“Penny Lane”, one of the most iconic songs by The Beatles is named after a street in the band’s hometown of Liverpool. Now, it has come into focus during the worldwide quest for racial justice.
The Line of Best Fit (LOBF) reports that in the second week of June, the signs for this street were defaced “following reports of the street being named after slave trader James Penny.”
This prompted, Steve Rotherham, the city mayor to say that, “If it is as a direct consequence of that road being called Penny Lane because of James Penny, then that needs to be investigated.”
He added, “Something needs to happen and I would say that sign and that road may well be in danger of being renamed. But, of course, there is no evidence that is the fact.”
“I’m not pretending or I wouldn’t presume to tell people in communities in the Liverpool city region what they should be thinking. It needs to be investigated and then, if it’s found as a direct link then action can be taken.”
In related news, the same culture outlet reported that London based record label “Whities” has changed its name to AD 93. LOBF ties this to similar moves by Republic Records dropped the term “urban” from its company vocabulary, the Grammys updated a few category titles, also dropping the term urban, and a record label, formerly titled One Little Indian Records, changed its name to One Little Independent Records.
