I walked down to the Pierhead on the Liverpool waterfront to finally take a few photos of the Beatles statue that was erected late last year.
The new bronze sculpture of the Beatles was officially unveiled back on the 4 December 2015 by John Lennon ’s sister Julia Baird and Liverpool deputy mayor Councillor Ann O’Byrne.
The statue has been donated to the city by the Cavern Club. The unveiling coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ last concert in their home city when they played at the Liverpool Empire on 5 December 1965. The depiction of the band walking along the Mersey waterfront reflects a real photo shoot from the 1960s.
The statue weighs 1.2 tonnes and stands around seven feet tall. It was sculpted by Liverpool artist Andrew Edwards and was cast at the Castle Fine Art Foundry at Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant, near Oswestry in Powys.
Andrew Edwards also created the ‘All Together Now Christmas Truce WWI’ statue that was on show inside St George’s Hall in October through to December last year as part of the ‘Poppies: Weeping Window’ project which I wrote about on 29 November 2015.
The Beatles remain a big draw for tourists across the world coming to Liverpool. Tourism has been a driving force in the economic and cultural renaissance of Liverpool. 
Apparently the idea for the new statute came from Castle Fine Art Foundry managing director Chris Butler who was inspired when walking through the Liverpool ONE shopping centre and saw the huge image of the band which is displayed outside the HMV music store. Chris found pictures taken of the Beatles at the Pier Head in 1963 and adapted them to form the basis of the new sculpture which is a reflection from that famous Liverpool waterfront photo shoot. Chris says that it is a monument to a moment and the moment started in Liverpool.
An interesting fact is that whilst the statue is located in a classic location in Liverpool where Lennon was born; there is a subtle link to the city of New York where he died. Clasped in John’s right hand are two acorns. They were collected by Chris Butler from oak trees near the Dakota Building where Lennon lived with Yoko Ono in New York. They are hidden to all but those who know of the story. Their significance is that John Lennon in the 1960s sent acorns as a message of peace to world leaders. Chris Butler has said that the adding of the acorns to the statue at the last minute is as an everlasting symbol of peace.
Another little touch is that ‘L8’, the area post code for Ringo Starr’s childhood home is carved on the base of Ringo’s shoe. I wrote about Ringo’s house in Madryn Street in the Welsh Streets area of Liverpool back on 31 December 2014.
The sculpture is a big draw to for tourists coming to Liverpool. When I’ve been there were many Spanish, far eastern and other nationalities all clamouring to have their pictures taken with the Fab Four. If you want to get near the statue then you need to get there early otherwise you will wait your turn to get up close to it!!
briansimpsons 