The Farm’s Peter Hooton talks Beatles Legacy Group

It was announced last week that Liverpool musician Peter Hooton of The Farm will head up a new group to protect and strengthen the Beatles legacy on the city and make sure the Fab Four’s tourist offer reaches its full potential.

It was revealed recently that The Beatles legacy is worth a staggering £81.9m to the city’s economy and supports 2,335 jobs.

Joining Peter on the group will be Director of Culture Claire McColgan MBE, Marketing Liverpool Director Chris Brown, Chief Executive of the Liverpool BID Company Bill Addy and Dr Mike Jones who was co-author of the report and is from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Popular Music.

Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “The Beatles legacy report was a fascinating insight, and although it was encouraging to see just how successful the current offer is, if we want to build on this we need to look at the bigger picture and improve the experience across the board.

“Setting up a Legacy Group was one of the main recommendations of the report and from the outset, I wanted an artist to be the Chair and Peter was my first choice – he understands the industry, and the value of the Beatles to Liverpool and will always look at the bigger picture in terms of making decisions that are best for the city and the city’s reputation.

“After an informal meeting the wheels are already in motion – each member of the group brings different expertise to the table which will result in us building on what is already in place and introducing new initiatives to make sure that fans from the UK and across the world have an unforgettable Beatles experience for all the right reasons.”

The Beatles Legacy Group is set to have its first official meeting in March.

We met Peter at the Beatles Statue on the Pier Head to find out more.