A statue honouring the life of Brian Epstein has been given the green light by Liverpool City Council. The statue will be located at the Epstein family home (now a Hotel) in Liverpool.
A core of Brian Epstein friends and fans, in his native Liverpool, have been working on the project and with planning permission now granted and haveset up a charity to raise the £60,000 needed to complete the project.
One time Beatles promoter and friend of Brian Epstein, Sam Leach, commented: “Brian Epstein fully deserves to have a Statue honouring him. He took the Beatles to national and world-wide fame and, despite their obvious talent; they may not have made it without him. With his urbane, dignified manner Brian opened doors that had previously been slammed in my face.”
The campaign has the backing of some very high profile supporters including Billy J Kramer and Gerry Marsden who have agreed to becomepatrons of the Charity.
The statue is being created by sculptor Tom Murphy who was responsible for the striking representation of John Lennon in the airport named after him in Liverpool.
Fundraising to raise £60,000 for the statue has now commenced with a series of events in the pipeline for the coming weeks and months.
Rodger Meachem who is heading up the Charity said: “In this challenging economic climate, we know that it will be difficult to raise such a large amount of money but we will do all we can to remind the world of Brian Epstein’s incredible contribution to the world. I mean, how can we overlook the man who brought us the Beatles”.
The Beatles are synonymous with Liverpool and although many other cities around the world pay tributes to John, Paul, George and Ringo there is no accolade to the man who discovered them and convinced EMI record producer George Martin to give them a record deal despite his reservations. With Paul McCartney famously naming Brian Epstein as “The Fifth Beatle” this project to correct the oversight will unite the support of Beatles fans across the world.
The statue will contribute significantly to the existing Beatles tourism industry.
In 2007, David Charters of the Liverpool Daily Post reported that “The Beatles could be worth £1bn-a-year to Liverpool’s economy”. In the same article Jerry Goldman, the 60-year-old director of the Beatles Story museum and shop on Liverpool’s Albert Dock was quotes as saying that “I would say that direct Beatles’ tourism is worth £200m, but the wider figure is between £500m and a billion pounds”.
This statue of Brian Samuel Epstein will allow Liverpool to celebrate and remember one of the all-time greats.
Fundraising has now commenced with a series of events in the pipeline for the coming weeks and months.
