Tag: Liverpool

Liverpool’s Musical Statues

Liverpool is a city blessed with a fine variety of statues, non more so than those that celebrate the musical icons associated with the city. For this post I will concentrate on those easily located in and around the city centre but those that arrive via the airport may well encounter a rather famous figure in the terminal building.

Ken Dodd – Lime Street Station Concourse

The statue is part of an installation entitled “Chance Meeting” by  Liverpool sculptor Tom Murphy which also features Bessie Braddock who was a Liverpool Labour MP for over 30 years. The installation is usually to be found on the concourse of Lime Street station but was removed in autumn 2017 to allow for redevelopment of the station. Following the death of Ken Dodd his statue was replaced on temporary basis until the full installation is reinstalled at the end of building work. Although perhaps better known as a comedian he had 18 chart hits, mainly in the 1960s, his version of Tears selling well over a million copies.

Eleanor Rigby – Stanley Street

Eleanor Rigby was a song on The Beatles album Revolver as well as a number one single in 1966. The sculpture was made by Tommy Steele in 1982 in recognition of the work of The Beatles and their place in the city. His fee for the work was a reported three pence. Tommy Steele himself was a singer and actor in musical theatre before becoming a sculptor.

In the work she is sitting alone with her shopping at her side and her head turned towards a small bird that is on an old newspaper. There is room on the bench for you to join her. The ‘real’ Eleanor Rigby is buried in the churchyard of St Peters Parish Church, Woolton in the city.

Cilla Black – Mathew Street

Commissioned by her sons following her death in 2015, it was unveiled in January 2017 which coincided with the 60th anniversary of The Cavern Club where she worked before embarking on her singing and television career. Made by Andy Edwards and Emma Rodgers the dress has been sculpted with square panels which contain song titles etc. Cilla Black released nineteen top forty singles, mainly in the 1960s, including number one singles Anyone Who Had a Heart and You’re my World in 1964.

John Lennon – Mathew Street

Made by Liverpool artist Arthur Dooley the statue of John Lennon is one of the oldest musical statues in the city. Lennon stands against a wall opposite The Cavern, the bricks are engraved with the names of all the artists and bands that have played there.  A Tom Murphy statue of Lennon is to be found at Liverpool airport to commemorate its renaming as the John Lennon Airport in 2002.

The Beatles – Pier Head

Andy Edwards statue of the Fab Four was donated to the city by the Cavern Club in 2015 to commemorate 50 years since their last appearance in the city, which was at The Empire Theatre on Lime Street. Arthur Dooleys “Four Lads Who Shook the World” installation on Mathew Street celebrated Beatle Street and their importance. This gives us the group as slightly larger than life characters looking as if they are casually walking to catch the nearby Birkenhead ferry and gives you a much greater sense of them as individuals.

Edwards has given each Beatle a personal touch; Paul McCartney carries a camera, George Harrison wears a belt with Sanskrit writing, Ringo Starr has L8 on his shoe and John Lennon holds two acorns in his hand.

Billy Fury – Albert Dock

The Tom Murphy statue of Billy Fury was moved to its current location opposite the Piermasters House at the Albert Dock in 2007. Billy Fury achieved most of his success in the rock and roll boom in the early sixties. He is much loved in the city and by his fan club who commissioned the statue in 2003. The flowers around the statue were to commemorate his birthday which was on the 17th of April.

A Stroll Down Hope Street Liverpool

Hope Street is one of Liverpool’s most iconic and well known streets not least for the fact that it links the citys two cathedrals. Linking Upper Parliament Street with Mount Pleasant it was named after William Hope, a wool and textile merchant, who lived on the site of what is now the Philharmonic Hall in the mid nineteenth century.

Today Hope Street is identified as being an integral part of the city’s Georgian Quarter, named after the town houses that were built in the area, in the Georgian style, from the early 1800s.

The southern end of Hope Street is dominated by the imposing presence of The Anglican Cathedral and St James Gardens.

The design was an open competition which was won by 22 year old Giles Gilbert Scott, who later went on to design the iconic red telephone box and Battersea Power Station.

Work officially began in 1904 and was not finished until 1978, eighteen years after Scotts death. Built in the gothic style of local red sandstone it dominates the skyline and is the fifth largest cathedral in the world. You can visit the cathedral’s website here.

Crossing Upper Duke Street the building on the left is The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, although is main entrance is on Mount Street. Opened in 1996 in the building that was once The Liverpool Institute Boys School, the former school of former Beatles Paul McCartney and George Harrison, it has become one of the leading learning centres of its type.

On the corner of Hope Street and Mount Street is John Kings 1998 art installation entitled A Case History. There are 27 cases in total which supposedly belong to people that have some connection with the Hope Street area. There is a noticeboard in Mount Street which lists the ‘owner’ of each case.

Opposite stands Blackburne House. When it was built as a private dwelling in 1788 it was in the countryside, removed from fast developing city. It is set back slightly from the road and surrounded by a wall which makes it rather difficult to see the building which is currently Grade II listed.

