The Taste of The Liverpudlians

[RJHC]

_I LOOK AT ALL THE EXCELLENT GROUPS THAT CAME

FROM LIVERPOOL LIKE ; THE SEARCHERS , THE

BEATLES , GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS , BILLY J.

KRAMER , THE SWINGING BLUEJEANS , THE MERSEYBEATS

, AND I WONDER WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE . NONE

OF THESE GROUPS WOULD HAVE MADE IT BIG IF AT

FIRST THEY DIDN'T SATISFY THE LOCAL PUBLIC .

_THE PEOPLE THERE MUST HAVE HAD AN IMMENSE AMOUNT

OF TASTE . THE SEARCHERS , BEATLES OR ANY OF THEM

HAD TO SATISFY THIS PUBLIC IN ORDER TO EARN THEIR

SHILLINGS AND POUNDS OR THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO

PLAY THE IRON DOOR OR THE CAVERN MUCH LESS THE

LONDON PALLADIUM OR THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW . THESE

GROUPS WENT TO HAMBURG AND LEARNED THINGS THERE

BUT THEY STILL HAD TO COME BACK TO LIVERPOOL AND

PLAY TO THE LIVERPUDLIAN AUDIENCES .

_30 MILES DOWN THE ROAD , MANCHESTER ALSO

PRODUCED EXCELLENT GROUPS LIKE ; HERMAN'S

HERMITS , FREDDY AND THE DREAMERS THE HOLLIES ,

THE DAKOTAS , WAYNE FONTANA AND THE MINDBENDERS .

I OFTEN TIMES THINK THESE GROUPS LEARNED THE

MERSEY SOUND FROM LIVERPOOL OR THEY HELPED TO

DEVELOP IT WITH CROSS INTERACTION WITH THE

LIVERPUDLIAN GROUPS . YET THESE GROUPS HAD TO

SATISFY THE PUBLIC IN MANCHESTER . THERE WAS A

LOT OF THIS TASTE RUNNING AROUND IN NORTHWEST

ENGLAND !

_REMEMBER IN AN EARLIER POST I MENTIONED THAT

JIMI HENDRIX'S AUDIENCE WAS ZONKED OUT OF THEIR

HEADS . IT SEEMS THAT ALMOST EVERY ROCK STAR IS

A PRODUCT OF THE TASTE OF THEIR AUDIENCE .

[admin]

RJHC: I have stayed up nights thinking about this one. At the risk of boring you out of your head here is my take on theImportance of Liverpool. This was initially written with The Beatles in mind but I consider that it applies to Liverpool groups in general. I am sorry there really should be a Readers' Digest condensed version. For the extended version, just click on each photo as there is a story behind each one of them.

[RJHC]

_I HAVE SEEN YOUR IMPORTANCE OF LIVERPOOL SITE

BEFORE . THERE ARE OTHER TOUGH CITIES , BUT NONE

HAVE PRODUCED THIS MUCH EXCELLENCE AS LIVERPOOL

AND MANCHESTER .

_ RIGHT NOW THE MEAN STREETS OF CITIES ARE

PRODUCING GANSTA RAPPERS . NOT MUCH TASTE THERE .

[admin]

I believe that Liverpools isolation from London allowed a very different sound, with its own unique properties, to emerge without being excessively shaped by the record industry.

[S.J._Dibai]

Peter, that is an excellent article--so intriguing, in fact, that I have bookmarked it and plan to reread it a few times. Your multidisciplinary analysis of The Beatles' success and the "Liverpool Sound" was not, in my opinion, boring or too long, but then again, I am a student of history and a rock 'n' roll enthusiast. Now, RJHC, the Manchester scene......that's an interesting one to think about. Maybe the sound did spread there from Liverpool, or there were socio-cultural and historical factors involved there, as well.......would anyone who is more knowledgeable in this subject like to comment?

[scouser]

I think that the Manchester music scene was a direct offshoot of MerseyBeat in that it benefited greatly from its proximity to Liverpool. Many of us Liverpool bands had regular gigs in the greater Manchester and the surrounding small towns, but these did not come about until the advent of the Mersey Sound. This is not meant to imply that Manchester did not have any clubs of its own. Because Manchester was just 30 miles or so from Liverpool, up the East Lancs Road, anything that happened in one was liable to have a socio/cultural impact on the other. This certainly proved to be the case with regard to music. But even so, Manchester only boasted one major venue during the MerseyBeat era - The Oasis Club. The major Manchester groups such as The Hollies, Freddie & the Dreamers and Herman's Hermits relied on the 'pool for the majority of their local gigs before national fame provided them a greater and more diverse audience.

