Inside the Liverpool shop with customers 'from all over the world'

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Inside the Liverpool shop with customers 'from all over the world'

"It's nice to see how much the city is loved"

Evelina Black

Liverpool Echo

15 Aug 2026

Alan Kelly is the manager of Hard Days Night Shop on Mathew Street (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo

A shop on one of Liverpool's busiest streets has been attracting customers "from all over the world and all different cultures" for years. Hard Days Night Shop on Mathew Street is a self described "haven for Beatles enthusiasts" and is a popular shopping spot with tourists and Liverpool residents.

The shop sells officially licensed memorabilia including things like t-shirts, hoodies, posters, albums and collectibles. The shop gets most of their stock from Liverpool-based RockOff Trade, which is a major UK-based wholesale distributor and manufacturer and one of the main license holders for The Beatles merchandise in the country.

Alan Kelly has been the manager of the shop for the last couple of years. He told the ECHO: "We sell a variety of other music merchandise but our main draw is that we are a Beatles shop.

"I think The Beatles have got the most fanatical, hardcore fanbase out of all the bands that I've ever come across. If people think that love is going to fade they're wrong because we've got little kids coming through the doors who are picking the CDs up and then they're hooked.

"I've watched as the younger generations get into The Beatles and the most loved member and main pull for the band changes over time but the love stays the same."

The shop is on the corner of one of Liverpool's most famous streets (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

Outside of his job, The Beatles have been an important part of Alan's life ever since he was a child. He said: "I'm born and bred Penny Lane. I went to Dovedale School which is the school George and John went to and I can remember my primary school leavers assembly was all based around the song Help!

"My nan passed away last year at 103 and she remembers George Harrison coming back off tour on Macket's Lane and she'd always tell me stories about the screaming girls waiting to see him. It's mad how much The Beatles ties into every stage of your life if you live in Liverpool and it's just so mad that I've ended up here."

Alan is not the only staff member who is passionate about sharing their love of The Beatles and the city. Patrick Bourke, moved to Liverpool from Belfast over 20 years ago and has been working at the shop for over eight years. Earning himself the nickname "Beatles Paddy", Alan described Patrick as the "character of the shop", with all the tourists knowing him by name.

Patrick told the ECHO: "I love this city and it's great working here. You get to meet people from all over the world and from all different cultures and I've met loads of musicians.

"You get to make a lot of people happy because it's their dream to come to Liverpool and do the whole Beatles experience so I love it."

Beatles themed gifts at the Hard Days Night Shop (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

For Alan, there is one country that he thinks is the most Beatles mad. He said: "In my opinion the most hardcore Beatles fans are Mexicans. Especially when its Beatleweek we meet a lot of people who've travelled over from Mexico and they're always the loveliest, soundest people and they will spend unbelievable amounts of money because they just love them so much.

"We try to be really laid back and make it a fun experience and easier for people visiting the city. One of our staff members is originally from Argentina and she's bilingual so that's really helpful with some of the older clientele we get who struggle with English anyway, never mind our scouse accents.

"She's great at making things a bit more comfortable for them but people love hearing the scouse accent even if they find it hard to understand."

Liverpool is a city whose legacy will be forever intertwined with music and Anfield Stadium had a massive summer of music this year, with Zach Bryan, Foo Fighters and My Chemical Romance all taking to the stage back in June. The home of Liverpool FC is now a leading destination for global artists with Bruce Springsteen, Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey headlining last year's event.

The influx of music fans into the city brought a lot of new customers to the Hard Days Night Shop. Alan said: "It was absolute bedlam and it done really well for us. Bruce Springsteen was immense for us and My Chemical Romance was really popular too.

"It wasn't until afterwards that we found out the guitarist from My Chemical Romance was in the shop and he's a Red so I was winding him up about Everton. I didn't even know who he was until later on when fans told me but that's what I love about the shop. We can have banter and it's just down to earth and it's got a lot of character."

While the shop draws in a strong international customer base, it is also popular with Liverpool residents. Alan said: "We do get a lot of scousers coming in and they tend to want a more classic, plainer design whereas tourists from abroad normally want everything that symbolises Liverpool on a shirt like The Cavern Club and The Beatles."

The shop sells a range of music memorabilia (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

For Alan and Patrick, interacting with music fans from all walks of life is one of their favourite parts of the job. Alan said: "It's fun working here and meeting people from all around the world. It's just nice to see how much the city is loved whether it's our football teams, The Beatles, or people coming just to visit the city.

"It's all good having a tourist shop full of people who don't know the city but everyone here does and we all love Liverpool which makes a difference. Most of us in here are Evertonians and we get a lot of tourists in when Liverpool's playing so we wind each other up and have a bit of banter and it's great."