Peter Hooton named as chair of new Beatles Legacy Group
The Farm's Peter Hooton's to head up a new Beatles Legacy Group, set up to get the most out of the Fab Four's economic benefit to Liverpool.
The Farm's Peter Hooton's to head up a new Beatles Legacy Group, set up to get the most out of the Fab Four's economic benefit to Liverpool.
The Group was established following a report released earlier this month which revealed that legacy of the group is worth £81.9m to the city’s economy and supports 2,335 jobs.
Joining Peter on the group will be Director of Culture Claire McColgan MBE, Marketing Liverpool Director Chris Brown, Chief Executive of the Liverpool BID Company Bill Addy and Dr Mike Jones who was co-author of the report and is from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Popular Music.
An initial meeting has already taken place which established that the aim of the Legacy Group Peter Hooton said: “'I'm delighted that I've been asked by the Mayor to Chair the Beatles Legacy Group. “I've always been passionate and proud of Liverpool's musical heritage especially our most famous sons The Beatles.
“I hope the Beatles Legacy group can come up with strategies and ideas to enhance the already superb attractions the city has to offer, in order to attract even more visitors in the future to our 'City of Music'"
“The report highlighted the need to work with and engage with young people so I look forward to exploring all options around this with the group.”
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “The Beatles legacy report was a fascinating insight, and although it was encouraging to see just how successful the current offer is, if we want to build on this we need to look at the bigger picture and improve the experience across the board.
“Setting up a Legacy Group was one of the main recommendations of the report and from the outset, I wanted an artist to be the Chair and Peter was my first choice – he understands the industry, and the value of the Beatles to Liverpool and will always look at the bigger picture in terms of making decisions that are best for the city and the city’s reputation"
“After an informal meeting the wheels are already in motion – each member of the group brings different expertise to the table which will result in us building on what is already in place and introducing new initiatives to make sure that fans from the UK and across the world have an unforgettable Beatles experience for all the right reasons.”
The Beatles Legacy Group is set to have its first official meeting in March.