Piece of Beatles history to be sold for scrap after “no interest” in re-homing efforts
A key piece of The Beatles‘ history is set to be sold off for scrap after Liverpool City Council reported “no interest” in re-homing efforts.
The mast of the ship Salvor looms over the very first photograph of the Beatles after Ringo Starr joined the line-up in 1962.
From there, the mast stood on a roundabout near the iconic Liver Buildings for several decades before roadworks in 2020 forced the huge object to be moved to a yard in Newton Road for temporary storage.
However, as per the BBC, there are no further plans for the piece of Liverpool’s history. Maritime campaigner Peter Elson has called for the local council to honour a previous commitment, which stated that they would find a new home for the large mast.
Elson, who managed to get the council to hold off on selling it for scrap, shared, “It’s deeply sad that a washed-up, clapped-out old hack like me has to be doing this. It’s a no-brainer that a massive piece of Beatles memorabilia like that should be saved, yet they were going to sell it for scrap.”
He added that the Council should have “learned after that whole own goal with the Cavern and Ringo’s house in Madryn Street, which they were going to demolish until a campaign was launched to save it.”
Nonetheless, it appears that the City Council feel that they are all out of options. A spokesperson has said, “We have previously reached out to our maritime network, but unfortunately, there has been no interest in taking it.”
Allegedly, a plan was underway to send the mast to China for a Liverpool university campus; this was eventually abandoned.
The Council added, “It needs someone who has the means to rehome, recommission and maintain it for years to come. If anyone does come forward as a result of the campaign, we are happy to hold discussions with them.”
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