Beat City 1963

History and music of Liverpool
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hamilton_square
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Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:26 am

Beat City 1963

Post by hamilton_square »

It’s amazing what one finds on YouTube when one isn’t really looking for it.

Sometime during 1963, Associated Rediffusion Television (a UK commercial broadcasting company) commissioned a documentary on the then burgeoning Merseybeat scene called ‘Beat City’. Which was eventually written and presented by a rather plumy voiced Daniel Farson, a well known at the time London based investigative reporter.

Several clips of this documentary have recently surfaced on my YouTube radar.

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Clips 1, 2 and 3 were all taken inside the Cavern in front of a live audience. The first clip is of Faron’s Flamingos on stage performing their energetic version of ‘Do You Love Me’. As per usual, Faron is sweating like the proverbial pig and bouncing round like ‘The Panda Footed Prince of Prance’ as Cavern DJ, Bob Wooler used to call him. Also, nice to hear again some of the drumming tricks that Trevor Morais could get up to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4yz7rsv ... re=related

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The second clip is of a then 15 year-old Chick Graham backed by the Coasters belting out ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu8cMVQi ... re=related

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The third clip is of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and ‘I Can Tell’. Their choreographed stage movements seem very reminiscent of The Shadows. The two people being interviewed during the course of this clip are Pat Davies (then well know locally around the clubs and a close friend of Cilla Black) and Paddy Chambers, who wanted to be a priest but ended up playing for Faron’s Flamingos.

For an English translation of what in effect they were saying in ‘Scouse’ please read the full written transcript of the program linked at the foot of this post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYAL-eBf ... re=related

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The fourth and final clip is inside the Majestic Ballroom, Birkenhead. Ida Holly, sometime girlfriend of John Lennon before he was obliged to make an honest woman of Cynthia Powell, does the announcing. The centrepiece of Earl Preston and the TTs three song set is Cyril (Cy) Tucker doing his regular show-stopping version of ‘My Prayer’. Though to be honest, he doesn’t look all that comfortable in close-up having to lip-sinc the words. Unfortunately, he didn’t do it during this particular performance, perhaps he was too nervous but, I remember seeing him of a number of occasions when he was in full flow, take off his guitar, unclip the microphone for its stand and for dramatic effect, get down on one knee in a simulated praying position to sing the climax of the number. The clip closes with the camera following a car back through the Mersey Tunnel to Liverpool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyKYcxsA ... re=related

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For a full transcript of the ‘Beat City’ documentary written up by Bill Harry, who was also credited as ‘Production Assistant’ on the program, can be viewed at…….

http://mersey-beat.com/a-z/beatcity.shtml
JimN
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Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:12 pm

Re: Beat City 1963

Post by JimN »

I remember that show being broadcast!

It's the reference to My Prayer and to Chick Graham which are the strongest reminders. Of course, for a period of about a year, all the main broadcasters were beating a hasty path to Liverpool to make semi-documentary films. Since there was no real way to video-tape anything on location in those days, it is highly likely that they all still exist - on film - in some vault or other.

Best wishes,

JimN
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