Tour UK's hottest music scene

A NEW tourism campaign has launched in the UK to inspire visitors to explore the locations and destinations linked to famous British musicians.

FROM the banks of the Mersey where Beatlemania began, to the university city of Cambridge and the sites that inspired the music of Pink Floyd, rock fans can visit some of the hottest spots associated with Britain's iconic musicians.

Tourism authorities of VisitBritain have launched a campaign "to inspire visitors to explore the locations and destinations linked to famous British musicians".

Almost every band from Arctic Monkeys to Led Zeppelin is featured.

A fold-away map of music locations is available, spanning the regions from London's Abbey Road (as featured on The Beatles' album cover) to Manchester, where stores such as Piccadilly Records and Sifters Records are a hive of activity.

Log on to visitbritain.com.au/music and you can pinpoint the birthplaces and favourite hangouts of the legendary stars.

Locations that inspired the music and featured on album covers, great venues and festivals that take centre stage throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also highlighted.

In London, you can find connections to Spandau Ballet, Madness and Culture Club, while in Liverpool there is The Beatles and Gerry And The Pacemakers, Cilla Black and the Spice Girls' Mel C.

Venture across the Pennines mountain range to Yorkshire and the steel city of Sheffield, and you can visit the haunts of Human League and Joe Cocker, while in Leeds, there are spots of interest for performers Robert Palmer, Soft Cell and Gang Of Four from the 1980s.

Visit Wales and Shirley Bassey's name is prominent, while in Scotland it's the likes of The Proclaimers and Simple Minds.

VisitBritain says more than 20 per cent of potential visitors are inspired to choose a destination because of the music or bands of that country.