A statue of The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein has been unveiled in Liverpool.
The 1.94m bronze piece is situated on the corner of Button Street and Whitechapel, close to Epstein’s former NEMS store. Its unveiling coincides with the 2022 International Beatleweek, which runs in the city from 24-30 August.
The statue, depicting a striding Epstein on his way to the Cavern Club holding a management contract, was sculpted by Andy Edwards and Paul McCartney’s cousin Jane Robbins.
We were at a family party and I sort of sidled up to him and said, ‘I’ve sculpted Brian Epstein, do you want to see it?’ and he said, ‘Yeah!’ So I got my phone out and just showed him the pictures of the finished clay. And we stood for quite a while and he scrolled in very closely and he said: ‘[bleep] Janey, that’s dead good, that!’
Jane Robbins
The World At One, BBC Radio 4
The initial fundraising target of £60,000 was reached by the Brian Epstein Legacy Project. Funds included donations from the Liverpool BID Company, the Cavern Club, and a number of private donations. The fundraising effort was led by the Brian Epstein Legacy Project.
On behalf of the committee which has worked so hard to achieve this goal, we would like to thank every single person and organisation who has supported us on our five-year journey.We are absolutely delighted to see this finally come to fruition. We feel Brian really deserves this honour. His impact on the world of music, art and culture was – and continues to be – overwhelmingly positive, and we believe our debt to him as a city is incalculable.
We hope this lasting tribute to his legacy is worthy of the man and his achievements, and that people take this wonderful addition to our public realm to their hearts.
Tom Calderban
Project manager, the Brian Epstein Legacy Project
