British Academy of Audiology (BAA), the Beatles, and Liverpool: Interview with the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Councilor Steven Rotheram
Douglas L. Beck, AuD, Web content editor, speaks with the Lord Mayor about the BAA, held in Liverpool in November 2008 (and again in November 2009). The Lord Mayor invites audiologists from around the world to visit Liverpool in 2009 and experience the “2008 European Capital of Culture.”
Academy: Good afternoon, Lord Mayor. It’s an honor to meet you.
Lord Mayor: Thanks, Dr. Beck, the pleasure is mine. It’s my first time being surrounded by audiologists, they’re a delightful bunch and we’re honored to have them.
Academy: That’s very kind of you. I have to say Liverpool is a remarkable city. I expected an industrialized waterfront and lots of old ship yards. But the city is absolutely stunning, modern, very beautiful with old and new incredible architecture, lots of shopping, museums and coffee shops, restaurants and pubs, it’s quite remarkable.
Lord Mayor: Yes, we’re very proud of it. It’s come a long way since the founding in 1207. We can boast a fantastic historical heritage, (in fact we have more listed buildings than anywhere in the United Kingdom outside of London), but we also have fantastic contemporary architecture that complements our cityscape.
Academy: So if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask… Frankly, you don’t look old enough to be the Lord Mayor! I was expecting a grandfatherly-type… may I ask how old you are?
Lord Mayor: Well, age is a relative thing. I get to visit a lot of schools and 47 isn’t perceived as being “young” to them, although I am the youngest Lord Mayor of Liverpool in our city’s 801-year history. But seriously, being the Lord Mayor of our great city, and particularly during this important year, has been the most fabulous and humbling experience of my life and it is just an added bonus to be recognized when I am relatively young!
Academy: I suspect the term in office runs one year?
Lord Mayor: That’s right. You serve one year as deputy lord mayor and then the term for the lord mayor is one year, so next year it’ll be someone else.
Academy: So even though I’ve only known you for a few moments, I’ll bet you’re looking out for the other young councilors and giving them each long-term assignments!
Lord Mayor: Absolutely right… it took 800+ years to have me be the youngest, and I don’t want to lose my title so soon!
Academy: I totally understand. I have to admit, as an enormous Beatles fan myself, for me coming here is like going to Mecca. It’s so nice to see all things Beatles.
I can literally buy Beatles pens, playing cards, lunchboxes, scarves, socks and at about 1,000 different shops… but it’s not cheesy, it’s done with pride for local lads that made an incredible and timeless contribution to the world. Well, then again, the socks are a bit cheesy.
Lord Mayor: Yeah, well, as you know Doug, we do make quite a fuss about the Beatles. We have the Beatle museums and tours, their faces are on the buses, their names are on the hotels, their homes are tourist spots and some are part of the National Trust, and they do pull in hundreds of thousands of visitors, maybe millions of visitors annually. But once the visitors get here, and have enjoyed the Beatle stops and sights, they start to see the other attractions; the parks, botanical gardens, the walking areas, the new Liverpool One Shopping Mall into which there was about a billion pounds invested, of course The City Center, the Radio City Tower, of course Albert’s Dock, the Convention Center, and we have the John Lennon International Airport, with a sub-theme “Above Us Only Sky.”
In fact, outside the capital we’re the most “filmed” city in the United Kingdom. And even though the city is 801 years old, there were Romans settlements going back some 8,000 years. We have so much history and arts and culture and we’ve grown from a seaport to a modern city, and we are proud of our achievements and certainly of the Beatles, but I agree, the Beatles socks may be a bit cheesy.
Academy: Another observation is the people I’ve met in the shops and hotels, the taxi drivers, they’re all friendly and actually, they’re pretty funny! Every other person I meet seems to think they’re auditioning to be in the Monty Python cast.
Lord Mayor: Yeah, we’re actually famous for our sense of humor. The people here have a great sense of fun and are renowned for their friendliness and the warmth of our welcome. The humor is really something to behold. It’s rarely overlooked by the visitors. They get it. In fact, someone told me we produce more comedians in Liverpool than any other city in the United Kingdom, but I’m not sure that’s an officially documented statistic.
Academy: And back to the Beatles, if I may… I know they’ve been very generous in supporting the city and civic events through their charitable donations.
Lord Mayor: Yes, indeed, that’s true. The Beatles and their estates have contributed millions of pounds to the city and we could not be more appreciative.
Academy: When I was touring around, I saw the “Fame School” Paul McCartney lent his name to…very impressive.
Lord Mayor: Yes, we’re excited about that one, too. Paul McCartney stepped up and gave the city millions of pounds to support the Fame School—officially called the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts (LIPA). In fact, the building used to be his old school when he was growing up. Sir Paul thought that because Liverpool is synonymous with the arts and culture, we needed an institute that reflected that knowledge, talent, energy, and ability, and sure enough, he put forward some of his own of money to get it done, and it carries his name, and has enabled young people of Liverpool (and across the globe) to pursue their dreams.
Academy: And going back to the British Academy of Audiology (BAA) meeting, I know that was a great success not only for the BAA, but also for the city. I was very happy to learn they’ll be holding the 2009 meeting here, too.
Lord Mayor: Yeah, that’s great for all of us. I hope you’ll be back, Doug, and I hope you’ll extend an invitation to the other 12,000 or so U.S. audiologists to join us for the 2009 BAA event. I can promise them a world-class city, excellent hotels and all the Beatles information they can handle.
Academy: That sounds great, Lord Mayor. Thanks so much for your hospitality and your time. Again, it’s an honor to meet you.
Lord Mayor: My pleasure, Doug.
Douglas L. Beck, AuD, Board Certified in Audiology, is the Web content editor for the American Academy of Audiology.