Ringo Starr is adored and loved all over the world for being a Beatle and just for being himself. But his fame, like that of most celebrities these days, hasn't always avoided controversy.
Take the campaign to save Ringo's Madryn Street birthplace now underway in Liverpool which we've updated here several times this week. Moves to save Beatle landmarks haven't always had the best history. Remember the Cavern Club? The original was torn down and another rebuilt in almost the same spot. If one could go back in time before the original Cavern was demolished, would things have been different?
The Madryn Street campaign poses a dilemma. The pictures show the area hasn't aged well. But yet, this is the birthplace of a Beatle. And like Paul McCartney's Forthlin Road and John Lennon's Mendips, they're a part of history. Also, for a change, this is not something principally associated with either Lennon or McCartney. Saving it shows Ringo Starr and his legacy a little love.
The emotional quandry over the whole campaign is pointed out in two different essays written by members of the Save Madryn Street group. The one with the attention-grabbing title is Chris Johnson's "What did Ringo Starr ever do for us?" Given Ringo's history, the answer is obvious. And Johnson, who does support saving the landmark, concludes the reason to do so is economic. "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."
Fellow campaigner Philip Coppell takes a different and a more emotional view in "Ringo Starr, What has Liverpool ever done for him?" His stark conclusion is that should Madryn Street and 10 Admiral Grove, another pre-fame Ringo Starr home, both be demolished, "there will be no physical connection with Ringo Starr in The Dingle or Liverpool."
How about this: Will there be regret, similar to the Cavern Club situation, in the future if Madryn Street isn't saved? That's really the question that not only Liverpool but Beatle fans all over the world need to answer before it's too late.
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Comments
Maybe they should spruce up the whole area -- not just save one house.
Also, is George's home still standing? And does it have some sort of landmark status? I never hear anything about it.
George's birthplace is still standing but has no landmark status.
Maggie, you probably have not been to the Dingle. Because Madryn street are row houses they have to save the whole street or at least that side of the street, they cannot save just one house. So it is a larger project than just one house.
Even without the connection to RIngo, can Liverpool really afford to put out the funds to demolish, remove and rebuild some souless boxy housing which probably will have to be torn down in 30 years and replaced like so many buildings falling apart that have been built in the last 30 years? The street has so much character. The scheme put forth by a private company to save and rehab the buildings as they have done in other cities makes the most sense.
Liverpool didn't offer much to Ringo which is why he was determined to be a success and leave, which is not uncommon for anyone that grows up in a city where opportunities for a chose profession are limited...that's just a circumstance of the era that he grew up in. But if it were not for Ringo and the other lads, Liverpool would not have half the tourist trade that they do now.
No, never been to England at all. Maybe someday.
That's kind of what I meant about sprucing up the whole area. I had heard the Dingle was a rundown part of town. Just wondering if they could somehow rehab the area -- or at least that street -- to make it inviting for tourists, and as a result businesses like pubs, cafe's, book stores, souvenir shops -- to locate there -- but still somehow maintain the look and character of the Dingle. If they could, it would be a win/win for everyone.
Good, thoughtful piece, Steve. I absolutely agree, Ringo's birthplace is significant to the history of the group and should be preserved. I do think they will be sorry in the future if they allow it to be demolished.
There was a report somewhere that government funding for the redevelopment plan had been cut from the budget. If that's true, once the street is demolished, it would stand vacant for who knows how long. And yes, as with the Cavern Club, posterity would definitely ask, "What were they thinking?"
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