ABSTRACT
This chapter uses a case study on The Beatles and Liverpool to consider the relationship between music and the city, and the implications of that relationship for the study and development of tourism. The first part of the chapter discusses some of the ways in which the music-making of The Beatles and other musicians could be said to ‘produce’ Liverpool socially, culturally and materially, and it indicates the particular, and generally hidden, significance of music to tourism. The second part of the paper highlights the contested nature of this process, illustrating some of the ways in which The Beatles’ connection with Liverpool is represented and debated by different resident groups in the city. If tourism is to be a focus of urban regeneration strategies in Liverpool, the challenge for local decision-makers is to initiate policies that are aimed at both locals and visitors and that are sensitive to locality-to particular social, historical and economic situations and circumstances.
