The Beatles are the best-selling band in history and – with 17 No1s – hold the record for the group with the most No1 singles in UK chart history. The Fab Four shot to fame in 1963, the year they left their native Liverpool in the north of England for the nation’s capital London, which was to play a major part in the band’s career over the following seven years until their break-up in 1970. Below are 10 facts about the Beatles in London, facts that can be brought vividly to life through a London Beatles Tour with a Blue Badge Tourist Guide.

For many visitors to London, one of the iconic sights of a trip to the capital is a traditional London red double-decker bus. Known as a Routemaster, these buses was designed in the late 1940s and manufactured until 1968 when production stopped, mainly because their open back doors – which were one of the attractions for many Londoners – made them unusable by those in a wheelchair. They were still used on many routes until the early twenty-first century and some can be seen occasionally on routes such as the Routemaster Heritage Route 15 which runs from Blackwell to Trafalgar Square.