Beatles fan purchases Ringo Starr's childhood home for $147,000

Ringo Starr. Photo / Getty Images

A Beatles fan, who already owns two other properties linked to the band, has bought the small terraced Liverpool house where the pop group's drummer Ringo Starr grew up.

Ringo, born Richard Starkey, moved to the modest house at 10 Admiral Grove in Dingle, Liverpool, when he was just three years old and lived there until he was 21.

Jackie Holmes from London, who bought John Lennon's mother's home last year and George Harrison's home the year before, was the highest bidder at an auction on Thursday night, paying £70,000 (NZ$147,934) - £15,000 over its initial valuation.

"I'm so glad I've got this house because Ringo's childhood home, like the other two Beatles properties I own, have got so much history behind them, which is what I love about them all," Holmes said.

"I'm a massive Beatles fan so I'm delighted."

She said she hoped to rent it out to a Beatles fan who would "cherish" the house.

Paul McCartney, Lennon and Harrison first found fame with Ringo at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in the 1960s, and went on to be one of Britain's most successful and influential pop groups.

The auction was held in the rebuilt club of the same name, one of the magnets for about 54 million tourists who visit the northwestern English city every year.

"The two-bed Victorian terrace property was a regular haunt for the Fab Four in their younger days and other well-known faces on the Merseybeat scene including the late Cilla Black," the former owner of the property, Plus Dane Housing, said in a statement.

Billed as "an iconic piece of Liverpool and the Beatles' history" by the auctioneer, the proceeds will go towards a trust which manages affordable housing projects.

Ringo paid homage to his home in his 2008 song Liverpool 8, named after the area's postcode.

-AAP