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Liverpool has a lengthy tradition of music both classical and pop. It is well known for the Beatles (recording 18 UK and 20 US number-one singles). Its pop and rock music scene has also been important in the development of a number of other bands and artists since the 1950s. [1]
In 2001, the Guinness Book of Records declared Liverpool the: "City of Pop" due to the many number one records to have emerged from the city. The most famous band to have come from Liverpool is the Beatles which played many early gigs at the Cavern Club.
Many sea shanties specifically refer to Liverpool, such as "Heave Away", "Liverpool Judies", and "Maggie May", which was later performed by the Beatles.
In the 1960s, the city was home to the development of the Merseybeat style of pop music, popularised by artists including Gerry & The Pacemakers. However, even before Merseybeat, Liverpool had successful acts such as: Frankie Vaughan, Lita Roza and Billy Fury. In the late 1970s/early 1980s, Echo & the Bunnymen, A Flock of Seagulls, Teardrop Explodes, the Mighty Wah!, OMD, China Crisis, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Dead or Alive emerged. A punk rock and post-punk scene rose during this period, centred around the venue Eric's on Matthew Street, until its closure in 1980 lead way to newer acts and independent labels with "do-it-yourself" ethos. Record Collector 's Tim Peacock said regions of this movement were documented with five compilation albums: A Trip to the Dentist (1980) for Birkenhead; Jobs for the Boys (1985) and its sequel Son of Jobs for the Boys (1985) for Merseyside; Elegance, Charm & Deadly Danger (1985) for St Helens; and Ways to Wear Coats (1986) for Liverpool in general. [2]
1990s bands that enjoyed success were the Boo Radleys, the La's, the Real People, the Farm and Cast. Peacock said the compilation album Dark Side of the Pool (1991) encapsulated the evolving indie music scene in Liverpool in the early 1990s. [2] During the 2000s bands such as the Zutons, the Wombats and the Coral became popular. As a backlash to this style of guitar pop music, another scene far more influenced by post punk and experimental music has emerged more recently, spearheaded by bands such as Space, Ladytron, Clinic, a.P.A.t.T., Hot Club de Paris and Kling Klang. Rappers such as Tremz, Aystar, Hazey, Still Brickin and Mazza_L20 have also emerged, using strong Scouse accents.
In 2008 World Museum Liverpool (in partnership the Institute of Popular Music at University of Liverpool) created "The Beat Goes On" [3] exhibition charting the history of music in Liverpool in depth, from 1945 to the present day.
The Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) [4] evolved from the Mathew Street Music Festival, which was the largest annual free music festival in Liverpool attracting over 200,000 visitors to the city.
In 2011 the GIT Award [5] - formed through influential Liverpool music blog Getintothis - was founded. Dubbed the 'Scouse Mercury Prize' by NME, the GIT Award celebrated and championed Merseyside's revitalised music scene. Garnering backing from over 90 businesses and with a judging panel including the Guardian, NME, 6 Music and founder Peter Guy from the Liverpool Echo, the GIT Award nominated 12 artists representing the best artists from that calendar year.
Liverpool hosts several music festivals each year which celebrate and represent the different cultures within the city. Africa Oye [6] is the UK's largest free festival of African music.
Each year the Liverpool Irish Festival [7] is held featuring mostly folk music celebrating the cultural links between Liverpool and Ireland. Liverpool contains a very large Irish population.
In 2017 the music event Melodic Distraction became a radio station in and serving Liverpool. [8]
The 1960s saw the emergence of Merseybeat and the Cavern Club, the late 1970s and early 1980s a punk scene centred on another club, Eric's also on Mathew Street, while 1990s dance clubs included Quadrant Park, Cream and more recently Chibuku. [9] The majority of the city's largest and most popular music venues and clubs are located at Concert Square, Mathew Street, Hardman Street and Hope Street, though the Baltic Triangle region of the city has seen a growth in popularity, with a number of venues appearing in previously disused warehouses. Current venues include the Echo Arena Liverpool, East Village Arts Club, Kazimier, Zanzibar, O2 Academy, The Magnet, Camp & Furnace and Leaf on Bold Street. In 2022, the Tung Auditorium opened in the Yoko Ono Lennon Centre. [10]
A number of independent record labels are currently active in the Liverpool scene:
Below is a list of songs by artists from Liverpool that attained the number one position in the UK Singles Chart.
Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early successes helped make popular the Merseybeat sound and launch the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s
The Merseybeats are an English band that emerged from the Liverpool Merseybeat scene in the early 1960s, performing at the Cavern Club along with the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and other similar artists.
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre and developed around Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British and American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle, traditional pop and music hall. It rose to mainstream popularity in the United Kingdom and Europe by 1963 before spreading to North America in 1964 with the British Invasion. The beat style had a significant impact on popular music and youth culture from 1960s movements such as garage rock, folk rock and psychedelic music.
