sometimes Beatles tours asking to come in, which they allowed. Compared to the childhood homes of Lennon and McCartney, which are now owned by the National Trust in the UK as public attractions, Lambert said Harrison’s childhood home flew under the radar.
“What’s funny about it is that I’m trying to open George’s house up to the fans a bit,” Lambert said, “that wasn’t available before at all.”
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