Strawberry Field celebrates John Lennon's birthday

On 9 October, to mark what would have been John Lennon’s 86th birthday, Strawberry Field Liverpool hosts a day of activities in celebration of the legendary musician, in the very place that inspired him as a child. 

John's go free

Anyone called John will get free entry to Strawberry Field on Friday 9 October. That would have been John Lennon’s 86th birthday, and the Salvation Army site in Woolton, whose gardens he played in as a boy, is marking it with a weekend of events. 

The free entry covers the visitor exhibition and garden tour. It also applies to Jons, Juans, and anyone who turns up dressed as Lennon, so round glasses and a green Sgt. Pepper jacket will work as well as the right name. 

Lennon grew up nearby at Mendips, his Aunt Mimi’s house on Menlove Avenue. He later wrote “Strawberry Fields Forever” inspired by the grounds, released in 1967. 

On the birthday itself, Strawberry Field will add new items from Beatles history to its exhibition, giving visitors the chance to see items from John Lennon's childhood in person for the first time. The items will then join the permanent exhibition which is open daily.

Music in the garden

The Strawberry Field Ukuleles will play Beatles songs in the gardens from 11am. In the afternoon from 12.30pm, the Cavern Club’s Clark and Craig will perform a set of Beatles and Lennon songs at the Strawberry Field Bandstand. The gardens are free to enter, and donations are welcome. 

John Lennon Birthday Tour

Green Badge guide Charlotte Martin will also lead a unique tour of John Lennon’s childhood places. Starting at Strawberry Field, stops include: 

• Calderstones School, formerly Quarry Bank High School, which Lennon attended 

• Mendips 

• St Peter’s Church, where he first met Paul McCartney in July 1957 

 The tour includes lunch at Strawberry Field with special guests. Tickets are essential and places can be booked at: strawb.co/johnlennontour 

Leave a message for John 

From Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October, visitors can write a note, prayer or wish for world peace and tie it to the red iron Strawberry Field gates. People who can’t get there can post their message online on social media. 

Sue Harvey, commercial manager at Strawberry Field, said: “What better place to celebrate John Lennon’s 86th birthday than Strawberry Field, the place that inspired him as a child? We’re looking forward to welcoming John Lennon fans, and hopefully lots of Johns, Jons, Juans and lookalikes, along with their friends, to celebrate his life and legacy.” 

Visitors to Strawberry Field can enjoy the actual gardens where John Lennon found sanctuary as a child, which today are home to the original red iron gates and the brand-new Sir George and Lady Judy Martin Rose Garden, and the Imagine More Cafe. 

All profits go towards the Steps at Strawberry Field programmes which help young people facing barriers to employment, including those with learning differences and neurodivergent conditions, to gain paid employment and help keep the famous ‘gates open for good’.