Gerard Marsden MBE was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow band member Freddie Marsden.
"From Me to You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in April 1963 as their third single. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song was the Beatles' first number 1 hit on what became the official UK singles chart but the second, after "Please Please Me", on most of the other singles charts published in the UK at the time. "From Me to You" failed to make an impact in the United States at the time of its initial release. Instead, a 1963 cover version released by Del Shannon resulted in the song's becoming the first Lennon–McCartney track to enter the US pop charts. The Beatles' original was re-released in the US in January 1964 as the B-side to "Please Please Me", and reached number 41.
Allan Richard Williams was a British businessman and promoter who was the original booking agent and first manager of the Beatles. He drove the van to take the young band to Hamburg, West Germany, in 1960, where they gained the vital show business experience that led to their emergence on the world stage. Williams was also a promoter and agent of a number of other Liverpool rock acts, helping stoke the Merseybeat boom of the early 1960s.
"Ferry Cross the Mersey" is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in late 1964 in the UK and in 1965 in the United States. It was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, reaching number six in the United States and number eight in the UK. The song is from the film of the same name and was released on its soundtrack album. In the mid-1990s, a musical theatre production, also titled Ferry Cross the Mersey, related Gerry Marsden's Merseybeat days; it premiered in Liverpool and played in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
The Remo Four were a 1950s–1960s rock band from Liverpool, England. They were contemporaries of The Beatles, and later had the same manager, Brian Epstein. Its members were Colin Manley, Phil Rogers, Don Andrew, Keith Stokes (vocals/guitar) and Roy Dyke (drums). Andrew and Manley were in the same class at school as Paul McCartney.
Eric's Club was a music club in Liverpool, England. It opened on 1 October 1976 in the basement of The Fruit Exchange Building in Victoria Street, with performances by The Runaways and The Sex Pistols before soon moving around the block to its long-term site on Mathew Street opposite The Cavern Club where The Beatles and other bands of the 1960s played, and became notable for hosting early performances by many punk and post-punk bands.
Frederick James "Bob" Wooler was compère and DJ at The Cavern Club, Liverpool from 1961 until 1967. An important figure in the Merseybeat scene, Wooler was instrumental in introducing The Beatles to their manager, Brian Epstein. In later years, Wooler staged annual Beatles conventions in Liverpool with one-time Beatles manager Allan Williams.
"Hello Little Girl" is one of the first songs written by John Lennon, credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. Written in 1957, it was used as one of the songs at the Beatles unsuccessful Decca audition in 1962, included on the 1995 compilation album Anthology 1. A 1960 home demo recording has never been officially released.
Ferry Cross the Mersey is a 1964 British musical film directed by Jeremy Summers and starring Gerry and the Pacemakers. It was written by David Franden from a story by Tony Warren.
Leslie Charles Maguire was an English musician who was a principal member of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers from 1961 to 1966.
British pop music is popular music, produced commercially in the United Kingdom. It emerged in the mid-to late 1950s as a softer alternative to American rock 'n' roll. Like American pop music it has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, as well as that of the Singles Chart usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs. While these basic elements of the genre have remained fairly constant, pop music has absorbed influences from most other forms of popular music, particularly borrowing from the development of rock music, and utilising key technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes. From the British Invasion in the 1960s, led by The Beatles, British pop music has alternated between acts and genres with national appeal and those with international success that have had a considerable impact on the development of the wider genre and on popular music in general
The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
Spencer Leigh is a BBC Radio presenter and author, with particular expertise in the development of pop and rock music and culture in Britain.
The Dennisons were an English Merseybeat band, that emerged from the Liverpool scene in the early 1960s. Despite their background, and a couple of minor hit singles, they failed to achieve more than a local following and were unable to find a footing on the British Invasion. However, in 1963, Bob Wooler stated that "The Dennisons have created the biggest impact in Liverpool since the Beatles." The band's drummer, Clive Hornby, later became the actor best known for portraying Jack Sugden in British soap opera Emmerdale.
Faron's Flamingos were an English Merseybeat band. Despite their lack of commercial success, they remain an important part of Merseybeat history and have the distinction of being the first major example of the "Mersey Motown" sound with their release of "Do You Love Me".
The Jacaranda is a renowned music venue in Liverpool, closely associated with the rise of the Merseybeat phenomenon in the 1960s. Opened by The Beatles' first manager, Allan Williams, in 1958, it played a key role in launching the band's early careers and provided a stage for local acts like Gerry and the Pacemakers & Rory Storm and The Hurricanes. As the headquarters of independent record label Jacaranda Records, the club continues to operate as a live music venue, record store, and bar, maintaining its place in Liverpool's music scene for over 60 years.
