Post by yerblues1968 on Oct 7, 2010 23:57:16 GMT -5
On the 30th anniversary of his death, the Liverpool City Council dedicated their theatre to the memory of Brian Epstein.
BEATLES MANAGER BRIAN EPSTEIN TO BE HONOURED WITH THEATRE IN HIS NAME
by Natalie Evans
Published Thu 07 Oct 2010 17:50,
Last updated: 2010-10-07
Tragic Beatles manager Brian Epstein is to be honoured with a theatre named after him in Liverpool.
The city's former Neptune Theatre is to be renamed The Epstein Theatre- as a memorial to the entrepreneur catapulted The Fab Four to worldwide fame.
A Liverpool music and record shop owner Epstein became a Merseybeat guru and managed the mop top band until his drugs overdose death on 27th August 1967.
Restoration work in under way on The Epstein Theatre, a 97-year-old Grade II listed building in Hanover St, which has been closed to the public since 2005.
Liverpool Council Leader Joe Anderson said: "Brian Epstein was, to many, the 5th Beatle but he was also a brilliant entrepreneur who put many Liverpool acts on the road to success.
"He arguably did more than anyone to stamp the city so emphatically on the world map, an achievement which today generates millions of pounds for our tourism economy.
"I’m delighted Brian’s family have accepted our request to rename this venue The Epstein Theatre as it gives Liverpool its first real opportunity to officially say thank you to one of our greatest sons for his unique contribution. "
The £750,000 revamp, will see the 400-seat former Edwardian music hall re-fitted to modern safety standards.
It will be resplendent with new mahogany front doors and crystal chandeliers and is scheduled to be opened in February next year.
Epstein also managed 60’s hit makers Cilla Black and Gerry and The Pacemakers before his death from an drugs overdose aged just 32.
www.clickliverpool.com/news/local-news/1211077-beatles-manager-brian-epstein-to-be-honoured-with-theatre-in-his-name.html