Cunard Yanks

[scouserdave]

Website (http://www.souledoutfilms.co.uk/)
Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8jy31mC47M)

Looking forward to viewing it:PDT11

http://www.souledoutfilms.co.uk/images/CY_HoldingPage3_01.png

[Steven]

I was in the bus going past the Cunard Buildings with my mate.

As we passed, I said to him, " I used to work for Cunard."

A lady behind us tapped me on the shoulder and said,

"How hard did you work ?"

:) You might have to read this once or twice to get the hang of it ?

[ChrisGeorge]

Yes well I don't know. The story of the "Cunard Yanks" is hardly hidden history but is a tale retold in a lot of books about the Beatles and the Merseybeat boom. Newer thinking explodes it as "an urban myth."

Spencer Leigh has managed to come up with empirical evidence (which is presented in the book) that the "Cunard Yanks" (people who came over on the ships to Liverpool who had family and friends living in and around the seaport) were not responsible for bringing over the vast majority of American "beat group" records to Liverpool. These would be the cover versions that the Beatles and other Liverpool groups would end up recording. Leigh writes that "American black music" was obtained in the Liverpool music stores almost as quickly as the American marketplace had released them. Bob Wooler had long suspected that this was so, and Spencer Leigh went out of his way to confirm it.

The story of the "Cunard Yanks" bringing over American beat records is nothing more than an "urban myth" that was built up over time by the media.

Review of THE BEST OF FELLAS -- THE STORY OF BOB WOOLER. Liverpool's First DJ. The Man Who Introduced the Beatles. By Spencer Leigh (http://beatles.ncf.ca/wooler.html) reviewed by John Whelan, Chief Researcher for the Ottawa Beatles Site, November 17, 2002.

Chris

[Kev]

^^April 4th^^ - I'm starting to believe the Liverpool Echo get some of their news ideas from us!!!!!

..........THEY transformed Liverpool culture with their cutting edge fashion, music and gadgets.

Nicknamed the Cunard Yanks, the merchant seamen would cause a stir across the city every time they docked with the treasures they brought back from America.

Now their story has been captured on film for the first time and will be premiered in the city at the Philharmonic Hall on Mid-summer’s Day.

Focusing on five sailors who took to the seas in the 1950s, it recounts how they changed the face of post-war Liverpool forever.

From bringing back the first movie cameras to starting the craze for denim jeans, the Cunard Yanks were the trendsetters of the time. continues (http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpooldailypost/news/regionalnews/tm_headline=the-cunard-yanks-who-brought-ny-to-liverpool%26method=full%26objectid=18854232%26site id=50061-name_page.html).....

[Sloyne]

The article, linked below, appears in todays, Wednesday 4, April, Liverpool Daily Post and concerns a hour long movie about the Liverpool merchant seaman who worked the ships between Liverpool and New York in the 1950's and 60's. I was one of those Cunard Yanks.
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpooldailypost/news/regionalnews/tm_headline=the-cunard-yanks-who-brought-ny-to-liverpool%26method=full%26objectid=18854232%26page =1%26siteid=50061-name_page.html

[scouserdave]

Be grateful for your views on Chris' post that refutes the Cunard Yanks were credited for starting the Mersey Beat.

[ChrisGeorge]

Be grateful for your views on Chris' post that refutes the Cunard Yanks were credited for starting the Mersey Beat.



Thanks, Dave. As I say, the story of the Cunard Yanks is repeated in a lot of books on the Beatles and has been pretty much accepted as true. But is it? I find it interesting that a major figure in the Merseybeat scene such as Bob Wooler didn't believe it. The maritime connection between the 'Pool and the States makes the story very appealing. Another way of looking at it though is that early Beat groups from the South such as the Rolling Stones wouldn't have had that same connection, and yet were as conversant as were the Liverpool bands with Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and the other leading Fifties rock stars.

Chris

[Ged]

As I have spoken in the past with a certain Allan Williams - albeit he was inebriated and as my father-in-law is an ex Cunard Yank who meets with his his ex fellows at the Eldonian Village Hall at organised get togethers, I may be able to muddy the waters even further (certainly not shed any light on the subject)

Yes, it seems that Bob Wooler and Spencer Leigh, just like Allan Williams share a belief that NEMS and the like were in early receipt of U.S. Acetates and records and of course, to create a possible self importance, the seafarers also claim credit for bringing some of these sounds from over the pond. It may just be that both are correct.

