Stage set for statue of singer and city’s ‘greatest export’

The David Whitfield International Appreciation Society raised around £40,000 towards a bronze statue of the star, which will go up in the garden outside Hull New Theatre, where he performed during the 1960s.

The ceremony will be followed in the evening by Hull Salutes David Whitfield, a concert featuring the Hull-born tenor’s most popular and much-loved songs.

Local tenor Martin P. Jackson and special guests “The Bournemouth Bombshell” Diane James and international tenor Le-Roi Moralles will perform a range of the crooner’s hit songs, including Cara Mia, Answer Me, and Rags To Riches.

The society’s former chairman David Fewlass said: “We are absolutely thrilled. It is a fitting tribute to what was without a doubt Hull’s greatest export in the 1950s and early 1960s.

“Sheila will be unveiling the statue, when I spoke to her she was absolutely delighted.”

The statue which shows the artist with microphone in hand and as if leaning out towards the audience, was crafted by Barnsley sculptor Graham Ibbeson, who created the statue of comedian Eric Morecambe, which stands in Morecambe, Lancashire and legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.

One of the problems, he has said, was his regular features: “David Whitfield was a good-looking guy – unlike Eric Morecambe, Laurel and Hardy and Benny Hill.”

The Hull-born artist, who began his singing career as a choirboy at St Peter’s Church, notched up a string of hits in the 1950s and was the most successful British male singer in the US at the time. He named his house in Anlaby “Cara Mia” after the song which gave him a gold disc and a second UK Number one.

Tickets are available from Hull City Hall box office, the Wilson Centre, or by calling 01482 300300. Book online at www.hullcc.gov.uk/hullnewtheatre .