The ''Yellow Submarine'' in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

is a large model representation of the submarine featured in the 1968 animated film '' Yellow Submarine'', inspired by the 1966 song of the same name on

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' album '' Revolver''. It was built by a group of about 80 apprentices from Cammell Laird's shipyard, designed in part by Mr L Pinch, a draughtsman at the yard, for exhibition at the

International Garden Festival The International Garden Festival was a garden festival recognised by the International Association of Horticultural producers (AIPH) and the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which was held in Liverpool, England from 2 May to 14 ...

in Liverpool in 1984. The Submarine was in a garden themed around the Beatles, one of 60 such themed gardens, and was highly popular. The garden took the form of an apple-shaped

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by t ...

, containing symbolic references to the group, and included a bronze statue of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, which now stands at

Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport in Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are operated ...

. The Submarine itself is some 51 feet long (15.62 m) and 15 feet (4.57 m) high, and weighed 18 tons. Built of steel, it has a replica control cabin containing genuine submarine equipment, and twin spiral staircases leading to the bridge, which gave a panoramic view of the garden. These were accessible via doorways at the side. Painted in vivid yellow, the hull was tilted as if about to submerge. After the Festival site closed, the Submarine found a home for several years in Chavasse Park, an open space in the city centre, where it was readily visible to traffic entering the city centre from the south. It was retired from public view when its condition deteriorated, but was renovated to find a new home at

in 2005, with airport boss Neil Pakey stating 'Other airports have the Concorde, we have the Yellow Submarine'.

References

* A Fisher, G Gerstner ''The Art of the Maze''. (1990)

External links

* {{Liverpool B&S Monuments and memorials in Liverpool Monuments and memorials to the Beatles The Beatles' Yellow Submarine 1984 sculptures Steel sculptures in the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in Merseyside Relocated buildings and structures in the United Kingdom