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Cavern Club -

The site of the Beatles' first gig, Liverpool's Cavern Club is often cited as the most famous music venue in the world. The band wowed the crowds when they took the stage here in February 1961, and caught manager Brian Epstein's attention nine months later.

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Salford Lads Club -

Visitors flock from all over the world to snap photos outside this somewhat unassuming youth club in Salford, Greater Manchester. The reason for this mass photographic pilgrimage? Mancunian musical legends The Smiths posed in front of the doorway for the cover of their 1986 album 'The Queen is Dead,' prompting their international army of fans to flock to the club ever since.

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Worthy Farm -

In the rolling countryside of Pilton, Somerset, Worthy Farm is home to one of the biggest and best music festivals in the world. The legendary Glastonbury Festival began in 1970 as Pilton Pop, Folk and Blues Festival, with owner Michael Eavis charging £1 (less than US$1.50) for tickets, which included free milk from the farm. Marc Bolan headlined, and Worthy Farm has since hosted career-defining shows by everybody from the Rolling Stones to Beyoncé.

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Abbey Road -

The image of the Beatles striding in sync across Abbey Road's zebra crossing is possibly the most famous record cover of all time. The Fab Four recorded the 1969  album of the same name at Abbey Road studios, and the image has been replicated countless times by visiting fans as well as in wider popular culture.

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David Bowie Mural -

This 2013 mural of Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie in his birthplace of Brixton, South London, has become a place of pilgrimage for fans since the star's death in 2016.

The bright and beautiful image was created in 2013 by Australian street artist James Cochrane (or 'Jimmy C') in homage to his musical hero. 

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Old Trafford -

Old Trafford is best known as the home of Manchester United, but it's hallowed turf for music fans, too. It was here that a still-shaken Ariana Grande returned to the stage just two weeks after the Manchester bombing killed 22 people at her show. In a powerful rebuke to terrorism, the One Love concert at Old Trafford saw the star joined on stage by a diverse cast of stars including Justin Bieber and Coldplay.

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Penny Lane -

The Beatles loved to drop names of local people and places into their tunes, and this Liverpool street was written into history by Lennon and McCartney in 1967. 'Penny Lane' pays homage to the cast of characters the pair would run into as youths hanging out on the lane. A classic in its own right, the song was the B-side to 'Strawberry Fields Forever,' another song about a local hangout.

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Strawberry Fields -

Perhaps by accident, John Lennon pluralized the name of former children's home Strawberry Field when he wrote the classic 'Strawberry Fields Forever.' Lennon played in the gardens as a child, and it's now open to the public as a Beatles-themed tourist attraction.

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Camden Town -

Local girl Amy Winehouse is honored with a statue in the London borough in which she lived and died. Boozy Brit-pop stars infamously hung out at the Good Mixer pub here during the '90s and '00s, but the artsy area's musical routes go way back. The Sex Pistols, the Clash, and Madonna all played early gigs here.

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Carnaby Street -

Synonymous with the Swinging Sixties, London's Carnaby Street attracted the biggest stars of the time, including the Beatles and the Stones, to its hip boutiques.

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Spillers Records -

Established in 1894, this compact record store in downtown Cardiff in Wales is officially the oldest in the world. Music lovers head to the Welsh capital to browse for vintage vinyl and band tees, and to pick up tickets for local gigs.

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23 Heddon Street -

David Bowie's 1972 incarnation as Ziggy Stardust has its own plaque at the spot where the space rocker first fell to Earth. Ziggy posed for the cover of 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' at 23 Heddon Street in London, and the plaque was inaugurated in 2012.

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The Haçienda -

Now an upscale apartment building, the Haçienda in Manchester was the birthplace of acid house music in the UK. Headed up by members of the city's musical elite, it hosted legendary raves, as well as an early appearance from Madonna. By the mid-90s, the Haçienda was arguably the most famous club in the world. 

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Free Trade Hall -

This grand building in Manchester has played host to many a musical megastar, but is perhaps most famous for the moment in 1966 when a crowd member heckled Bob Dylan as "Judas" for ditching his acoustic status and plugging in his guitar for an electric show.

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Northern Quarter -

The hub of hipster activity in Manchester, the city's Northern Quarter has long been the hangout of choice for members of Oasis, the Happy Mondays, and other local musical heroes. Even Keanu Reeves was once spotted watching a gig at long-standing venue Night & Day Café.

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100 Club -

London’s oldest venue, the 100 Club has been operating in various guises since 1942. It was known as the Feldman Jazz Club until 1964, and has witnessed everything from jazz supremos to the rise of punk: BB King, Muddy Waters, the Who, and the Sex Pistols have all graced the intimate stage.