[ChrisGeorge]

As I have spoken in the past with a certain Allan Williams - albeit he was inebriated and as my father-in-law is an ex Cunard Yank who meets with his his ex fellows at the Eldonian Village Hall at organised get togethers, I may be able to muddy the waters even further (certainly not shed any light on the subject)

Yes, it seems that Bob Wooler and Spencer Leigh, just like Allan Williams share a belief that NEMS and the like were in early receipt of U.S. Acetates and records and of course, to create a possible self importance, the seafarers also claim credit for bringing some of these sounds from over the pond. It may just be that both are correct.

Hi Ged

You are correct. It might have been a bit of both, although I would hate to think that the idea persists that the Cunard Yanks were mostly responsible for the Merseybeat Boom when that wasn't true. It does make for a great story and so I can understand its appeal.

Chris

[Ged]

I don't think the Beatles for instance would take kindly to the film poster implying, possibly almost declaring that the Cunard Yanks made them. I think a little bit of musical and writing skill by the chaps themselves and their counterparts played a pivotal role in it all too :unibrow:

Your point about the Rolling Stones and others for that matter is interesting too.

[Sloyne]

Thanks, Dave. As I say, the story of the Cunard Yanks is repeated in a lot of books on the Beatles and has been pretty much accepted as true. But is it? I find it interesting that a major figure in the Merseybeat scene such as Bob Wooler didn't believe it. The maritime connection between the 'Pool and the States makes the story very appealing. We, "Cunard Yanks" would get requests for records from disc jockey's at almost all the dance venues in Liverpool. Liverpool dance halls would be playing Carl Perkins, George Hamilton IV and other top American recording artists of the day. On my regular trips to Belle Vue and Blackpool I would hear mostly skiffle type music, by Lonnie Donnegan and artist like Adam Faith, Cliff Richards, Marty Wilde and other British artists. I would wear Lee Rider, Wrangler and Levi jeans, Ivy League vests, Arrow and Van Hueson shirts with barrel collars, pin throughs and broadcloth buttondowns, suburban top coats, slip on shoes and a myriad of other "Yankee gear". Liverpool shoresiders were wearing Lybro overalls and shirts with pointed collars and had very little choice in styles. They could buy gear that we, Cunard Yanks, had brought over and sold to Flemings and Brass & Jacksons but, usually, at a price that prohibited all but the most wealthy of them being able to afford the gear.


Another way of looking at it though is that early Beat groups from the South such as the Rolling Stones wouldn't have had that same connection, and yet were as conversant as were the Liverpool bands with Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and the other leading Fifties rock stars. The 'Rolling Stones', formed in 1962, were influenced, by their own admission, by the music and success of the Liverpool group, 'The Beatles'. 'The Beatles' are acknowledged to have been formed in 1957 as the 'Quarrymen', also, by their own admission, were influenced by the America musicians heard in and around Liverpool dance halls and pubs. Pubs like the White House and Masonic Arms, which featured groups and singers who played American music and emulated American rock stars.

Whether or not we, Cunard Yanks, were responsible for the revolution in British Pop culture maybe debatable, we certainly influenced it to a great extent.

[scouserdave]

Just read Pat's personal reminiscence's about the music and gear and found it fascinating:handclap:

[Ged]

Yes good stuff. Gerard had a bib n' brace as well.

[Sloyne]

Some of our gear was bought in New York stores like Steinbergs, a discount store which specialised in "dungarees". Tie City was another favourite of Liverpool merchant seamen. A lot of our shirts were purchased from the "Left Laundry" store. This store bought and sold all laundry that had not been claimed in the many New York laundries. We would buy bargain clothes in Macy's basement and when in Boston, at Filenes basement. Filens was the originator of the marketing term "Bargain Basement". We would get free tickets at the Stella Maris Catholic mission for show like the Kraft Music Hall at the Zeigfield Theatre and other venues like Carnegie Hall. Perry Como, Dean Martin, Tony Bennet, Dinah Washington, Connie Francis, Billy Ward, The Platters, Johnny Mathis, Louis Prima & Keely Smith, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Tommy Edwards are all among the names I can remember seeing, gratis, thanks to the free tickets from the Mission to Seamen. I also received tickets to Shae and Yankee, Giants Stadiums and Madison Square Garden and watched many baseball, football, hockey and boxing events.

