Sentimental Journey

The Empress Public House, 

High Park Street, 

Dingle,

Liverpool 8

Ringo's local pub was certainly that, just 20 yards from his front door in the adjoining Admiral Grove (seen on the right of the photo above).

When Ringo released his first solo album Sentimental Journey in 1970 he immortalised the Empress by putting a photograph of it on the front cover and superimposing photographs of himself in the doorway, and his family and friends in the windows. Mum Elsie, and Step-Dad Harry are in the main window on the ground floor.

Front and rear covers of the LP, photographed by Richard Polak (1970, Apple)

W. Gorry, corner of High Park Street/ Kimnel Street, 1969

(Both images: Liverpool Central Library and Archive)

The rear cover of Sentimental Journey features the former grocery shop of W. Gorry at 126 High Park Street, on the corner of Kinmel Street, directly opposite the entrance to Admiral Grove. During the years she lived nearby, Elsie Starkey is known to have worked as a barmaid at the Empress public house. She is also believed to have been employed for a period at a local grocery store, possibly Bennett's (seen in the background, above and in the image below) although the documentary evidence for this remains elusive.

It is tempting to regard the inclusion of these local landmarks on the album artwork as a quiet acknowledgement of the community that had supported Elsie and her son during the difficult years following her separation from Richard Starkey, although no direct evidence exists to confirm that this was Ringo's intention.

Bennett's grocery store, corner of High Park Street/ Madryn Street, 1969

(Image: Liverpool Central Library and Archive)

While Gorry's has long gone, a comparison between my photograph of the Empress taken in 2010 and its appearance on the 1970 album cover demonstrates how little the streetscape has changed on the other side of High Park Street. While the large building (a Co-Op store) at the end of Admiral Grove has since been demolished, the public house itself remains largely unaltered apart from a more recent exterior repainting. During the 1990s, a sign acknowledging its association with Ringo Starr was added to the façade which I understand had to be quickly redone as his surname was misspelled as "Star".  

The text over the main window explaining the building's significance has changed over the years. The photo above is how it looks today.

On 15 March 1970, Ringo shot a promotional film for the song 'Sentimental Journey' on stage at the Talk of Town Club, Cranbourn Street, London, performing in front of a backdrop of the Empress Pub and Admiral Grove. (Still taken from Youtube, Apple)

First published: 11 November 2009