Hate mail over Beatles sell-off

LIVERPOOL, England -- A clergyman has been sent hate mail because he plans to sell off the church hall stage where John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met.

Canon John Roberts is selling the stage at St Peter's Church, Liverpool, to fund renovation work.

The site is a shrine for Beatle fans because McCartney was introduced to Lennon in 1957 at the hall where Lennon's band The Quarrymen were playing.

"I have received hate mail," Roberts told Britain's Independent newspaper. "These people are just ignorant. I have gone out of my way over the years to welcome fans."

"If the conversion goes ahead, the famous stage will be sold off with the most likely destination an overseas buyer," he added.

Liverpool Beatles Fan Club secretary Jean Catharell was outraged. "To rip it out takes away its whole reason for being there," she said.

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