What did Ringo Starr ever do for us?

by Chris Johnson. Published Mon 11 Oct 2010 14:32
Madryn Street

As a kind of atonement for my sins, I'm putting in some time to try and save Ringo Starr's birthplace.

"Why on Earth are you doing that?" they ask.

"Well," I say, "If someone doesn't do it, the place will be knocked-down by default and it will be deeply embarrassing to the entire city.... if only they could see!"

Seriously, it's bad enough that we let them demolish The Cavern in the 70s, but at least then we could be forgiven for not realising just how important Beatles Tourism would become.

Now, I think, we should know better.

Number 9 Madryn Street is a typical terraced house just off High Park Street in the Dingle where Richard Starkie was born in July 1940.

It survived The Blitz... only just, since four houses on the opposite side of the street were demolished by a stray Luftwaffe bomb.

But now it is condemned, along with most of "The Welsh Streets", to be demolished as part of a Housing Renewal Initiative (HRI), started by John Prescott.

Of course Mr P and the planners behind the HRI took no account of the fact that Number 9 Madryn Street is part of the Beatles Tourism trail, with scores of visitors stopping-off most days.

Typical of the crazy nature of these things is that the Welsh Streets are now to be demolished at a time when there is little hope of finding the money to build the replacement homes on the blueprint.

Instead they will be bulldozed and grassed over - ironically left as a "bomb site" - where tourists would come to stand and gaze at the folly of the planners.

Some of the locals say "What did Ringo ever do for us?" and "He insulted us, saying he does not miss anything about Liverpool".

My answer is that saving 9 Madryn Street is not for the benefit of Ringo. More selfishly it is about the economy of Liverpool and the nonesense of demolishing a house that is a Mecca for tourists.

However, there is still hope that the folly can be halted. There are regeneration companies who argue that The Welsh Streets could all be saved and renovated at a fraction of the cost re-building. This, at a time when start on house building are at a real low. Seems like a commonsense.

Last weekend they unveiled a huge Peace and Harmony monument in Liverpool ONE dedicated to the memory of John Lennon. Mendips, John's childhood home, and Forthlin Road where Paul McCartney grew-up are both official tourism treasures operated by the National Trust.

They stand in STARK contrast to the alleged judgement that Ringo Starkie's home is of "no real historical importance". Why should that be? They were the Fab FOUR and Ringo, as the joker in the pack, is a favourite with many fans.

The apparent policy that he is less important than John and Paul is starting to smack of some kind of discrimination by the Powers that Be.

Nothing can be more high profile than John Lennon Airport and it is a name that has caught the public imagination more than "Liverpool International" ever did.

This is all good and no-one is seeking to detract from the importance of Lennon and McCartney, but it does not serve the city well to side-line the other two.

Where are the memorials to George Harrison? It will be ten years next November since George died. And what have we got in his name? Just one little park off Penny Lane - which is not even the part of the city where he lived.

They were Fib Four and the visitors are not going to understand if George and Ring are turned into second-class heroes.

I have not been to Hamburg, but those who have tell me the city had really done itself proud in making the most of its connections with the Fib Four and Beatles tourists in the city find a lot on offer.

In Liverpool it seems we are rather embarrassed by Beatles Tourism. I used to feel the same way, but not any more. Tourism is big business and I can tell you that some of the stories that get the most hits on Click Liverpool are those about The Beatles.

I believe it's time for a real overhaul of Liverpool's attitude to Beatles Tourism. We need to plan now and for a time in the future when, sadly, the two remaining Beatles will have died.

Beatles Tourism will could the biggest single draw in the city for a centure or more and those future visitors will not understand why they cannot visit Ringo Starr's birthplace... unless, that is, we can save it.

Feel free to tell me if you agree or disagree. And also please visit the Save Madryn Street campaign page on Facebook. www.savemadrynstreet.co.uk




Comments about What did Ringo Starr ever do for us?

Spot on, Ringo did so much for Liverpool during The Beatles and let council wake up to themselves up to know about this!
Thomas, Sydney around 1 year, 3 months ago
I have written to the Liverpool City Council. It's important that everyone do so, not just leave comments here.
Roberta Kahn, Washington DC around 1 year, 3 months ago
Turn #9 and the houses on either side into a museum showing Dingle life pre war. Nice little source of ongoing tourist dollars to be made.
Steve K, Melbourne around 1 year, 3 months ago
Well said. Let's build Ringo up, not pull him down. And let's do the same with Madryn Street.
Dave Bamber, Hightown around 1 year, 3 months ago
Why can the Council not see this?
Bill, Anfield around 1 year, 7 months ago
Spot on! It would be MADness to demolish Madryn Street. It should be saved and turned into a proper tourist attraction. The Dingle needs it!
Larry Harding, Wirral around 1 year, 7 months ago


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