David grew up in the Dingle, Liverpool, near the bottom of the street, Madryn Street, where Ringo Starr was born. He later attended St. Silas School, the same primary school that Ringo Starr, Billy Fury and Alf Lennon (John’s father).
He and his wife, Alix, moved to live near Penny Lane, where they have lived for the last 30 years. Their three daughters were born in Oxford Street Maternity Hospital, where John Lennon has been born. The three girls all attended Dovedale School, the same school that John Lennon and George Harrison attended. David had been the Chair of Governors there for nearly 20 years.
When illness forced him to retire at the age of 35, encouraged by his doctor, he began to read, research and write about The Beatles for the London Beatles Fan Club magazine, and helped to found the British Beatles Fan Club. Realising that so many stories about The Beatles and Liverpool were incorrect, he set out to dispel the myths by interviewing the people who knew The Beatles best.
Liddypool
His first book, “Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles“, was published in 2009 to critical acclaim, and is now in its third edition.
The Fab one hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles
His second book, the follow-up to “Liddypool”, “The Fab one hundred and four: The Evolution of The Beatles” was published in 2013 to further critical acclaim, with original interviews and rewriting Beatles history, by telling of the 104 people who contributed to the early history of The Beatles.
The Beatles Book
In 2016, he published a book with original Beatles biographer Hunter Davies, plus Spencer Leigh and Keith Badman, called “The Beatles Book”.
Inspector Rocke: That’ll Be The Day That I Die
As an aside from his Beatles books, David wrote a crime fiction novel in 2017 around a fictional Liverpool detective called Inspector Rocke. Each story is set around a key moment in Beatles history, and features The Beatles themselves, though not as suspects!
Looking for Lennon
In 2018, he was the Associate Producer and Historian for the documentary feature film “Looking for Lennon”, which was nominated for a National Film Award.
Finding the Fourth Beatle
In 2018, he also published his third book, with co-author Garry Popper, called “Finding the Fourth Beatle“, about the 23 drummers who put the beat in The Beatles.
He has several other book projects, and much more, on the go.
Make sure you sign up to keep up to date!
You can purchase David’s books in his shop
The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of The North
For the first time, the country music roots of The Beatles are covered in detail, telling how Liverpool had the biggest Country and Western scene in the UK – and probably in Europe – in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s. This influenced The Quarrymen and, of course, The Beatles.
The Beatles: What If?
IN 2025, David published his latest book, The Beatles: What If?, written with his friend Andrew Phillips.
They have looked at 70 key moments in Beatles history, where if something had changed, Beatles history could have worked out differently.
What if Ivan Vaughan hadn’t been friends with both John and Paul?
What if The Beatles passed the audition at Decca?
What if they didn’t meet Brian Epstein?
These and many more are examined, and their potential affect on Beatles history is discussed. But will you agree?
You can purchase the Limited Edition HERE
Or you can purchase it from Amazon HERE.
No Hamburg, No Beatles (2025)
David was the Archive Producer/ Historian for the documentary film, No Hamburg, No Beatles, about The Beatles story in Hamburg. featuring rare archive and photos, together with interviews, this is the definitive story of The Beatles apprenticeship in the clubs of Hamburg.
Shake It Up Baby!
David was the Script Advisor/ Historian for this play written by Ian Salmon and Directed by Stephen Fletcher. It had its premiere in Liverpool at the Epstein Theatre in September 2025.
[fts_twitter twitter_name=@liddypooldave tweets_count=6 cover_photo=no stats_bar=no show_retweets=no show_replies=no]