What memories.:)

[Ged]

Just came across this......


First an interview with...


Bob Wooler and Ray McFall

A very entertaining and informative interview with BOB WOOLER (ex. DJ at The Cavern Club) and RAY McFALL (ex. owner). BOB put the myth to death, saying that sailors from U.S.A. brought rock & roll records to Liverpool. He had never wittnessed that - he ordered the records himself without any trouble! BOB also meant that the rebuilt new Cavern Club in no way has any resemblance to the original. RAY (the ex. owner!), on the other hand, meant that the new Cavern Club is an exact copy of the original!

[Ged]

Been looking into this a bit more here and there and i've come across a personal account of where a Cunard Yank was actually in New York informing some-one back home that they'd 'gotten' them a new blues record only to find they'd purchased it already from liverpool city centre via their U.S. imports dept.

I also got that Spencer Leigh book debunking 101 Beatles Myths but know about 90 odd of them already, but good to get the official detailed take on them, though some may be personal opinion too. (what he doesn't know about the whole Merseyscene including up to date isn't worth knowing apparently)

Anyway, one of the Beatles forums I go on has the legendary Merseybeat editor and frind to the Beatles, Bill Harry posting his personal accounts on it and here is part of what he and Howie Casey has to say:




''Ricki Richards, a member of the Jets who died a couple of years ago, told me that the Top Ten club in Hamburg was named after Vince Eager's Top Ten club in Soho. He said that when they were in Hamburg, Peter Eckhorn had the Hippodrome on the Reeperbahn and when he booked them they suggested the name change. Allan Williams also named his club, ironically in Soho Street in Liverpool, the Top Ten. Howie Casey & the Seniors, who were the first Liverpool group to go to Hamburg, opened there and the Beatles were to follow on their return from Germany. However, the club was burnt down. I wonder what would have happened if it hadn't - and the Beatles became the resident group there.
Here is my piece on Howie Casey's story:

Howie Casey is a Liverpool legend and his bands preceded the Beatles on a number of fronts. Under their original name of Derry and the Seniors they were the first Liverpool group to go to Hamburg and as Howie Casey & the Seniors the first Mersey band to make a record in their own right.

Born 12 July 1937, Howie started playing saxophone because he liked jazz and decided to pursue a career in music by signing with the King?s Regiment, the Liverpool troop, for three years.

?I was in the military band, but of course there were all little offshoots of jazz groups and dance bands and then, of course, rock and roll. That was 1955, so rock and roll was hitting big by that time and I was very keen obviously on listening to the sax players who played with the likes of Little Richard, Fats Domino and Lloyd Price.

?Of course, this was an introduction to R&B really, although it was called rock and roll, and I liked what I heard. I thought I could get closer to that than jazz because the jazz thing, for me, was pretty technical stuff at that time. So I found out I could do some of the rock licks, so we formed a rock group in the army.?

Howie?s father was a TV and radio engineer who repaired speakers and tannoy systems for Charlie McBain, Liverpool?s pioneer promoter. ?Charlie Mac ran a few dances round Liverpool and one of them was Wilson Hall,? says Howie.

He was invited to come and play at the hall ?no mention of money, of course,? and sat in with a band, ?It wasn?t the first band I?d ever played with in Liverpool but it was certainly the best of the bands I?d played with so far. It was a band called the Rhythm Rockers and it was led by a great drummer called Frank Wibberley and he had a line-up of two tenor saxes and of course drums, bass, keyboards, guitar and also I think there was a male and female singer. I played baritone with that band and I really enjoyed it. Some of it was reading, some of it was busking, and they played a mixture of rock and roll and Top 20 stuff.

?So from that point on I played with them for quite a while, usually Saturday nights and that type of thing. I was working in the day, of course.?

