Finale for the Sea’s Song 2024
In 2002 an extraordinary sculpture appeared on Blackpool’s promenade. Commissioned by Blackpool Council, The Blackpool High Tide Organ harnessed the power of the sea using the swell of water at high tide to push air into a series of organ pipes creating musical chords which serenaded the high tide. It was the musical manifestation of the sea. Now it is no longer there after a campaign by the artists to have it removed after 20 years of neglect.
A masterpiece of science, art, mathematics the project involved engineers, astronomers, meteorologists, artists and musicians. It became world famous but despite repeated attempts by the artists who created the feature, it was never maintained by Blackpool Council.
The core ten steel that forms the main structure has now corroded in the toxic, salty air of the seaside. The pipes on the sea wall have gradually become loose during its 20-year life and without maintenance have worn consequently, for the last 6 years the organ has not performed at its best. It’s a woeful insult to visitors – both local and international – who have enjoyed a unique sculpture. A small amount of maintenance would have sustained the song of the sea but now instead it is being decommissioned at a cost far greater.
It is not the only artwork which is being removed, the High Tide Organ was one of a series of works that made up The Great Promenade Show. In twenty years, there has been little or no maintenance on many of these works. The Council appears unwilling to support and maintain the commissions that they had thought would raise the visibility of this seaside resort. The same maintenance issue exists in many other local authorities. They have a budget to install but not to maintain.
Whilst the council say that they do not have a maintenance budget, they did find £2.6 million to commission The Comedy Carpet, a collection of End of the Pier puerile humour set in the ground, crammed with sexist jokes. The Great Promenade Show was an attempt to get away from this retrograde ‘kiss me quick’ image in order to give Blackpool a new direction. One day this may also be removed as Blackpool catches up with current, more inclusive attitudes.
The artists who created the Blackpool High Tide Organ have never received an apology or an adequate explanation for the neglect. It is to be hoped that other local authorities can learn a lesson from this tragedy.
BUT it is not the end for the high tide organ because above all it is a concept and wherever sea rises and falls, a tide organ can be built and at a time when we need our energy to be renewable, a tide organ is the perfect symbol of mining the sea’s timeless power. And in a small land surrounded by sea, earth and moon can combine to make the eternal clean engine.
So, we have organ pipes, if any seaside location wants to rejoice in the sea’s energy they can.