We can do much more with this amazing road

Artist Ian has plans for a Beatles trail on Penny Lane

- By DAN HAYGARTH

A DAD decided he had to do something to liven up "the most famous street in the world" as he noticed a common occurrence on the school run.

Penny Lane was made world famous by Paul McCartney’s 1967 Beatles song, which captures day-to-day life on the Mossley Hill street and its surrounding area, celebrating the mundane and normal aspects of suburban existence.

Though Penny Lane is known by millions across the globe and attracts coachloads of tourists every day, it remains incredibly similar to the road which Paul wrote about nearly 60 years ago. Its Beatles association is worn lightly.

It is still a normal street with a pub, shops, a bar and plenty of terraced houses. Its main Beatles attractions are a statue of John Lennon where Penny Lane meets Allerton Road, a Paul Curtis mural of John and Paul and the Penny Lane Development Trust visitor centre.

One man determined to make more of the road’s Beatles fame is graphic designer, artist and dad-of-three Ian van de Waal.

Ian, 41, was born in Amsterdam but moved to Liverpool when he was three years old. He lived in Toxteth and then Garston before moving to the Penny Lane area, where he has lived for almost a decade.

Using his passion for art, Ian wants to launch a ‘Penny Lane Beatles Trail, developing the road’s association with the Fab Four and aiming to keep tourists on it for longer, supporting businesses based there.