Posted 2:15 p.m. Dec. 8

By Alex Kingsbury
U-WIRE Washington Bureau

LIVERPOOL, England – The city that gave birth to the Beatles is now sharing in the grief of a fallen son as fans descend on the northern seaport to pay their respects to guitarist George Harrison.

Famous Beatle spots around the city were decorated with flowers, photographs, postcards and messages of condolence to the musician and his family.

“Love one another. Nice on George, easy now,” repeating the singer’s last words, was placed near the Cavern Club, where the Beatles played in their early gigs.

Visitors, many in tears and some too young to have seen the group together, placed flowers on and around bronze statues erected for the “Fab Four.”

Harrison, who died Thursday following a prolonged struggle with cancer, is remembered as the quiet Beatle, more than thirty years after the group’s split. He was 58.

“I remember when the Beatles were just starting out here in the city,” said Anges Stewart, 63, who remembers reading reviews of Beatle performances. “The city was so proud of them.”

Books of condolence were scattered across the city from the Beatles Story, a dockside museum celebrating the group, to the plethora of tourist sites around the Cavern Club.

The death of Harrison has been felt across the country.

The Queen, is said to have been deeply saddened by Harrion’s death, and a changing of the Guard at her Buckingham Palace included medley of Beatle numbers.

“He was a lovely guy and a very brave man and had a wonderful sense of humor,” said former Beatle Paul McCartney in London. “He is really just my baby brother.”

Radio stations across the nation devoted considerable air time to Harrison’s songs, from songs he recorded with the Beatles, including, “Something,” “Taxman” and “Here Comes the Sun,” to his later work, “My Sweet Lord” and “When We Was Fab.”

Tours of Beatle-related sites, including pubs frequented by John Lennon, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields, were crowded with fans, many of whom were in tears.

Bus tours of the sites took longer than usual a tour leader told U-WIRE as the driver stopped for longer allowing fans to pay their respects.

“It is very sad,” he said.

Establishments like the Rubber Soul Oyster Bar, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds Coffee Shop and the From Me to You souvenir store were more crowded than usual this Saturday as customers chatted about Beatle memories of days past.

The flag at city hall was lowered to half-staff “in honor of George Harrison, MBE,” and city officials have promised a public service in memory of their local legend.