Ringo Starr and his Liverpool boyhood home

Ringo Starr, despite the title (and concept) his latest album, Liverpool 8, has a love/hate relationship with his boyhood hometown. At least it would seem from recent events: first, he appeared on BBC's talk show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in January and made what some saw as disparaging comments towards his old hometown, even though he'd made several appearances at local celebrations recently. Then came (one supposes unrelated) news that the preservation group English Heritage had opted not to protest the demolition of the home he was born in, located at No 9 Madryn Street. Odd, considering that Pete Best's boyhood home had been marked for saving by that same organization.

It should be noted, of course, that John Lennon and Paul McCartney's own boyhood homes -- but not their actual birthplaces -- are part of the National Trust, the English version of America's National Registry of Historical Places (George Harrison's is still being used as a home). Yet Ringo's home gets visited by Beatlemaniacs of all ages everyday, and author/historian Sir Nicholas Pevsner argues that the flat -- and 6,000 in a similar style set for razing by the government -- should be saved on the basis of its architectural history alone. Some have even suggested that the entire structure be taken apart brick by brick and reassembled in the new Liverpool Museum, set to open in 2011. Nevertheless, the house appears set for demolition, despite Starr name-checking it in his latest single: "Liverpool I left you, said goodbye to Madryn Street / I always followed my heart, and I never missed a beat / Destiny was calling, I just could not stick around / Liverpool I left you, but I never let you down."