Mike Byrne created The Beatles Story Exhibition in Liverpool in 1990 with his wife, Bernadette, who was a Cavern Club regular who knew the Beatles well in the early years and became one of the first official Beatles Guides in Liverpool.

Mike was a fellow Merseybeat musician, who went on to work in marketing, theatre and promotions.  He saw the huge potential of Beatles tourism through what Bernadette was doing as a guide and became the manager of Beatle City – an ill-fated exhibition of memorabilia which he took on tour to Dallas, Texas in 1987.

Mike was determined that Liverpool would have its own permanent Beatles exhibition, but found the Liverpool tourism board apathetic.  Mike and Bernadette realized they would have to do it themselves, eventually raising funding. Creating the exhibition presented a multitude of challenges and hurdles, not least of which was securing permission from The Beatles!

Their vision was to create an immersive experience that conveyed the feelings and emotions of key periods in the Beatles’ career. They wanted people to see it, hear it and feel it!  The result was 18 different features including a replica Cavern Club, a street in Hamburg, and an interactive Yellow Submarine with an Octopus’ Garden.

The exhibition has had over 5 million visitors to date and is the most successful Beatles Exhibition in the world.

Mike and Bernadette have written a book about their lives and the creation of the exhibition called The Birth of The Beatles Story, which is a fascinating, deep dive into the early years of the Beatles and how the exhibition in Liverpool came into being.

WERBSITES:

• The Beatles Story Exhibition

MIKE AND BERNADETTE BYRNE BOOKS:

• The Birth of the Beatles Story

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