A statue of legendary singer Gerry Marsden could be established on Liverpool’s waterfront under new proposals.
Sculptor Laura Lian wants to erect a sculpture of the singer, who died on January 3, to pay tribute to him while also raising money for charity.
As lead signer of Gerry and the Pacemakers, Mr Marsden was one of the most recognisable faces of the Merseybeat genre and his rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone has become an iconic anthem of Liverpool FC.
Ms Lian said she had been approached by developers of a prospective housing development to design a tribute to Mr Marsden but that she was now seeking funding separately as the development is on hold.
Her bronze sculpture of John Lennon is due to be exhibited in Amsterdam’s Art Zuid “Imagine’ exhibition, having been displayed on Penny Lane until last year.
She said Mr Marsden’s family have seen sketches of the proposed design, which shows Mr Marsden playing a guitar against a backdrop of notes on a stave.
Ms Lian said: “I was so sad when I heard that he had passed away as I was so looking forward to meeting him, being a huge fan. I really wanted to the statue to be up while he was alive.
“Since then, the Marina development plans have gone on hold and the sketch was shown to the family, which they really liked, so we are now looking for a suitable site for the statue and then funding.
“For me, the perfect location would be the Mersey ferry terminal, so we’ve contacted Merseytravel and we hope they’ll back the plans too.
She said she hoped that a QR code at the base of the statue could be used to link visitors to make donations to charity.
Ms Lian’s travelling John Lennon Peace Statue was showcased at The Penny Lane Development Trust from September 2020 until March 2021 where it’s been raising money for local charities in between lockdowns.
It will be coming back from Amsterdam to be exhibited in the middle of Penny Lane in front of St. Barnabas’ Church in October 2021, just a few hundred yards from Lennon’s first house at 9 Newcastle Rd.
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