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Beginnings. A fellow student, John Ashcroft, introduced Harry to rock 'n' roll records, and the members of Rory Storm & The Hurricanes and Cass & The Cassanovas. Harry carried notebooks with him, collecting information about the local groups, once writing to The Daily Mail: "Liverpool is like New Orleans at the turn of the century ...
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed, particularly in and 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.
- From Me To You – The Beatles. Parlophone (1963) The Beatles are inextricable from the fabric of Merseybeat. On 9 February 1961, the band gave their first performance at The Cavern with a line-up including Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best, while Ringo’s debut with the group at the club came on 19 August 1962.
- Stupidity – Kingsize Taylor And The Dominoes. Decca (1964) Kingsize Taylor And The Dominoes had talent aplenty, but they didn’t write their own songs and never indulged in the twee teenage romance of their chart-friendly contemporaries.
- Walking The Dog – The Dennisons. Decca (1964) A group whose talent far exceeded their national profile, The Dennisons were blessed with one of the best singers on the scene in gravel-voiced Ray Scragg, although he shared vocal duties with Eddie Parry, who had a much cleaner, classic Merseybeat delivery.
- Just A Little Bit – The Undertakers. Pye Records (1964) With a repertoire spanning soul, R&B and rock’n’roll, The Undertakers raised the bar for other beat bands.
Merseybeat was a British take on the Black and white musical mix of rock and roll: a basic lineup of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, and drums (with shared vocals) provided local live versions of American hit records of all sorts.
Merseybeat was the original sound of the British Invasion, a hybrid of American rock & roll and R&B, and British skiffle. Learn about the history, artists, albums, songs, and videos of this genre that influenced the Beatles and other pop groups.
Feb 27, 2017 · Learn how Merseybeat, a British beat music genre, became a global phenomenon thanks to The Beatles and other Liverpool bands. Discover the history, the influence and the decline of this musical movement that shaped the world of music.
Jul 6, 2023 · Learn how Bill Harry and John Lennon launched Mersey Beat, the first newspaper to cover the Liverpool pop sound of The Beatles and others, on July 6, 1961. Read Lennon's humorous biography of the band and see the cover of the first issue featuring Gene Vincent.
