Various – ‘Unearthed Merseybeat Vol 3 The Dawn Of A New Era 1957 – 1968’ DL-032

032Various – ‘Unearthed Merseybeat Vol 3 The Dawn Of A New Era 1957 – 1968’ DL-032

Released: November 2005, CD Out of Print, Download Only

This third and final ‘Unearthed Merseybeat’ is to be released on Nov 11th 2005, completing one of the most important stories in popular music as we know it today, which became nothing less than a global phenomenon. It charts the origin of Merseybeat from the impact of skiffle and Rock ‘n’ Roll – Liverpool musicians were especially influenced by Lonnie Donegan, Buddy Holly and Elvis.- featured is Lance Fortune and The Firecrests in 1957 covering Buddy Holly’s ‘ That’ll be the Day’. ( Most saw Buddy Holly play at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, Mike Pender of The Searchers said ‘ Everything I learned, everything I played, was based on Holly.’), through its heyday – classic Merseybeat is featured with The Kinsleys ‘ Do Me a Favour’ & The Connoisseurs ‘ Make Up Your Mind’ and on to late 60’s psychedelia – featured is the amazing ‘Sycamore Sid’ by Focal Point ( named by the late great Brian Epstein ) & the original demo version of the psychedelic masterpiece ‘ Michaelangelo ‘ by The 23rd Turn Off .
The Beatles cast a long shadow and the stigma of the name Merseybeat which developed in later years has now been liberated by these three volumes of ‘ Unearthed Merseybeat’. It should form an essential part of any music fans CD collection. Most of these rarities have been rediscovered in the attics and cupboards of Merseyside and until now previously unreleased.

BUY!

TRACKS PRESS

1) The Kinsleys – ‘ Do Me A Favour’: Classic Merseybeat . 1964.
2) Lance Fortune and The Firecrests – ‘Come Go With Me’: One of Liverpool’s oldest rock ‘n’ roll recording. 9th of Aug 1957.
3) The Merseybeats – ‘ Soldier of Love’: Produced by Kit Lambert, The Whos manager. 1965.
4) The Connoisseurs – ‘ Make Up Your Mind’: Their own song and featured Vince Earl aka Ron Dixon from Brookside on Vocals. 1963
5) The Swinging Blue Jeans – ‘Once in a While’: Live at The Mardi Gras when they were still essentially a Jazz band but you can hear the elements of Merseybeat i.e the heavy bass drum + harmonic vocals. 1960
6) Earl Preston and the TT’s – ‘ Betty Jean’ : Energetic demo from 1963.
7) Dale Roberts and The Jaywalkers – ‘Daydream’ : A cover of the Lovin’ Spoonful classic written by John Sebastian. 4th of May 1966.
8) Earl Royce and The Olympics- ‘ Shake Your Tail Feathers’ : A wonderful performance by a group who were in the film ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’. 1963.
9) Lance Fortune and The Firecrests – ‘That’ll Be The Day’ : A cover of a song that influenced a generation of musicians. 9th of Aug 1957.
10) Gerry and The Pacemakers – ‘Pretend’: Recorded in a Church Hall in Crosby. First recording session. 1961.
11) Jimmy Campbell/23rd Turn Off – ‘Flowers are Flowering’: Psychedelia at its best. 1967.
12) The Connoisseurs – ‘I’m Lookin’ Thru You’’: An excellent attempt to cover a Beatles song’. 1965.
13) The Four Justmen – ‘Sticks and Stones’: Went on to become the psychedelic band Wimple Winch. Circa1964.
14) The Four Originals- ‘You Won’t Be Leaving’ : 4th May 1966.
15) Chris Curtis – ‘Baby, You Don’t Have To Tell Me’: A lost classic sounding like The Walker Brothers. 1966
16)The Merseys -‘ Nothing Can Change This Love’ : 1966.
17) The Swinging Blue Jeans – ‘Ain’t What You Do’ : Live again at The Mardi Gras. 1960
18) Steve Day & the Syndicate – ‘The Last Bus Home’ : A sign of the times as no one know would write about getting the last bus home. 1964
19) Focal Point – ‘Sycamore Sid’: Keeping up with the Beatles /Pink Floyd with this wonderful piece of psychedelia. Infact the name ‘Focal Point’ was given to them by Brian Epstein 1968.
20) Jimmy Campbell – ‘Michaelangelo’: A masterpiece from amazing singer/songwriter Jimmy Campbell- ushers in a new era. 1967.

  • ‘Proves there was more to the sound than copycat Rickenbacker rhythms’ Betty Clarke, The Guardian,November 2005
  • ‘A splendid overview-visionary-lovingly packaged’ Gary Pig Gold,Fufkin.com,April 2006