Howie then formed a band in Huyton, the area where he lived, and they called themselves the Huytones, with Billy Hughes on guitar and Stan Foster on piano. They were then joined by drummer Jeff Wallington, guitarist Brian Griffiths and Paul Whitehead on bass.

It was while they were appearing at Holyoake Hall, near Penny Lane, that disc jockey Bob Wooler asked if a young black youth could get on stage to sing some songs with them. His name was Derry Wilkie.

?Derry came up and he was doing Little Richard, which was right up my street because prior to that we didn?t have a singer who could get down to that sort of stuff. That was great, so we asked Derry to join the band.?

Like most members of Liverpool bands, Howie dismisses the myth of ?Cunard Yanks?, who were supposed to bring rare records from America for the local groups. ?We got our repertoire from the records we bought in the shops,? he says, ?Records that people had, like Derry had quite a good collection of Ray Charles and Little Richard and so on.?

As Derry & the Seniors they began to play at most of the local venues for promoters such as McBain, Wally Hill and Brian Kelly.

Wally Hill ran promotions at Holyoake and Blair Hall, which Howie describes as being ?quite violent.?

?I vaguely remember the bouncers who wore black leather sort of gloves and white shirts, black trousers, black leather ? and they had truncheons, or whatever. They used to circle the hall while the people danced and there was always a fight and they?d jump in and people would get kicked downstairs and there was blood and stuff everywhere. A few things like that went on.

They were also booked to appear on a major concert at Liverpool Stadium on Tuesday May 3 1960, with Gene Vincent topping the bill. It was an event promoted by London impresario Larry Parnes and local entrepreneur Allan Williams.

?Cass & the Cassanovas and other local groups were on it, we were on it and it was just a one-night thing. We thought it was big time, playing a big gig.?

As a result the Seniors were asked to audition for Larry Parnes at the Wyvern Social Club on May 10, along with Cliff Roberts & the Rockers, Cass & the Cassanovas, Gerry & the Pacemakers and the Silver Beetles.

Howie recalls, ?There was Larry Parnes with Billy Fury sitting in this rather shabby club, the Wyvern Club, because, of course, it hadn?t been converted to the Blue Angel and it was still a drinking club at the time. We did our bit and the various other bands did their bit and there was the band, the Silver Beetles. And I?d never seen them before. Young guys, you know, I?m probably five or six years older than them ? and they got up and they didn?t have a drummer and they asked Johnny Hutch (Hutchinson) to sit in with them.?

The Seniors were told they would be backing one of Parnes? artists in the seaside resort of Blackpool. ?We were all chuffed and gladly gave up our day jobs. Then, some little time later, we found out that it was all cancelled.?

Having committed themselves, they were furious and went to see Allan Williams.

?Of course, the story is that me with my fists like Yorkshire hams and Derry went in and threw a bouncer to one side and had Allan Williams pinned up against a wall. It?s absolute nonsense. We went down there, irate, upset, but there was none of that. Allan sort of wriggled out of it by saying he?d take the band down to London, to the 2 I?s.

?Days or weeks later, we all piled into two cars and went off to the 2 1?s in Old Compton Street. We spoke to the guy who ran the place, Tom Littlewood and he was quite happy for the band to play for nothing.

?There were no sound checks, nothing like that, you just got on and played. There was a guy on stage before us with a Buddy Hollyish/Shadows type of band (Buddy Brittain). Then we got up with Derry and did our rock and roll ?Good Golly Miss Molly?, ?Ain?t That A Shame?, that sort of thing. We got a bit of stale cake off Tom Littlewood for our pains.

?During the time we were on, this German guy, Bruno Koschmider had been in the audience.

?It was a remarkable coincidence. He had a British band playing at his club the Kaiserkeller in Hamburg called the Jets, who he?d first found at the 2 Is. Another club the Top Ten had opened and the group had gone there, so Bruno found himself without a band and just a jukebox in the middle of a big club. He was over looking for a replacement and saw in us a similar thing. We weren?t like the Jets, but they?d had a black singer called Tony with the band, an American guy. Koshmider had been watching all the bands who were at the 2 Is and picked on us as the band he wanted.