It became a girls school in 1844 and remained so until its closure in 1986. After laying empty for several years it was finally redeveloped into a training centre for women.

Crossing Hope Street once again we come to the statues of  Bishop David Sheppard and Archbishop Derek Worlock.

Located by The London Carriage Works restaurant it is exactly halfway between the Anglican and Metropolitan cathedrals. Both men did much for the city of Liverpool, especially during the dark days for the city in the early eighties when unemployment and poverty put the city at odds with the then Tory government. They were often seen together and they worked tirelessly to bring communities and groups together. In recognition of the work they did for their adopted home they were awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 1994.

The statue represents two open doors and has newspaper headlines and clippings about them on the reverse.

The Philharmonic Hall opened in 1939 and was built in the Art Deco style, a very popular architectural style at the time. it is home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra which can trace its origins back to 1840, making it one of the oldest musical societies in the world. As well as orchestral concerts the hall is today also used for contemporary music and comedy shows. A smaller and more intimate venue called the Philharmonic Music Room was recently opened to the rear of the hall with an entrance on Sugnall Street.

Diagonally across the road from The Philharmonic Hall stands The Philharmonic Dining Rooms. Opened originally as a gentleman club but subsequently converted to a public house it is probably one of the finest in the city.

The Phil, as its locally known, is well known for the ornate gents toilets made from rose coloured marble. They are so architecturally important that they are grade I listed, making them a higher listing than the building itself.

The Everyman Theatre stands at the northern end of Hope Street.

The current building opened in 2014 following a three year rebuild but the theatre has been on this site since 1964. The theatre is important both locally and nationally and has been a launching pad for many careers.

Although technically located on Mount Pleasant, The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King represents the northern end of Hope Street for many people.

Built on the site of an old, victorian workhouse building began in the mid 1930s but plans were stalled by the outbreak of war in 1939. Post war austerity meant that plans had to be scaled back and the redesigned cathedral was finally consecrated in 1967. Of the original plan only the crypt was built and the entrance to this is on nearby Brownlow Hill. The cathedral is known locally as ‘Paddy’s Wigwam’.

A Stroll Down Mathew Street Liverpool

Along with Penny Lane, Mathew Street is one of the most well known of  Liverpool streets. Mathew Street is really a narrow, now pedestrianised, lane that runs between North John Street and Stanley Street. Its history lies in the fruit and vegetable trade though much evidence of that has long since gone.

Mathew Street is now principally known for The Cavern Club (number 10 Mathew Street) and The Beatles and much of what goes on in the street today reflects this. The club itself first opened its doors as a jazz club  in 1957 but will always be remembered for the nearly 300 appearances The Beatles made in the early sixties. Tourists from all over the world travel to Liverpool to experience Mathew Street and The Cavern.

The original club closed in 1973 following the sale of the building and its proposed demolition to make way for a ventilation shaft for the new Merseyrail underground railway. The shaft was never built and the site became a car park for a short while. One can only wonder what was in the mind of the city council when agreeing to the demolition of such a city treasure.

The Cavern was rebuilt in 1984. Plans to redevelop the original site were shelved when it was discovered that the demolition of the building had caused damage to the underground cellars in which h The Cavern were housed. As a result fifteen hundred bricks from the original Cavern were used to recreate the new Cavern. It is today one of Liverpools top tourist attractions.

Opposite The Cavern is the statue of John Lennon and The Cavern Wall of Fame.

For a statue of the Fab Four themselves you will have to visit the nearby Pier Head. The wall of fame represents all the bands and artists that have played at The Cavern Club.

The statue of Cilla Black is a relatively recent addition to the street being unveiled in January 2017. It stands outside what would have been the original entrance to The Cavern. There is also a photograph to commemorate this fact on the wall behind.

On the opposite side of the street (number 9) is the site of Eric’s club. Opened in the autumn of 1976 it ran for only four short years but its influence is immeasurable. In its short life it was a stage to some of the most important bands of the punk era. In its own way its was to the punk generation of the 70s what the Cavern was to the Beat Generation of the 60s.

Eric’s Live can now be found in the same location as the original club.

At number 18 Mathew Street stands the bar Flanagans Apple. In the early 1980s it was the home of The Armadillo Tea Rooms. Along with Erics and the nearby Probe Records, which was then located on Button Street, it was an integral part of the alternative Liverpool scene. Much missed, it was the place for good food with a great atmosphere and a rocking horse in the corner. It is the one part of the Liverpool scene it the time that has sadly not been recreated. On the wall of number 18 is the statue of the renowned psychologist C.G. Jung.

Much debated as to whether he ever visited the city at all, it remains an integral part of the street. The statue there now is a replacement of the original which was vandalised.

Every street needs a pub and Mathew Street is no exception. At number 25 is The Grapes. Probably frequented by many of the local musicians that have played at the local venues.

So much of the musical history of Liverpool and the UK is to be be found in this short unassuming street. Get there early and avoid the crowds or conversely get there late and join in the well renown night life.