Former custodian of John Lennon’s home to perform at Lymm Festival

Colin Hall grew up in Woolton in Liverpool and has been a fan of the Beatles for as long as he can remember.

In 2003, Colin saw the opportunity to become the custodian of John Lennon’s childhood home, 251 Menlove Avenue, which is also located in Woolton.

After applying for the job, Colin found out that he had been given the job and officially became the custodian the next year.

When Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, handed the property, which was called Mendips, over the National Trust, she insisted that the property still look as though it was lived in.

So, for 10 years, Colin lived in the property with his family, moving their things into one small guest room at the rear of the property every time there were visitors.

“I wasn’t in awe of looking after the house, I understood that what the job was about was showing people around,” said Colin.

“It was my job to make sure that people understood exactly what went on when John lived there and contextualise the story.

“The most important thing was people’s enjoyment and that was always at the forefront of my mind.”

Colin was the custodian of Menlove Avenue for 20 years and enjoyed every minute of showing visitors around the property.

“The one great thing that was so great about this job was as soon as people arrived, whatever mood I was in lifted,” he said.

“Their enthusiasm and excitement was irresistible.”

While custodian of the property, Colin teamed up with Bob Harris to create a documentary programme on BBC Radio 2 in 2010.

This show saw them explore songs the Beatles had sold to other artists, which Colin also explored in his book The Songs The Beatles Gave Away.

Bob and Colin discuss the songs the Beatles sold to other artists (Image: Colin Hall)

Artists that sang the songs the Beatles gave away include Cilla Black, Billy Jay Kramer and The Fourmost.

But while the Beatles did give songs away, they also went on to create a huge discography of their own work.

Colin believes that the music and talent of the Beatles are what continues their legacy and means that they are still so well-loved today.

“They took the world by storm and held it in their grip, and they did that because they were so talented.

“They were natural young men and of course they had the songs, the talent, and the voices.

“[John and Paul] recognised in each other something special and they didn’t let anything get in the way of that and they retained their loyalty.”

Colin and Bob will be performing their theatre show The Songs The Beatles Gave Away as part of Lymm Festival on Tuesday, June 25.

The show will focus on the songs The Beatles sold to other artists before they became stars in their own right.

Colin and Bob will also be playing some rare demos of songs that were written by the Beatles but given to other artists.

Tickets are set to go on sale at the end of May, and more information about Lymm Festival can be found here.