Cilla Black statue unveiled as Cavern Club celebrates 60 years
A life-size bronze statue of Cilla Black has been unveiled outside Liverpool's Cavern Club as the venue celebrates its 60th anniversary. The club, credited with launching the career of The Beatles, opened its doors on 16 January 1957 as a jazz cellar.
Crowds gathered in Mathew Street to see the sculpture which shows a young Cilla performing one of her early songs. The TV celebrity and 1960s singing star, who died in 2015, started work as a cloakroom attendant at the club.
It was commissioned by Black's sons Robert, Ben and Jack Willis, who said they backed the idea after being moved by the response from the city following their mother's death.
Robert Willis said they wanted to "donate it as a small gesture of gratitude to this great city for their wonderful outpouring of love and affection for our mother", adding that he was "thrilled" with the statue.
His mother would have been "very flattered, proud and honoured", he said. One of the sculptors, Andy Edwards from Stoke-on-Trent, said "it's the story of the birth of that period in Liverpool's musical culture" and it was important the city remembered her.
Source: BBC News
