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National Museums Liverpool Blog - Wondrous Plaque

 Thursday, November 04, 2010

Wondrous Plaque


Thursday 04 November 10

Today, I went along to see Billy Fury’s statue, which is positioned next to the Piermaster’s House at the Albert Dock.

After over six years of fundraising by the Sound of Fury Fan Club, the statue – created by sculptor Tom Murphy – was revealed in April 2003. The unveiling at the old Museum of Liverpool Life was a fantastic occasion witnessed by the many involved in the project, and those who simply wanted to honour the memory of the rock ‘n’ roll legend.

The Fan Club kindly donated the statue to National Museums Liverpool, and since the closure of the Museum of Liverpool Life, Billy has been moved across the bridge to the Albert Dock as the Museum of Liverpool takes shape.

Here he will stay, and what a fantastic spot he’s in; standing with the backdrop of the River Mersey behind him, striking his famous pose with an arm outstretched towards the new museum and the gallery named after his hit, Wondrous Place.

Men attaching plaque to statueThe new plaque is carefully attached to the Billy Fury statue

Placing the statue here is also reminiscent of Billy Fury’s days as a deck hand on the Mersey tug boat The Formby for approximately two years from 1956, before he became famous.

The reason for my trip to see him this morning was to witness the unveiling of a new plaque on the base of the statue, reaffirming the events that occurred on the day of the unveiling, and the hard work that went into making the sculpture possible.

Peter and Jen Davies from the Sound of Fury Fan Club were there to witness the occasion, along with sculptor Tom Murphy and Councillor Eddie Clein who led the original unveiling with the legendary Mr Jack Good and guest of honour, Billy’s mum Jean Wycherley.


Posted by Lucy | 04/11/2010 16:42   | Comments [0]

Posted in: museum of liverpool
Tagged with: billy fury | celebrity | docks

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