I was in Liverpool this weekend and was once more bowled over by the pace of change. However one of the most disturbing things I discovered threatens to fundamentally undermine the almost consensual view that the Capital of Culture is a good thing.
The Blue Angel (aka 'The Razz') is a famous nightclub, famous for hosting The Beatles in their early years, for not renovating since then, and thus becoming a den of iniquity and dilapidated debauchery. If you could smell the stench, you weren't drunk enough, and a lot of drinking went on in this classic student haven. You could take a breather by going outside onto the terrace that overlooked degenerated buildings: a pile of rubble that reflected Liverpool at the time.
Then, a few years later, the majestic image of urban decay began to be cleared up and in the blink of an eye apartment complexes had arisen, violating the view, thus sending you back inside.
Now, the inhabitants of those apartments have complained to the Council about noise, the police seized the decks and the future of The Razz looks bleak. There's a petition to save it, but we all know how these things work.
So we're left with a cruel, unintended outcome. A city seeks to promote its cultural heritage and in doing so builds scores of unoccupied apartments that shut down the genuine cultural highlights of the city. It's all very well having open days at the Tate, or toddlers groups at the Maritime Museum, but the essence of Liverpool's legacy is the raw but consistently appealing of venues like the Razz. Farewell Cream. Farewell Coopers Emporium. The Razz's demise does not stem from unpopularity, but from property holders seeking to tear through the social fabric of the city.
Perhaps the biggest mistake in Liverpool's relationship with it's cultural heritage was the closing down of the Cavern, and subsequent decision to build a new version. You'd hope that the very point of Capital of Culture is to never make the same mistake. Well if the Razz closes down it will join a growing list of clubs that failed to match the sanitised corporate image of a European city on the river, an archipelago of Lloyds Bar One's, Weatherspoons, and the like. The economic history of Liverpool is waiting to be rewritten. I'm skeptical about the Capital of Culture boondoggle, and pessimistic about the long term effects.
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