A mural honouring Harold Adolphus Phillips, known as Lord Woodbine, the man often called the "forgotten sixth Beatle," is being painted in Liverpool. The artwork, created by John Culshaw, will be the latest in a series commissioned by local charity Mandela8 to celebrate heroes in the Caribbean community.
Mandela8 aims to "change the face of the community we live in by portraying positive models and their achievements." Previous murals have honoured LFC's first Black player Howard Gayle, photographer Leroy Cooper, swimming hero James Clarke, and Nelson Mandela himself.
A life that shaped Liverpool's music scene
Lord Woodbine came to Britain from Trinidad in 1943 and served as a Royal Air Force flight engineer during the Second World War. He returned to the UK in 1948 aboard the HMT Empire Windrush and settled in Liverpool, where he worked as a musician, calypsonian, composer, band leader, and manager of The Jacaranda Club.
He was said to be the first singer-songwriter John Lennon and Paul McCartney "ever encountered." In a music scene dominated by cover acts, he showed the pair that writing songs was possible. Lord Woodbine promoted the band before they reached stardom and drove them to Hamburg in 1960 before performing alongside them.
He preferred a modest lifestyle and died in a house fire alongside his wife Helen at their home in Toxteth in 2000, aged 71.
Unveiling details and community reactions
The official unveiling will take place on Monday, October 19, at 2pm on Hillaby Close, L8 8LY.
Carol Phillips, Lord Woodbine's daughter, said: "The mural is for the whole family of Liverpool 8, not just our family, and we hope it will be a catalyst for the celebration and visibility of the Liverpool 8 music scene and the contributions musicians like my Dad made."
She added: "Many of them played a prominent role in the growth of Liverpool's music scene and on the international stage, yet some of their stories and contributions have remained unsung. It is important that we now recognise, celebrate and make visible the part they played in Liverpool's musical history."
Sonia Bassey MBE, chair of Mandela8, said: "This mural has been 18 months in development, so to finally see Lord Woodbine take his rightful place in the landscape of our city is incredibly significant. Woodbine, and many others from Liverpool 8, played a significant role in shaping the music scene in Liverpool and beyond, yet their contribution remains largely invisible in the story the city tells about its musical heritage."
She added: "Our role is to help change that, to ensure our community heroes are seen, their stories are told and their contribution is recognised for generations to come. We are enormously grateful to Lord Woodbine's family for trusting and supporting us in bringing this mural to life. We also want to thank our partners, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayor's Fund, Liverpool BID Company, Northern Roots, Riverside Group and The Accommodation Project."
Sarah Wall, head of communities & livelihoods at Riverside, said: "We are thrilled to see this mural unveiled and delighted to be supporting Mandela8 once again as they bring another important project to life. It is fantastic to see the life and legacy of Lord Woodbine recognised in this way. We hope the mural will inspire a new generation of Toxteth residents and Liverpudlians to take pride in their community and celebrate Liverpool's rich cultural heritage."
Reclaiming a piece of shared history
Stephen Nze, ambassador at Mandela8, said: "It has been an honour and a pleasure to work once again with John Culshaw on Mandela 8's fifth mural in the series, celebrating community members and the achievements of Black people across our great city. This mural is particularly special to me because of the man at its centre. As a child, I knew him simply as 'Woody' or 'Mr Woodbine'. It was only as I grew older that I began to discover the remarkable accomplishments, talents and contribution of this great man."
He added: "For me, there has always been a deep sense that too much of his story — and the wider contribution of Black people to Liverpool — was overlooked, forgotten or written out of our history. As a community, we have felt that this was a great injustice. We at Mandela 8, are helping to put that right. This mural is about more than celebrating one remarkable individual; it is about reclaiming a piece of our shared history and making sure that future generations know the story of this great man, who arrived on the shores of our Liverpool city and made Liverpool 8 his home. It is a privilege to play a part in setting the record straight and ensuring that his legacy, and the legacy of so many others, is seen, remembered and celebrated."
Mural artist John Culshaw said: "I'm so happy to be part of this project. Doing my research for this project, I got to learn about Harold and the pivotal role he played in the Liverpool music scene. Not just in the early days of the young Beatles, but introducing calypso and an exotic flavour to the scene, that future musicians could learn from and influence their own music. I think this among many others musical influences are what has made Liverpool a hotbed for unique talents."
