81 Renshaw

There’s quite a history to 81 Renshaw Street – the address and the record shop that now lives here. Upstairs was once the base for Mersey Beat, the 1960s music magazine with very close links to the Beatles. It published early writings by John Lennon (he went to the same art school as the owner) and covered the band at the very start of their career.

The first telegram that Brian Epstein sent after signing the Beatles was to Mersey Beat – and you can see a framed copy of it by the counter. In the 1980s, 81 Renshaw was owned by music writer and promoter Neil Tilly, who bagged the first interview with Paul McCartney after John Lennon died for his fanzine Breakout.

The current owner David took over when Neil retired before the pandemic. It’s purely a record shop now – the one-time backroom bar and gig space is now home to the collection of secondhand vinyl and is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. They’ve got a good selection of Beatles records, plus local bands on Neil’s 9by9 label, and a great range of new vinyl from right across the music spectrum.