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Band on the Wall -

Another venue to have spanned the jazz-punk divide, Manchester's Band on the Wall (formerly the George and Dragon pub) began life in 1975 as a jazz club attracting local and international musicians. Punk bands and their fans flocked here in the late 1970s, and today it's a registered charity hosting gigs from the likes of Roy Ayers (pictured).

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Fabric -

Nightclub and record label Fabric has been synonymous with London clubbing since 1999. The Farringdon superclub is famous for its big name DJs as well as a vibrating dancefloor that allows revelers to feel the floor-fillers' vibrations from the feet up.

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Little John's Farm -

Attracting a rockier, hip-hoppier crowd than Glastonbury, Reading Festival has been held at its current site since 1989, and Nirvana played one of their most memorable shows here in 1992. It's since spawned a spin-off in Leeds, and both venues attract big names such as N.E.R.D with Pharrell Williams (pictured at Reading Festival 2018).

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Beatles Statue -

Liverpool could never be accused of underplaying its Beatles connection, and this 2015-inaugurated bronze statue of the Fab Four has become the city's most popular selfie spot. The waterfront statue was funded by the Cavern Club to mark 50 years since the band's last live gig in the city.

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King Tut's -

Glasgow is justifiably proud of its status as a top destination for live music, and King Tut's Wah Wah Hut (commonly shortened to King Tut's) tops the bill for live gigs in the city. It goes into the musical history books as the place where Creation Records boss Alan McGee spotted, and promptly signed, a youthful Oasis in 1993.

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Affleck's -

Manchester's Affleck's (formerly Affleck's Palace) is a long-standing haven of musical kookiness and collectibles. Indie upstarts and big name rockers have headed here since the 1980s to browse for music posters, alternative clothing, and instruments.

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The Beatles Story -

A big ticket Beatles attraction in the band's home city of Liverpool, this immersive museum has a prime location on the historic Royal Albert Dock. Visitors can relive Beatlemania at replicas of the Cavern Club and Abbey Road Studios, and check out memorabilia such as the band's early guitars.

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Battersea Power Station -

An imposing sight on the south bank of the River Thames, Battersea Power Station will be instantly recognizable to Pink Floyd fans. The band famously flew a giant helium-filled pig through two chimneys of the building for the cover of their 1977 prog rock classic 'Animals.' The power station fired up for the last time in 1983, and is now open to the public as a trendy arts center.

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Beachy Head -

The chalk-white cliffs of Beachy Head in Eastborne, East Sussex, are a major musical reference point as well as a famous Beauty Spot. David Bowie and the Cure have filmed videos here, and it's also the spot where Phil Daniels rides his scooter to certain doom at the end of classic mod film 'Quadrophenia,' which was soundtracked by the Who.

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Royal Albert Hall -

A real grande dame of the British music scene, the Royal Albert Hall in London was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871. Since then, it's been the setting for major musical moments such as a Titanic Memorial Concert in 1912, and a Beatles-Rolling Stones double bill in 1963. More recently, indie rockers Arctic Monkeys (pictured) recorded a live album here in 2018.

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Aldwych Tube Station -

The Prodigy filmed the iconic video to their UK number one single 'Firestarter' at this disused tube station in 1996, catapulting singer-dancer Keith Flint into the spotlight. The punk-haired star died in 2019, making this a popular spot for fans to pay tribute to their fallen hero. It's occasionally open for visits organized by the London Transport Museum.

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Balado Airfield -

Scottish music festival T in the Park began life in 1994 as a north-of-the-border alternative to Reading and Leeds. Although the first editions were held at Strathclyde Park, the festivities moving to this disused airfield in Kinross in 2007, and brought 70,000-strong crowds until 2014. Scotland's biggest music festival, T in the Park didn't survive a site move to Strathallan Castle in 2015.

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Hoxton Street -

This busy London Street is the place where the Verve front man Richard Ashcroft barged his way through pedestrians in the video for 1997 indie anthem 'Bittersweet Symphony.' Snap photos by all means, but attempt to recreate the shoulder-barging scenes at your peril: commuters aren't likely to be impressed!

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Burnage -

Oasis fans from all over the world hop off the train at the workaday Manchester suburb of Burnage to follow in the footsteps of Noel and Liam Gallagher. A stroll along the streets of the neighborhood will take you past the house where the sparring brothers grew up, and a drink at one of the local pubs is a surefire way to meet somebody who remembers the lads in their misspent youth.

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Wembley Stadium -

Another famous soccer stadium pulling double duty as a live music mega-venue, Wembley Stadium in London hosted the groundbreaking charity fundraiser Live Aid in 1985, most notable for a spellbinding performance from Freddie Mercury. It continues to host major spectacles from A-listers such as Taylor Swift (pictured).

Sources: (CNN) (Visit Britain) (NME) (The Telegraph)

See also: The enduring appeal of Wembley Stadium

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