Beatlemania is a phenomenon common throughout the world since the advent of the famous rock band. However, despite the huge number of fans of The Beatles in Russia, not a single monument dedicated to the group existed in the country until 2009. The Ural Beatles Club and ordinary fans from Yekaterinburg corrected this misunderstanding. The Beatles monument appeared in Russia - in Yekaterinburg (it is he who is represented in the photo).
Liverpool Four
One of the most famous and still popular rock bands - The Beatles - was founded in Liverpool (England) in 1960 and lasted only ten years. However, during this time the group has achieved such popularity and such tremendous musical progress that there is still no one to compare with it. How many foreign artists installed monuments in Russia? The fact that the Beatles monument takes place also speaks in favor of the ubiquitous and irrefutable popularity of the group.
The Beatles Monument, Yekaterinburg: description
The group’s monument is a two-meter, brick-mounted figure made of cast iron according to the Beatles on the Wall project by Vadim Okladnikov. The creators explain the choice of contour figures as the group’s “ephemerality” for Soviet fans - listening was not approved, but records with Beatles songs still came out, sometimes without a title (“Melodies and rhythms of foreign pop” and authorship under the songs: Lennon-McCartney). That is, the group did not seem to exist, but at the same time very many knew about it and listened to it.
The figures were cast at an iron foundry in the city of Mikhailovsk (Sverdlovsk Region) in 2007, two years before the opening of the monument. Interesting fact: John Lennon’s outline was cast on the ninth of October, the musician’s birthday. When the figures were completed, a brick wall was built on the banks of the Iset River, and the surrounding area was decorated with polished granite. A quote from The End (Abbey Road album, 1969) also stretched along the wall:
The love you take is equal to the love you make. - How much love you receive, so much you give.
Today it is easy to find the Beatles monument in Yekaterinburg. You can find his address on any online maps: Gorky Street, 8.
To whom the monument owes its appearance
Participants in the Ural Beatles fan club raised money, as they say, by joint efforts for six years. The city budget refused to allocate money for this project, so enthusiasts held auctions, music marathons, concerts with voluntary fundraising and other similar actions. In total, the project cost two and a half million rubles.
The monument was unveiled on May 23, 2009. Honorary participants in the opening were members of The Quarryman - created by John Lennon, then brought Paul McCartney there, and he, in turn, George Harrison. After the creation of The Beatles, the remaining members of The Quarryman simply broke up, but in 1994, two former members - Rod Davis and John Lowe - reunited for further creativity. It was they who opened the monument.
Other monuments of The Beatles
Despite the fact that the Beatles monument in Yekaterinburg is the first and only in Russia, in the territory of the former USSR other monuments dedicated to the rock group still exist.
The first among them was installed in Donetsk in 2006. It is located at the entrance to Liverpool Cafe. It was created by sculptor Vladimir Antipov. The material from which the monument is made is plastic in bronze paint. The height of the figures is about two meters, the group is depicted during a performance against the backdrop of a mosaic British flag.
Next in the territory of the Commonwealth of Independent States was opened the Beatles monument in Kazakhstan's Alma-Ata in 2007. Bronze figures depict John Lennon sitting on a bench with a guitar, and behind him - the rest of the group. The sculpture was made by Eduard Ghazaryan and is located on Mount Kok-Tyube.
Around are the speakers, of which the Beatles songs constantly sound. In St. Petersburg, they have not yet managed to create a monument dedicated to the Beatles group.
But there is John Lennon Street, as well as a museum and bas-reliefs located on Ligovsky Prospect, depicting the Yellow Submarine and portraits of the famous four.
Is it the first?
After the Beatles monument was unveiled, and Yekaterinburg proclaimed itself the first Russian city to do so, fans from the city of Kogalym (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area) were indignant. It turned out that back in 2003, a six-meter-high stele was created: an apple with a Beatles plate in the center, a star and an electric guitar. Materials - concrete, steel and apolik. But this stele was not positioned as a monument dedicated specifically to the group, it was dedicated to the "good old rock and roll" in general. However, one of the stele installers, Denis Sligun, did not want to give the championship to Yekaterinburg. The author of the project, Farit Burganov, said that by all indications this is a monument dedicated specifically to the Beatles group, but he is not going to argue: "The more Beatles monuments, the better!"
But this stele is still not included in the register of monuments, which means that officially the Beatles from Yekaterinburg remain the first and only in Russia. The main thing is that the group is remembered to this day, and even children know its songs.