Four men invented the Beatles tourism industry and made Liverpool millions. Only three of them look back on this fondly

'This is the story of the cowboy capitalists from the 80s'

Dear readers — back in the late 70s, when it came to the Beatles, Liverpool didn’t want to know. The band’s original manager Alan Williams kept trying to put on Fab-Four-themed events, but wasn’t able to draw much of a crowd. After all, the Beatles seemed dated in an era when punk ruled the airwaves. So how did such a wildly profitable tourism industry get set in motion?

You’ll want to send your thank you letters to a rather less famous fab four: Dave Jones, Ron Jones, Gerry Murphy, and Bill Heckle, all tour guides. But the path to Beatles tourism glory did not run smooth! We sent the Post’s own answer to Paul McCartney (Jack Walton — a cheeky chappy and tireless hitmaker) to delve into a storied past.

But first, your Post briefing — including disruption caused by a cyber attack in St Helens and “truly shocking” car crash data from Wirral Council.