Standing proudly on Penny Lane, the Dovedale Towers has been a part of Liverpool for centuries.
The pub has a colourful past, with links to The Beatles and Queen, making it part of rock and roll history. Affectionately known as the Dovey, people today visit for breakfast, dinner and drinks after work.
Many people will know some of the pub's history, however there are parts which they might not know. Built in the 1800s, the pub was originally known as Grove House, before being taken over by Andrew Kurtz, a renowned patron of the arts in Liverpool and a talented pianist.
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After Mr Kurtz died Grove House became an orphanage named The Home for Incurable Children. Back in 2019, Jonathan Maguire, operations manager for Old Ropewalks Ltd, who own The Dovedale Towers, said: “The Home became the parochial hall for St Barnabas’ Church in 1914 and became a vital part of the local community, providing the area with a community hub during the difficult times that spanned two World Wars.”
During the Second World War, the venue became known as "Barney's" and hosted dances and balls for locals and visiting troops as St Barnabas' Church Hall. John Lennon and Paul McCartney played the venue several times with The Quarrymen in 1957; Paul even sang in the St Barnabas’ Church choir, which he revealed during his Carpool Karaoke with James Corden in 2018.
But the Dovedale Towers doesn't just have links to The Beatles, but Queen too. Ken Testi, a music promoter and the manager of a band call Ibex in 1969, spoke to the ECHO in 1991 about his experiences with Freddie Mercury and recounted the first time the future Queen frontman met Ibex.
According to Ken, Freddie told the band: "You do realise I'm exactly what you're looking for. You've just got to make me your singer." Ibex returned to Merseyside with Freddie in tow, eager to make a return to the northern gig circuit.
Ibex were a Jimmy Hendrix-inspired four-piece, consisting of Mike Bersin, John ‘Tupp’ Taylor, Mick Smith, and Freddie on vocals, with roadie Geoff Higgins always in the picture. What we know of Freddie's time in London comes from Ken Testi as well as Liverpool historian, writer, and musician Mike Royden, a school friend of Ibex guitarist Mike Bersin.
Mike said in 2019: "Freddie Bulsara's [his birth name] time in Merseyside is not spoken about very much. It's only hardcore Queen fans who know the story and there are so many different versions of it. I grew up with Mike Bersin and went to the same school as him. He was a cracking guitarist and looked like Jimi Hendrix on stage. We would get the coach from Halewood to Wade Deacon school in Widnes, and on the way, he would tell me what the band were doing.
"After leaving school, he went down to London to try and make it with the band, and that's where he met Mercury. Mike came back to Liverpool because he had some gigs lined up, so Freddie came up too. Among the places they played was our school, Wade Deacon, at our end of term do in 1969."
He added: "Freddie used to doss in Beechwood Avenue, Halewood, a few doors from my house, with Mike Bersin. Mike's mum often told the story of her coming downstairs to find Mike and pals all lying on the floor, crashed out after travelling from London or a gig, which included Freddie."
While living in the city, Freddie found a temporary home in the flat above Dovedale Towers. At the time, the tavern was run by the parents of Ibex roadie Geoff Higgins who offered the apartment to Freddie while he stayed in the North.
Formerly a church hall, Dovedale Towers already had its place in musical legend having hosted one of John Lennon's earliest gigs when he performed with The Quarrymen in 1957. Now the room that was formerly Freddie’s bedroom is a 180-seat event space that pays homage to the building's past.
Throughout the 70s and 80s The Dovey was home to many different venues - and featured many different names - before closing its doors in 2009. These days, The Dovey is as much a staple of the Penny Lane community as ever - and its stunning beer garden certainly doesn't go amiss on a sunny day.
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