[admin]

Scouser, SJ and RJHC: The Liverpool/Manchester region of the UK really rocked the world with its music, the impact of which is still felt today. We realized forty years ago that something big was happening, we just didn't realize how big it would become. It has always amazed me how little has been written, in the relative sense, about the factors that may have been responsible for this unique music. Invasion has been a good descriptor indeed.

[scouser]

I agree with you on that point. In reality it is not hard to understand, given that the kids that bought the records back then had no immediate interest beyond the instant gratification of the music itself and the personalities of the musicians who made it. I think that it is only in retrospect that we search for understanding as to what made such phenomena as this possible.

[S.J._Dibai]

Scouser: Thank you for your comments. I never realized that the Liverpool/Manchester relationship was so, shall we say, symbiotic. Peter, do you have any connections to a publishing company? Perhaps you could extend your "Importance of Liverpool" into a book-length publication. (I know it's not as easy as it sounds, but it would certainly be an interesting prospect.)

[carr]

Peter Mc Cormack wrote" I believe that Liverpools isolation from London allowed a very different sound, with its own unique properties, to emerge without being excessively shaped by the record industry."

Right on the button.. I come from Wolverhampton (Birmingham) for the purposes of this post about halfway between Liverpool and London and was 14 when the Beatles Broke the charts with "Love me do". I started playing at 16 and by 18 was touring extensively throughout England.( So much for the credentials but there is relevancy)
At the time, London was producing sacharine sweet rubbish, much of it manufactured by the record companies.That the Beatles should shake the buying public to the core is very understandable given the pap that was served up.... that it happened from Liverpool is , in m y opinion a combination of isolation from London, the local club/dance hall environment, pent up public frustration, the "long time onthe road/ in hamburg boredom syndrome" and the exposure to american R & R albums.
If you can imagine a band of youngsters doing 6,7,8 hour sets probably based around 30 to 40 items that they liked but padded out out to "mach shau" with oldies but goldies, a large dose of cynicism and boredom , prellied to the eyeballs, and the oldies tempoed up the help stay awake, you get the basic ingredients for something hot..
Take my home town, mid way way between Liverpool and London... no port , introspective, no club scene to talk of, and no definitive sound. It wasnt until well after the advent of the Beatles that any kind of rock scene arrived but no definitive sound arrived with it. There was plenty Of talent ... Robert Plant John Bonham ( Led Zeppelin) Roy Wood Jeff Lynne ( Move ELO Wizzard) Christine Perfect ( Fleetwood Mac) Jim Lea Noddy Holder ( Slade) Glen Hughes ( Trapeze Deep Purple etc etc but no original Sound.. . The nearest to an original sound was probably Slade..not my personal cup of tea but it was different.( One other exception was a Birmingham band called The Uglies who wrote all of their own material, as I recall. They never made it big time despite IMO very recordable material but they disappeared over time). Why no identifiable sound from my home town? The Liverpool ingredients were missing.

[scouser]

Peter McCormack's statement, " I believe that Liverpool’s isolation from London allowed a very different sound, with its own unique properties, to emerge without being excessively shaped by the record industry." and John Westwood's comment, "At the time, London was producing saccharine sweet rubbish, much of it manufactured by the record companies" are both valid interpretations of what problems and conditions effectively contributed to the rise of the phenomena known as MerseyBeat.

From our point of view - as a musician, playing at the time, in Liverpool in the early sixties - we saw ourselves thumbing our noses at the London groups with their fancy stage suits and intricate choreography. Instead of the suits we wore leather jackets and jeans. Instead of dance steps we stamped our feet. This because, for one, most of us couldn't afford the stage outfits and we chose to see the choreography as 'sissy' and a sellout. Of course, not all of the Liverpool groups felt that way. Some, along with the London groups, were doing their best to emulate the Americans who, if nothing else, were extremely professional in their appearance and their stagecraft. With this in mind, it's easy to see that perhaps Liverpool's geographical distance from London did not have as much impact on this condition as did their tremendous soceo/economic differences.

The observations about the conduct of the record companies are also true. They saw their mandate as cashing in on this new American music trend, in every way possible. Tin Pan Alley in London was almost a replica of the "music mill" at 1650 Broadway in New York City.

It has been said that Rock'n'Roll, in its purest form, only existed for the first couple of years after which it became a constant regurgitation of the same old music, over and over. In its broadest context, I don't think that anyone can really argue with that? Of course, the turning point was that the British, in copying American music to the best of their ability, came up with their own unique sound. In essence, American Rock'n'Roll became "Rock" and England's contribution to the World.