Magical History Museum is latest Liverpool Beatles attraction

Roll up for Liverpool’s latest Beatles attraction – a new museum packed with rare and never-seen-before Fab Four memorabilia.

The Magical History Museum in Mathew Street features artefacts from a collection assembled by the late Neil Aspinall, the Beatles’ right-hand man for almost 50 years, as well as items belonging to former Beatle drummer Pete Best.

Best’s younger brother – and Aspinall’s son – Roag is the man behind the new museum which has been 10 years in the planning.

It features three floors of exhibits covering the periods 1955-62, 1963-67 and 1968-70.

Pete Best's drum kit

And the diverse memorabilia on show includes everything from the original sign for the Casbah, Mona Best’s coffee club in West Derby where the young Beatles first cut their performing teeth, a receipt for the Beatles’ first van and the mirror ball from the Aintree Institute to musical instruments played by the band, a lamp from the film Help and the boardroom table from their company Apple.

Gifts from Elvis, a rare Beatles 1964 US tour folder and even Paul McCartney’s touring stamp collection are also on display, along with replicas of McCartney and Pete Best’s fingerprints taken after their arrest in Hamburg in November 1960, and rare early cine film of a youthful Beatle line-up.

Roag Aspinall-Best (left) and brother Pete (right) at the opening of the Magical History Museum

Roag Best, who also runs the Casbah Coffee Club attraction, said: “My family connections to The Beatles have inspired me to collect, store and cherish the items that will be on display.

“The time is now right for me to share them with the public, so that they too can hear the stories and share the memories we’ve all held so dear since the Beatles began.

“It’s taken 10 years to put together. I think it’s special. We’ve worked hard to make it special.”

The Magical History Museum is at 23 Mathew Street. Entrance is £15 for adults and £7.50 for children.