Off the Mersey beat: a tour of Liverpool’s unsung cultural treasures

A magical mystery tour of the city reveals brilliant art, architecture and stories – with only minimal Fab Four interludes

At a Liverpool city council meeting in 1974, in response to an application for the installation of the first Beatles sculpture in Mathew Street, a councillor reportedly sniped: “What have the Beatles ever done for Liverpool?” One current estimate suggests an annual £100m in tourism, for starters. But while the city remains best-known globally for the Fab Four, Aintree, its football clubs and the Albert Dock, it also boasts 2,500 listed buildings and a bounty of public artwork and sculptures.

Thanks in no small part to Tommy Calderbank – who some call “the spirit of Liverpool” – the city’s residents have also fought hard to rescue some of their beloved buildings, including arts venue The Florrie and Toxteth town hall, and fund-raised for artworks such as the Bob Marley and Brian Epstein statues in the city centre.