Beatles drummer Ringo Starr's childhood home fetches £70,000

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr's old home in Liverpool has fetched £70,000 ($98,973) at an auction held on 24 March. The property located at 10 Admiral Grove in the Toxteth area is where Starr as a child learned to play the drums. He moved to the property in 1943 at the age of three with his mother Elsie Starkey following his parents' separation.

Former owners Plus Dane Housing said the property was auctioned following the death of tenant Margaret Gorse, according to the BBC. The new owner Jackie Holmes, who is a Beatles fan, paid £15,000 more than the base price. Holmes has also bought properties connected with John Lennon and George Harrison, it reported.

Before fame and fortune struck the Fab Four, Starr's home in Liverpool was a meeting place for the band members. Starr even celebrated his 21st birthday and got married at his old home. He paid homage to his old home in his 2008 song Liverpool 8.

"From the community's point of view, it's good to see that the forthcoming auction is attracting so much interest because we've promised that any profits we make from the sale of Ringo Starr's childhood home will be reinvested back into Plus Dane homes in the L8 area," Claire Griffiths, Plus Dane's executive director of property, was quoted as saying by The Mirror.

"We have taken on board the concerns of local residents and have put specific restrictions on the sale of the house so it cannot become a tourist attraction or museum," Griffiths said.

"There has already been a great deal of interest in this property from potential buyers in the UK and internationally and it is a privilege to be dealing with such an iconic piece of Liverpool and the Beatles' history," Tony Webber, auction surveyor, Countrywide Property Auctions, said.

"It is a truly unique property and you can sense the excitement building on the lead up to auction night," Webber said.

The childhood homes of other band members of the group have already been purchased. In 2015, Sir Paul McCartney's childhood home at 72 Western Avenue, Speke, was sold for £150,000, while George Harrison's former home in 26 Upton Green, in Speke, was sold for £156,000 in 2014. John Lennon's childhood home at 9 Newcastle Road in Wavertree fetched £480,000 in 2013.