It was a scene that burned hotter than
a comet and was gone almost as fast.Vintage Rock dives into the Mersey to
salvage 20 of the finest beat tunes on vinyl.O
n 25 May 1960, The Cavern
held its first beat concert. The
Liverpool club was the city’s
original dedicated live music hub, but prior
to that fateful evening it had been a jazz
venue. The headliners that night were Rory
Storm And The Hurricanes, with one Ringo
Starr on the drums, playing not jazz but an
energetic, local take on American rock’n’roll
and R&B that became known as Merseybeat.
Gone was the acoustic instrumentation of
its predecessor skiffle, and in came electric
guitars and drumbeats designed for dancing.
For five years, the Mersey scene was the
hottest in the country, with over 300 bands
on a circuit that included The Cavern, The
Iron Door, The Jacaranda and civic venues
such as Wilson Hall and Litherland TownHall. July 1961 saw the arrival of Mersey
Beat, Bill Harry’s music paper dedicated to
chronicling this thriving new movement.
Many bands did stints in Hamburg, where
they could earn better pay and sharpen
their chops, but demand at home was
insatiable for the hottest acts – The Beatles
gave an estimated 292 performances at The
Cavern. Gerry And The Pacemakers took
Merseybeat to the top of the charts in April
1963, followed by the Fab Four, although
many groups never found success beyond
the local scene. By 1965, the Merseybeat
craze had burned out, The Cavern closed
temporarily when it went bankrupt, and
The Beatles left the beat sound behind with
1965’s Rubber Soul – but for five glorious
years, Merseybeat shook the very heavens.BY DAVID WEST
20
I Think Of You
THE MERSEYBEATS
FONTANA (1963)
Originally known as The Mavericks, this quartet
were renamed The Mersey Beats by resident
Cavern DJ Bob Wooler in February 1962, and two
months later their name was tweaked slightly.
Their first session produced Our Day Will Come for
Oriole’s This Is Mersey Beat compilation and they
first entered the charts with It’s Love That Really
Counts (No.24) before I Think Of You reached
No.5. Their heartfelt love songs featured smooth
vocals and gentle instrumentation, a far cry from
their energetic rocking live set, best captured on
The Merseybeats On Stage EP.19
A Little Loving
THE FOURMOST
PARLOPHONE (1964)
Signed by Brian Epstein in 1963, The Fourmost
had been playing together under a variety of
names – The Two Jays, The Four Jays... since 1959.
The group’s lack of songwriting chops was offset
by contributions from Lennon and McCartney,
who gave them their first two singles, Hello Little
Girl and I’m In Love. A Little Loving was the work
of Russell Alquist, who composed for Herman’s
Hermits, The Searchers and crooner Bobby Darin,
and peaked at No.6. As Merseybeat faded, The
Fourmost transitioned to cabaret gigs, mixing
comedy and music.Mer
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Merseybeat Top 20