Still echoes of Penny Lane – except for house prices

WHEN the McCartney family moved to 20 Forthlin Road, it sat in a neat council estate in a respectable suburb.

On his return, Sir Paul will have been struck by the stream of tour buses and taxis bringing Beatles fans to the National Trust-owned attraction.

But Allerton, about five miles from the city centre, still encapsulates the ‘blue suburban skies’ of his much-loved evocation of nearby Penny Lane.

House prices, however, have rocketed from less than £2,000 in the mid-1950s to about £160,000 for a three-bed terrace. Retired electrician Tony Roberts, 87, who has lived next to No20 for almost 50 years with his wife Rene, said: ‘Apart from all the taxis and fans, the houses in Forthlin Road haven’t changed all that much.

‘Allerton is still the safe, friendly place that we moved to in 1970 but the high street has changed a lot. There’s hardly any independent shops.’

They have been replaced by bookmakers, charity shops and a Costa although Adam’s Apple greengrocers has survived. There, shop assistant Carol Bilsborough said: ‘Sir Paul will have seen a big change in the local shops.

‘But Allerton is still a really nice place to live, with good schools and lovely parks, and I’m pleased that he’s come back to remember his roots.’

Speaking in 1997 about moving from the more rough-and-ready Speke, Sir Paul told biographer Barry Miles that his mother wanted ‘to get us out of a bad area into a slightly posh area so perhaps some of the posh might rub off on us’.