Statue of Eleanor Rigby, Liverpool

The Statue of Eleanor Rigby can be found on the pavement of Stanley Street, a couple of blocks from the Cavern Club on Mathew Street. A sculpture of an apparently middle aged woman, wearing a head scarf and holding a hand bag, it is placed on a bench with a space for visitors to sit next to it.

Dedicated to “all the lonely people” of Liverpool, it was crafted, remarkably enough, by English entertainer Tommy Steele, who had a lesser known talent for sculpture. London-based performer Steele donated the statue to Liverpool out of fondness for performing in the city. He claims to have placed a number of items inside the sculpture, including a four leafed clover, a football sock and a page of the Bible.

The statue is of course a tribute to the Beatles’ hit song ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Released in 1966, it was a No.1 hit in the UK. The title character is portrayed as a melancholy soul, reflected in her solitary, bedraggled appearance in Steele’s sculpture. Eleanor Rigby is a fictional character, though the name has been found on a gravestone in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton. The ‘real’ Eleanor Rigby died in 1939, and her tomb has become an attraction for many Beatles fans visiting the city.