The street is among the most famous in the world
16:34, 01 Jan 2026Updated 16:46, 01 Jan 2026
Penny Lane(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The Beatles immortalised Liverpool’s Penny Lane with their 1967 hit of the same name. The track captured day-to-day life on the Mossley Hill street and its surrounding areas.
Tourists from across the world visit the famous street, which now acts as a pilgrimage for Beatles fans, allowing them to connect with the lyrics and walk in the footsteps of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Penny Lane has seen change in the 58 years since Sir Paul wrote it. Many businesses have come and gone but the sense of identity found in the lyrics of the song remains. It continues to be an ordinary road for those living and working there.
The song, which was released as one side of a double A-sided single, along with “Strawberry Fields Forever” mentions the barber, the former fire station on Mather Avenue and the “shelter in the middle of the roundabout”.
Almost every corner of the street is steeped in Beatles references. In recent years, steps towards embracing Penny Lane’s Beatles fame and attracting people onto the road have been taken.
A number of references from the track are still in and around Penny Lane, though some businesses have swapped hands and others operate as something else entirely. Below are some of the spots that prove popular with music fans:
“In Penny Lane, there is a barber showing photographs”
The barbershop is mentioned twice in The Beatles song – at the beginning of the hit and again in the final verse. Despite finding fame from the song, it is actually on the nearby Smithdown Place.
Speaking in a 1980s interview, Sir Paul said: “There was a barber called Bioletti, a little barber. I think he’s still there, actually.” At the time, Bioletti was still running the shop.
When new owner Tony Slavin took over, he renamed it Penny Lane Barber Shop. The connection with The Beatles has been embraced by owners over the years as photographs of both John and Paul are on the walls inside.
Tony Slavin Barber Shop (Image: Courtney Eales)
Tony Slavin’s barbershop was a key location in Sir Paul’s 2018 Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, as the Beatle sat in the customer chair and wrote his autograph on a sign.
Beatles fans from across the globe have had a haircut in the famous barbers. Celebrities who have visited over the years include Jimmy Osmond, Woody Harrelson and the Redknapps.
“Penny Lane, there is a fireman with an hourglass”
The former Allerton Fire and Police Station on Mather Avenue in South Liverpool was made famous by The Beatles, as lyrics said: “In Penny Lane, there is a fireman with an hourglass, and in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen. He likes to keep his fire engine clean. It’s a clean machine.”
It was converted into new houses and apartments in 2024. The houses have retained much of the building’s original architecture, including the facade, while the City of Liverpool Fire Service crest still stands at its centre.
The fire station was mentioned in ‘Penny Lane’ by The Beatles(Image: Courtney Eales)
Fans of the legendary band still visit to see where the famous song reference stemmed from. In a 1997 memoir of Sir Paul’s interviews over five years ‘Many Years From Now’, it said: “The fire station was a bit of poetic licence. There’s a fire station about half a mile down the road, not actually in Penny Lane.
“We needed a third verse so we took that and I was very pleased with the line ‘It’s a clean machine’. I still like that phrase, you occasionally hit a lucky little phrase and it becomes more than a phrase. So the banker and the barber shop and the fire station were all real locations.”
“Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout”
The Allerton venue sits on the busy junction at the top of Penny Lane and has been a popular stop for visitors for decades.
The “shelter in the middle of a roundabout” had been a bus shelter where John Lennon and Paul McCartney would meet as teenagers.
Sergeant Peppers Bistro closed its doors in 2003(Image: Courtney Eales)
It was originally a tram stop and inspectors’ office, with public toilets added to the back of the building. It also served as Sgt Pepper’s Bistro before it closed its doors in 2003. It has been empty since then.
Beatles themed artwork was added to the building in 2024. The Penny Lane Wombles collaborated with local artist, Susannah-Rachel Gorman, who painted the building to put some life back into it.
Aside from the tales mentioned in the song. Other reasons to visit Penny Lane have appeared on the street in recent years. A statue of John Lennon now stands where Penny Lane meets Allerton Road.
Penny Lane Development Trust has a mural of Lennon and Sir Paul painted on the side of the building. The nod to the South Liverpool stars was painted by Paul Curtis in 2022.
Perhaps the most photographed piece of cultural significance is the Penny Lane street sign itself. Sir Paul famously signed it on a visit in 2018.