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Spencer Leigh | |
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 Headshot of Spencer Leigh | |
| Born | 1 February 1945 Waterloo, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation(s) | Radio presenter, author, obituarist |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouse | Anne Leigh |
| Website | Spencerleigh.co.uk |
Spencer Leigh (born 1 February 1945) [1] is a BBC Radio presenter and author, with particular expertise in the development of pop and rock music and culture in Britain.
Leigh started broadcasting on BBC Radio Merseyside in the early 1970s. His first series, No Holds Bard, was based around the Mersey poets. His music programme On the Beat ran continuously from 1985 to 2020 on BBC Radio Merseyside. Over the years, Leigh interviewed thousands of musicians on the show. [2] The entire collection of 2,027 programmes has been given to Liverpool's Central Library, and there is an on-going project to archive them. Some one-off series have been given to the British Library.
His first book was Paul Simon - Now and Then, published in 1973, which was the first biography of the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Since then, Leigh has written, or collaborated on, over two dozen books. Many of his books relate to The Beatles or Merseybeat, and he has interviewed many people connected to the Liverpool 1960s scene. There have been several one-off series on BBC Radio Merseyside, the best known being Let's Go Down the Cavern (1981), which was also broadcast on local BBC stations throughout the UK. [3]
Leigh has written the sleeve notes or CD booklets for over 300 albums. [3] He writes obituaries of musicians for The Guardian , The Independent , [2] and the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ; he has also written extensively for Record Collector , Country Music People and Now Dig This. [3] He has a weekly 'My City' column every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo .
His history of British pop before the Beatles, Halfway To Paradise (1996), has been expanded and issued in two volumes as British Pop Before The Beatles, available only on Kindle. He has written a series of musical biographies for McNidder & Grace: Frank Sinatra (updated with 50 pages of lists in 2022), Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Simon & Garfunkel. [4]
For the sixtieth anniversary of the Beatles' first Parlophone single, "Love Me Do", he and Mike Jones wrote The Road to Love Me Do, which was published in September 2022. [5] It tells the story of Merseybeat through the Liverpool artists who came before the Beatles, and details numerous private recordings made by local bands prior to October 1962. The music is highlighted with QR codes, and is the first such book to use QR codes in this way.
Spencer Leigh has also written or collaborated on the following books with other authors:
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1957.
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 Fourmost are an English Merseybeat band that recorded in the 1960s. Their biggest UK hit single was "A Little Loving" in 1964.
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.
Sir Thomas Hicks, known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.
William Ellis Kinsley is an English musician, who was lead vocalist and bassist with The Merseybeats until 1966. The group disbanded in January 1966 to resurface as a duo called The Merseys. They recorded The McCoys' song "Sorrow" with the band before embarking on a solo career, where he recorded "Bye Bye Baby", a typical Merseybeat tune, followed by the singles "Annabella", and "You Make My Day".
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.
Ronald Wycherley, better known by his stage name Billy Fury, was an English musician. An early star of rock and roll, he spent 332 weeks on the UK singles chart. His hit singles include "Wondrous Place", "Halfway to Paradise" and "Jealousy". Fury also maintained a film career, notably playing rock performers in Play It Cool in 1962 and That'll Be the Day in 1973.
The Searchers are an English Merseybeat group who flourished during the British Invasion of the 1960s. The band's hits include a remake of the Drifters' 1961 hit, "Sweets for My Sweet"; "Sugar and Spice" ; remakes of Jackie DeShannon's "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room"; a cover of the Orlons' "Don't Throw Your Love Away"; and a cover of the Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9". With the Swinging Blue Jeans, the Searchers tied for being the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have a hit in the US when their "Needles and Pins" and the Swinging Blue Jeans' "Hippy Hippy Shake" both reached the Hot 100 on 7 March 1964.
The Swinging Blue Jeans are a four-piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the His Master's Voice label: "Hippy Hippy Shake", "Good Golly Miss Molly", and "You're No Good", issued in 1964. Subsequent singles released that year and the next made no impression. In 1966, their version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Don't Make Me Over" peaked at number 31 in the UK Singles Chart, but the group never charted again.
Liverpool has a lengthy tradition of music both classical and pop. It is well known for the Beatles. Its pop and rock music scene has also been important in the development of a number of other bands and artists since the 1950s.
"Oh, Boy!" is a song written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty. The song was included on the album The "Chirping" Crickets and was also released as the A-side of a single, with "Not Fade Away" as the B-side. The song peaked at number 10 on the US charts, number 3 on the UK charts in early 1958, and number 26 in Canada.
Michael John Prendergast, known professionally by the stage name Mike Pender, is an English musician. He was an original founding member of Merseybeat group the Searchers. He is best known as the lead vocalist on many hit singles by the Searchers, including the song "Needles and Pins" and "What Have They Done to the Rain?".
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.
John McNally is an English guitarist. He was a member of The Searchers, a band he formed in 1959, who were a big part of the Mersey sound in the early 1960s. He was the longest serving member of the group, touring in the band from 1957, until their retirement in 2019, as well as their 2023 farewell tour.
The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
Anthony "Tony" Crane MBE is an English musician, who is best known as the co-founder of the Merseybeats. Tony has toured with the Merseybeats since its inception in 1961.
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