A much-loved Liverpool shop that changed The Beatles' whole trajectory was celebrated on Friday, August 21, ahead of International Beatleweek next week. The location of Liverpool's NEMS (North End Music Stores) at 12-14 Whitechapel in the city centre was honoured with a plaque as part of the Liverpool Music Heritage Trail.
NEMS is the final location of the 12-plaque trail and represents one of the most significant moments in popular music history, as the place where Brian Epstein helped launch The Beatles on their journey to becoming the world's biggest band.
A flagship store at the heart of Liverpool's music scene
The purpose-built four-storey NEMS flagship store opened in 1960 and became the epicentre of Liverpool's music scene. Just steps away from the iconic Cavern Club on Mathew Street, the shop was developed by Brian from what originally began as a family furniture business, establishing it as one of the North of England's premier music retailers.
After listening to his customers, Brian visited The Cavern Club to listen to The Beatles first hand. He went on to sign the group to a management contract at his office at NEMS on October 1, 1962, and secured their landmark recording deal with EMI's Parlophone label.
Although NEMS finished trading in the 1990s and the original building was demolished in 2012, its legacy remains a significant part of Liverpool history. Unveiled by Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Peter Hooton, chair of the Beatles Legacy Group, and Bill Addy, chief executive of the Liverpool BID Company, the plaque acts as a celebration of one of the most influential partnerships in music history.
Memories of working at NEMS
Freda Kelly, the former secretary of The Beatles' official fan club which operated from the NEMS offices, told the ECHO: "I loved NEMS and I used to go in there before I started working for Brian Epstein. I started in 1962 and my father said that it would only last a year."
Freda stayed at NEMS for 10 years and in that time she had plenty of interactions with The Beatles. She said: "NEMS was the centre of everything and if you were in the Kardomah Café on Stanley Street you could look up to NEMS and see if The Beatles were in. There were no seats in Epstein's office so they used to all lean against a shelf and you'd be able to instantly tell if they were in there."
While Freda described herself as a huge Beatles fan, she said she never felt starstruck over the group. She said: "It was like being in the eye of the storm and when you're involved in it you don't notice what's going on around you. I knew The Beatles when they weren't famous and out of all the other groups I've only ever been a Beatles fan and I still am. I got to know them when they were doing lunch time sessions at The Cavern Club. They were just ordinary guys and they stayed that way every time they came into the office."
Fans recall queuing to hear new records
Patricia and Norman Killon, both 79, spoke to the ECHO about their memories of NEMS. Patricia, originally from Wavertree, said: "NEMS was the place to be, along with The Musical Box on West Derby Road. They were the two places where you could get up to date, really stylish sounds. The appetite for The Beatles was insatiable and you had to queue up outside to get a private booth so you could listen to the tracks. It was a very exciting time because you'd go down at the weekends and use your pocket money to buy your record after you'd listened to it and share it with your friends."
Norman is originally from London but moved to the city when he was a teenager. He was actively involved in the music scene at the time and was a DJ at legendary venue The Sink in the early 1960s. He said: "It's absolutely great to see the plaque today. On the day the first Beatles album came out, I went over to the shop and bought three copies. I gave two to my colleagues and kept one for myself and I still have that record. There's actually footage of me in NEMS in a documentary about The Beatles called How the Beatles Changed the World."
Honouring a legacy that reverberated worldwide
Mr Rotheram said: "The Beatles might have started out playing small venues, but meeting Brian Epstein and signing their first contract with him at NEMS changed their whole trajectory and the story of popular music entirely, putting Liverpool on the world stage. Our music heritage is one of the things that makes this city region unique, and trails like this make sure those stories, places and memories aren't lost to time. They give people from here and visitors from around the world the chance to walk in the footsteps of those amazing artists who changed the world."
Mr Hooton said: "NEMS opened in Whitechapel in 1960 and quickly became the nerve centre of the Merseybeat scene. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and numerous other musicians would visit the basement to listen to new American releases, which so influenced their sound. It's hard to underestimate the significance of this record store in the history of the Liverpool music scene which reverberated around the world, and I'm delighted the Beatles Legacy Group are now able to commemorate it."
Launched by The Beatles Legacy Group earlier this year, the Liverpool Music Heritage Trail features 12 plaques in the style of vinyl records positioned in the locations of places that had an impact on Liverpool's music scene between 1957 and 2016. Taking 90 minutes to complete, the free trail includes the original entrance of The Cavern Club on Mathew Street and venues like Erics, The Lomax, Probe Records, NEMS, The Sink, and super-club Cream. People will be able to connect with videos, historical information and playlists to bring each location to life.
