Sir Paul McCartney has lent his support to save an iconic Liverpool venue.
St Luke’s Church, also known as the Bombed Out Church, was almost destroyed in 1941 during World War 2 and reopened as a public arts venue in 2007.
But after local funding was cut, a crowdfunding campaign was launched to raise cash to maintain the church grounds – and now McCartney has given his support to the project.
He says on his website: “The people of Liverpool should do everything possible to keep this venue open for the use of the people and run by the people. It’s a place that is regularly staffed by students from the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts and people of all ages, religions and backgrounds.
“It would be a terrible shame if we lost this cultural icon.”
McCartney has been joined in supporting the drive by Yoko Ono.
More than £20,000 was raised by the appeal and an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund will now be issued to further fund restoration work.
Curator Ambrose Reynolds says: “It means the world for us to have the support of this international legend. The tremendous support we’ve received from the public means we can continue to open the city centre ruined church for music, theatre, art exhibitions and outdoor movie screenings.”
McCartney recently released 30-minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the video shoot for his single Early Days. He is joined in a studio jam by blues musicians and actor Johnny Depp. The track is lifted from his 2013 album New.
