Mural honours the forgotten force behind The Beatles

A mural celebrating a musician who has been described as the "forgotten sixth Beatle" is set to be unveiled later by the community he helped to shape.

The artwork in Liverpool's Toxteth area honours Lord Woodbine, a mentor to The Beatles and an icon of the city's Caribbean community.

The Trinidadian calypsonian, steelpan player and promoter became an influential figure in Liverpool's Caribbean music scene and played a role in the Fab Four's early years.

His daughter Carol Phillips said: "We hope it [the mural] will be a catalyst for the celebration and visibility of the Liverpool 8 [district] music scene and the contributions musicians like my Dad made."

Lord Woodbine, whose real name was Harold Adolphus Phillips, arrived in England in 1948 as a member of the Windrush generation after serving in the Royal Air Force.

As a leading light in Liverpool's Caribbean music scene, he introduced calypso and steelpan music to wider audiences through bands including Lord Woodbine and his Trinidadians and the All-Caribbean Steel Band.

He was also known for promoting The Beatles before their rise to fame and driving the band to Hamburg in 1960, where he performed alongside them.

Phillips said: "The mural is for the whole family of Liverpool 8, not just our family.

"Many of them [musicians] 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."

The mural, painted by Liverpool artist John Culshaw, is the latest work commissioned by charity Mandela8 as part of a series celebrating community role models and local heroes from Liverpool's Caribbean and black communities.

Previously commissioned murals in Liverpool include Liverpool Football Club's first black player Howard Gayle; photographer and urban griot Leroy Cooper; swimming hero James Clarke, and the first black South African President, Nelson Mandela.

Chair of Mandela8, Sonia Bassey MBE, said: "To finally see Lord Woodbine take his rightful place in the landscape of our city is incredibly significant."

Bassey, said: "Their [Liverpool 8's] contributions remain largely invisible in the story the city tells about its musical heritage.

"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."

Woodbine preferred modest living over any exploitation of The Fab Four's fame.

Along with his wife Helen, he died in a fire at their home in Toxteth in 2000. He was 72.

His mural will be unveiled at 14:00 BST at Hillaby Close in Toxteth.

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