London, Aug 18 (IANS) The plan to demolish drummer Ringo Starr’s birthplace on Welsh Streets in Liverpool has irked fans of the Beatles who accuse the council of cultural vandalism bordering on the criminal.
Fans are of the view that proposals to demolish 9 Madryn Street in the Dingle district of Liverpool, where Starr, whose real name is Richard Starkey, was born July 7, 1940, is the equivalent of knocking down William Shakespeare’s home, reports telegraph.co.uk.
Ever since Beatlemania engulfed the world in the mid-1960s, the address has become a vital part of fans’ pilgrimage to the band’s home city attracting thousands of visitors each year.
But unlike the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, which are now owned and run by the National Trust, Ringo’s former house has fallen into disrepair and has been earmarked for demolition since 2005 along with a number of surrounding roads, known locally as the Welsh Streets.
A wave of public opposition has already earned the area one stay of execution, but firms have now been asked to bid for the demolition contract, sparking a fresh wave of opposition from fans.
One option being considered in an attempt to appease sentimental Beatles fans is to dismantle the house brick by brick and rebuild it at Liverpool’s Museum of Life, which is due to open next year in Liverpool’s dock area.
Starr, who has homes in Los Angeles, Monte Carlo and Surrey, has expressed his dismay at plans to knock down his childhood home and has also said he is opposed to plans to relocate it to a museum.
He had said in 2007: ‘If you want to see where I come from, it’s no good putting me in the Wirral. It only works, as far as I can see, if it’s there (Madryn Street).’
The option has also been resolutely dismissed by the fans who regard such a suggestion as a gross insult to one of Liverpool’s most famous sons.
Philip Coppell, who has been an official Beatles tour guide in Liverpool for more than 20 years, said: ‘If they move it to the museum it will lose the sense of the area where it stands. Seeing it in a museum is just not going to have the same impact as visiting the street where Ringo was born.’
A spokesman for Liverpool City Council added: ‘This is part of a multiphase project, which is going to run for some years. Number 9 Madryn Street is under no immediate threat of demolition. We have given special consideration to this building and we are currently in discussions with National Museums Liverpool regarding the potential for its preservation.’