?We went across the road to a restaurant and there was a German waiter (Georg Sterner) and he translated for us, telling us that Koshmider wanted the band to go to Germany.

?So how lucky can you get? You drive all the way to London, go into a tiny cellar and end up with a contract to go to Germany. Brilliant.

?Of course, Allan hadn?t arranged any visas. We were thrown off the train on the way there because he told us to say we were tourists. When the police came at the border and we told them we were tourists, they said ?what?s all this drum kits and amp and all that?? so we were chucked off the train. I frantically called Hamburg and Koschmider promised that we would get visas and all that. He never did anything about it. We just arrived there and that was that.?

The Beatles arrived and began to perform at the Indra, further up the Grosse Freiheit.

?I saw them at the Indra, ?cause we went to the opening night because we used to start later and then they?d finish early and come to the Kaiserkeller to see us because we?d be on until 2 or 3 in the morning.

?It was decided that the Kaiserkeller would present continual music, so they split the Seniors into two groups. I was given Stuart Sutcliffe and along with Derry and Stan Foster, we had a German drummer. The others, Griff, Billy Hughes and Jeff Wallington were in the other group.

?We had a great time in Hamburg, it was terrific and when we left the Kaiserkeller we stayed another month. The band sort of fractured when Derry went off and played with a German Dixieland band and another four of us got into a strip club called the Cassanova Bar and we were playing music for the stripper while the American fleet was in.

?The Seniors were then offered a gig in the Top Ten. Since we had no work permits or visas, Peter Eckhorn told us to go to the British Embassy and sort some visas out. As soon as they saw the state of us they looked at our passports and said ?no.? They confiscated the passports and repatriated us.

?We ended up broke, back in Liverpool again, which is a **** shame because we could have gone on playing at the Top Ten and probably would have stayed out there for quite a while.?

Ironically, the first gig they got on their return to the ?Pool was at the Top Ten Club, a new club opened by Allan Williams, with Bob Wooler as the disc jockey.

?It was short-lived because some local gang decided it was going to be their club,? said Howie. ?Of course, there was a huge fight, a big bundle. We got involved in the fight because the gang didn?t like the look of Derry. Of course, Derry?s no soft guy and he jumped in and the next thing we were covered in gang members.

?There was only a couple of security guys and they?d been chucked out by the gang, along with most of the audience. Luckily, the police arrived like the US Cavalry in the nick of time, just as we were in the middle of a big brawl.

?We went off, leaving our gear in the club. The next morning my father wakes me and tells me someone has phoned to say that the club had just been burnt down to the ground. All the gear was burnt and that signalled another change in the Seniors line-up. Jeff Wallington had had enough and so had Billy Hughes.?

The new group was called Howie Casey & the Seniors and featured Howie on sax, Derry on vocals, Freddie Fowell as second vocalist, Brian Griffiths on guitar, Frank Bowen on bass and Frank Wibberley on drums.

They became the first Liverpool group to record and cut an entire album for Fontana in an afternoon. Their album ?Twist At The Top? was issued in February 1962 at the same time as their debut single ?Double Twist.? Two other singles followed, ?I Ain?t Mad At You? and ?Boll Weevil Song.?

They were unsuccessful and the group split up, with Fowell changing his name to Freddie Starr (after Ringo Starr) and leading Freddie Starr & the Midnighters. Frank Bowen joined the All Stars, Derry joined the Pressmen, Wibberley teamed up with the Lee Eddie Five and Brian Griffiths joined the Big Three. Howie became a member of the Dominoes and spent several years on the Continent.

It was when he returned to Britain and settled in London that he began to get session work. ?I did a lot of work for a producer called Tony Visconti, for Marc Bolan and people like that.

?He then gave me a call to come and do this album for Paul and it was ?Band On the Run.? I re-met Paul after quite a few years. I hadn?t seen him ?cause he?d become rich and famous and I was working. It was great.

