Eleanor Rigby is a statue in Stanley Street, Liverpool, England, designed and made by the entertainer Tommy Steele. It is based on the subject of the Beatles' 1966 song " Eleanor Rigby", which is credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. [1]
History
When Tommy Steele was performing in a show in Liverpool in 1981, he made an offer to Liverpool City Council to create a sculpture as a tribute to the Beatles. His fee for the commission would be three pence (half a sixpence). [a] The offer was accepted by the Council, as the statue would be expected to increase the tourist trade of the city, and they made a donation of £4,000 towards its cost. [1] The project was otherwise funded by the Liverpool Echo. [2]
The statue took nine months to make. Steele unveiled it in Liverpool on 3 December 1982. [1]
Description
The statue consists of a bronze figure on a stone bench. The figure is 128 centimetres (50 in) high, 120 centimetres (47 in) wide, and 96 centimetres (38 in) deep. It depicts a seated woman with a handbag on her lap, a shopping bag on her right, and a copy of the Liverpool Echo on her left. Poking from the shopping bag is a milk bottle, and on the newspaper is a sparrow and a piece of bread. The woman is looking down at the sparrow. [1]
Steele included what he described as "magical properties" in his design, all hidden inside the bronze figure and representing a different facet of life. These were: a four-leaf clover (for good luck), a page from the Bible (for spiritual guidance), football boots (representing sport and fun), a comic book (for comedy and adventure), and a sonnet (for love). [2]
On the wall behind the figure is an inscribed plaque which originally read:[ citation needed]
This inscription has since been replaced.
-
The plaque as it appears in 2018 -
Close-up of Eleanor's face -
Close-up of the sparrow at which Eleanor is looking
Notes and references
Notes
- ^ This was an allusion to Steele's musical show and film Half a Sixpence. [1]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Cavanagh, Terry (1997), Public Sculpture of Liverpool, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, pp. 213–214, ISBN 978-0-853-23711-2
- ^ a b Fontenot, Robert. "'Eleanor Rigby' – The history of this classic Beatles song [page 2]". oldies.about.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
53°24′25″N 2°59′12″W / 53.40694°N 2.98664°W
Eleanor Rigby is a statue in Stanley Street, Liverpool, England, designed and made by the entertainer Tommy Steele. It is based on the subject of the Beatles' 1966 song " Eleanor Rigby", which is credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. [1]
History
When Tommy Steele was performing in a show in Liverpool in 1981, he made an offer to Liverpool City Council to create a sculpture as a tribute to the Beatles. His fee for the commission would be three pence (half a sixpence). [a] The offer was accepted by the Council, as the statue would be expected to increase the tourist trade of the city, and they made a donation of £4,000 towards its cost. [1] The project was otherwise funded by the Liverpool Echo. [2]
The statue took nine months to make. Steele unveiled it in Liverpool on 3 December 1982. [1]
Description
The statue consists of a bronze figure on a stone bench. The figure is 128 centimetres (50 in) high, 120 centimetres (47 in) wide, and 96 centimetres (38 in) deep. It depicts a seated woman with a handbag on her lap, a shopping bag on her right, and a copy of the Liverpool Echo on her left. Poking from the shopping bag is a milk bottle, and on the newspaper is a sparrow and a piece of bread. The woman is looking down at the sparrow. [1]
Steele included what he described as "magical properties" in his design, all hidden inside the bronze figure and representing a different facet of life. These were: a four-leaf clover (for good luck), a page from the Bible (for spiritual guidance), football boots (representing sport and fun), a comic book (for comedy and adventure), and a sonnet (for love). [2]
On the wall behind the figure is an inscribed plaque which originally read:[ citation needed]
This inscription has since been replaced.
-
The plaque as it appears in 2018
-
Close-up of Eleanor's face
-
Close-up of the sparrow at which Eleanor is looking
Notes and references
Notes
- ^ This was an allusion to Steele's musical show and film Half a Sixpence. [1]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Cavanagh, Terry (1997), Public Sculpture of Liverpool, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, pp. 213–214, ISBN 978-0-853-23711-2
- ^ a b Fontenot, Robert. "'Eleanor Rigby' – The history of this classic Beatles song [page 2]". oldies.about.com. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
53°24′25″N 2°59′12″W / 53.40694°N 2.98664°W
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