PENNY LANE TO BE RENAMED?

Last updated: Sunday, July 9, 2006

PENNY LANE TO BE RENAMED?

Penny Lane, the street immortalised by THE BEATLES in a song of the same name, could be renamed because of its links with the slave trade.

Both JOHN LENNON and SIR PAUL McCARTNEY grew up near Liverpool, England, road and famously sang about it on 1960s album THE MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR.

However the tourist hotspot could be lost forever after it was revealed the street was named in honour of slave trader JAMES PENNY.

To improve race relations in the city, it has been proposed the route be altered to commemorate the life of local black teenager ANTHONY WALKER instead, who was brutally murdered in a racist attack in Liverpool last year (05).

City Councillor BARBARA MACE says, "My proposal is to rename several streets in the city centre which are named after the most notorious slave traders."

However, McCartney's brother MIKE is furious at the plans, and insists it should be residents, not politicians, who vote on the proposals.

He says, "PENNY LANE is quite a wonderful song and being able to go and visit the street means an awful lot to people.

"It is a particularly sensitive time for the black community in Liverpool and it should be up to them to decide."

| Sunday, July 9, 2006

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