?I played on the tracks ?Jet?, ?Band On The Run?, I did the solo on ?Bluebird? and the solo on ?Mrs Vanderbilt?. He liked what I?d done, so a year later I got a call. I?d been on tour with Marc Bolan and all sorts of stuff and I got a call from McCartney?s office to see if I?d be interested in doing a tour with them. Of course, I jumped at it and went off and did that world tour ? and I did another few albums, ?Wings At The Speed Of Sound? and, of course then there?s the triple album ?Wings Over America? which was recorded live; ?Back To The Egg?, ?Rockestra?, the Kampuchea concert, we did the Venice thing, then I did a second tour with him later on which was the one which ended up in Japan where he was arrested and then he more or less gave up touring after that so that was when we sort of went our separate ways.?

Over the years, Howie has recorded and appeared with numerous bands, including T-Rex, the Who and Mott The Hoople.

Howie and his wife moved down to Bournemouth, where they still live. ?I still play, I?m still on the road and still do the odd recording session,? he says.

Incidentally, Howie?s wife is Sheila, nee McKinley. Together with her sister in the McKinley Sisters, she toured Scotland with the Beatles. She also provided backing vocals, along with Linda McCartney for Ringo Starr?s ?Stop And Smell The Roses? on which Howie played sax.''

[ItsaZappathing]

I got the dvd Cunard Yanks but haven't watched it yet.
Anyone wanting this dvd then give me a shout.:PDT_Piratz_26:

[Ged]

Hiya John. It's ok, we got to see it at the St. Georges Hall big history festival last summer. The makers got a nice budget for going to the U.S. to shoot some scenes, they asked me how much Paul (The Gardens) got for his great documentary - the answer - Zilch - all done on his Johnny Todd in his spare time and won places in the Sefton film show and liverpool biennial.


Anyway. Some more references to the cunard yanks/records imports here:

Bob Wooler (http://beatles.ncf.ca/robinson.html)




and here:

**1956**

American Rock 'n' Roll and the Cunard Yanks mythology

Around this time the influence of American rock 'n' roll was being felt in Liverpool and the rest of England. How that music appeared, particularly in Liverpool, is an interesting story. The generally accepted view which has recently come into question, was that merchant seamen known as Cunard Yanks imported rock 'n' roll records from America which were then passed along to Liverpool musicians who had relations who worked on the ships. This, unfortunately, is not how American rock 'n' roll appeared in a large scale in Liverpool or for the rest of England. The truth of the matter is, about 99% of American rock 'n' roll LPs and singles were released by British music companies.

To understand why that is, one must trace back to the origins of the Cunard Yanks mythology. One of the earliest publications that supported the Cunark Yank viewpoint was found in Mersey Beat. Bill Harry, editor of Mersey Beat publication, explains: "Originally, when I did some interviews in Mersey Beat for a series called ?Why Liverpool?? some of the answers from musicians such as John McNally of the Searchers was that he got records from his brother who was a merchant seaman (a Cunard Yank). A couple of other musicians said this. So when I did an introduction to my 1977 book 'Mersey Beat: The Beginning of the Beatles' I mentioned this. However, as I researched further I discovered that 99% of the groups just got their repertoire from records found in record stores. Those records were available on Merseyside and throughout Britain. The more groups I asked, the more I discovered that the ?Cunard Yanks? story was a myth. So I put that right in subsequent writings. Research is always a voyage of discovery."

But had it not been for an irate Cavern DJ Bob Wooler along with the follow-up research of BBC music journalist Spencer Leigh whom decided to challenge the Cunard Yank mythology, the real truth might not have surfaced. Said Bob Wooler in "Best of Fellas - the Story of Bob Wooler" written by Spencer Leigh: "I accept that there were hundreds of Cunard Yanks and that, before the War, they brought back dance band records which were unavailable here. There was a society in the Wirral that met to play them. In the 1950s, the Cunard Yanks brought back jazz and country and western records which were not released here, and John McNally of the Searchers got several country records from his seafaring brother. However, there is no evidence, I repeat, no evidence, that beat groups were performing songs that were brought over from America by the Cunard Yanks."

For his part, Spencer Leigh investigated Wooler's claims. He discovered that of the 400 cover versions that British groups recorded from the American rock 'n' roll repertoire, "in almost every case I discovered that the original version had been released in the UK," wrote Leigh.

