A BID for cash to fund a plaque
commemorating the birthplace of Brian Epstein has been launched by group
of diehard Beatles fans.
The
Fab Four's manager, who suffered a fatal overdose at the height of the
group's fame in 1967, was born at 4 Rodney Street in 1934.
Now
a collective of Beatles tour guides, historians and authors, who meet
regularly to discuss the group at the nearby Cuthbert's Bakehouse, on
Mount Pleasant, have launched a Kickstarter Appeal to raise £950 to pay for the new work.
Led
by tour guide Marie Darwin the collective say they have obtained
planning permission from Liverpool City Council and the plaque will will
be firmly fixed to the address "for all fans, tourist and the people of
Liverpool to see".
Malka,
or Queenie Epstein, gave birth to baby Brian Samuel at what was then a
private hospital on September 19, 1934. Rodney Street was dubbed the
Harley Street of the North. His father, Harry, and family, ran a number
of furniture stores around Liverpool. After leaving National Service,
the young Brian studied acting at RADA for a time before returning to
the family fold and opening the NEMS record stores. He would have been
81 this year.
4 Rodney Street, where it all began for Brian Epstein
Only
last summer Epstein, who was a key figure in the success of Cilla
Black, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Billy J Kramer, was honoured with a
blue plaque in London by the Heriatge Foundation.
The London plaqueIt
was unveiled at Sutherland House in Argyll Street, next to the London
Palladium, where Epstein ran his NEMS operation on the 5th Floor after it moved from Whitechapel in Liverpool. Those offices were controversially demolished in 2012 to make way for Forever 21.
"Around
the city of Liverpool and the world there are accolades to these
musicians but there has never been an official plaque for Brian in the
city of Liverpool," says the collective which calls itself Beatles and
More.
"We recognised that
there should be something out of respect. Brian's image was key, and
that is the image he sold to the world for The Beatles. The Beatles'
early success has been attributed to Epstein's management style,
business and organisation skills and the band trusted him without
hesitation."
Funding
permitting (they currently have another £850 to go) the group plans to
erect the plaque on the building, now owned by Liverpool John Moores
University, on February 22, at 2pm.
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