Brian Epstein could be set to join the likes of Cilla Black and The Beatles with his very own statue, if crowdfunding efforts reach their goal.
The project was created to remember the legacy of the famous Fab Four manager, who is credited as being one of the reasons for The Beatles’ worldwide success and as having a vital role in the band’s history.
The scheme was launched on what would have been Epstein’s 85th birthday, with messages of support from his family, and the funding page closes this week.
At the moment, the total stands at just over £8,000 – still some way short of the £60,000 target.
The team behind the project includes the same faces who played a hand in creating the current Beatles statues, situated on the waterfront as a popular tourist attraction.
This includes Bill Elms, co-producer of ‘Epstein: The Man Who Made The Beatles’, and several other Beatles-related theatre productions, along with Andy Edwards who has already been commissioned after his work in sculpting the group and Cilla Black, which currently sits on Mathew Street.
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Liverpool-born project leader, Tom Calderbank, told JMU Journalism how the idea was created just after the unveiling of Cilla’s statue.
Tom said: “Marie Darwin approached Andy [Edwards] to actually make the Brian statue. She was part of the team that produced the plaque on Brian’s birthplace. As a fan, she wanted to get the job done, especially as the previous campaign for a statue had failed. Andy agreed, and earlier this year, he asked me to come in as Project Manager.”
A location for the statue is still to be set, with Tom explaining there are pros and cons on multiple sites, but their current concerns are reaching the crowdfunding goal.
He went on to explain how the previous project for The Beatles was paid outright.
He said: “Well, both statues were self-commissioned. The first by Chris Butler of Castle Fine Arts, the second by Andy and the new Epstein Committee. We were blessed with The Beatles, as Bill Heckle and Cavern City Tours came in to pay for them outright, whereas we’re crowd funding Brian. So yes, its more difficult, but we’re still very hopeful we can do it.”