The unfortunate tragedy is that the Cunard Yanks mythology had spanned over several decades with new media releases only reinforcing the myth, notability the MGM video "The Complete Beatles" (1982) and Granada's "Who Put the Beat In Mersey Beat" (screened in 1995). Little wonder the urban legend lasted so long!

The above text being from here:

Beatles Timeline (http://beatles.ncf.ca/timeline.html)


Though interestingly it seems that Bill Harry may have helped perpetuate the myth (if indeed it is one) by including writings in his Mersey Beat paper in the first place from one source but then correcting the general concensus of opinion later on.

Brian Epstein also makes note in his autobiography - 'A cellarful of noise' as to him importing U.S. releases as well as the label's British counterparts (EMI Capitol had EMI PArlophone in the UK for instance) releasing U.S. albums here just as quickly as they did in the U.S.

[Waterways]

Like most members of Liverpool bands, Howie dismisses the myth of ?Cunard Yanks?, who were supposed to bring rare records from America for the local groups. ?We got our repertoire from the records we bought in the shops,? he says, ?Records that people had, like Derry had quite a good collection of Ray Charles and Little Richard and so on.?


Gerry Marsden on a number of occasions said he got US records from the Cunard Yanks. If you live in Huyton or on the outskirts then it is less likely you will be in constant contact with seamen, as those around the docks areas were.

My cousin definite brought back records that were not available in the UK.

[Ged]

So.... Were they responsible for a music revolution which led to the liverpool sound and the Beatles as the poster on message1 states or do the artists have to take some credit for that? ;)

[Waterways]

So.... Were they responsible for a music revolution which led to the liverpool sound and the Beatles as the poster on message1 states or do the artists have to take some credit for that? ;)

They were not responsible at all, but contributed in a minor way that is clear. People on the outskirts worked in factories, while those in the established areas nearer the docks still had the "going away to sea" mentality. These people would be more inclined to hear unobtainable US records brought in by the seamen. We were and did.

My sister recently was in touch with a kid who lived in the next street to us. He told her that as a teenager he would stand in the freezing cold outside our window listening to the records my sisters played - many unobtainable in the UK. Magic!

Remember in those days the UK was a very oppressive society, you could only hear pop music via Radio Luxembourg, a foreign station, that's if you had a radio you mother would let you listen to, or could actually receive the station - it constantly faded in and out and you needed a decent set to get it. Portable transistor radios only really came in the early 60s in a big way and then only around 1962/63 when the Merseysound was way under way.

[Ged]

Then came wahhhaaayyy - Radio Caroline. (from a ship)

Too young to remember it me :)

[Waterways]

Then came wahhhaaayyy - Radio Caroline. (from a ship)

Too young to remember it me :)

Caroline was superb. It took over - they even pinched the news from the BBC and re-wrote it a bit.

It came as transistor radio sales were rising rapidly and most teenagers were about to have their own as prices dropped sharply and poplar music was taking a big turn. A new government came in late 1964 and a few years after the BBC started to cater for the people instead of pretentious upper middle class people who only liked opera - these people ran the BBC so pushed their unwanted views on us.

Radio Caroline ran until the 1980s.

[Ged]

I remember seeing a clip of Liverpool's own Kenny Everett broadcasting from it.

[brian daley]

When we were kids the top music station for pop was Radio Luxemburg,Radio Athlone played a lot of American records too,but not rock'n'roll. The best station for all things American,including the Blues ,was AFN. The reception was better than Luxemburg and the Deejays were bona fide Yanks,not like on our Pirates ,speaking with their phoney mid Atlantic accents.
When I was a Cunard Yank in the mid '60's the music "traffic" going the other way. New York stations played the Merseysound almost non-stop 24/7. Great days

[phredd]

I can remember bringing Elivs Presley's "Jailhouse Rock" into the country in the mid 50's hidden from customs between to dinner plates in the Officers Saloon on the MV Windsor on return from Boston Mass.,
Sold it after a week to an Elvis fan by the name of Les Clarke.

Radio Caroline tune :- >> "Radio Caroline seven days a week" to the tune of "March of the Mods". Who can remember that ?


Phredd