Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past History Information Request Music Reserch Help Needed, Wirral in the 1960s

My name is Natasha and I am currently studying at Liverpool Hope University for a Masters degree in the Beatles, popular music and society. I am one of few local students to be accepted onto the course and the only person from the Wirral.

My project is about the Beatles and the Wirral in the early 1960s, the Beatles early career 1960 - 1963 they played 11 venues around the Wirral on 64 different occasions. I have looked in many Beatles texts and the Wirral is hardly mentioned at all. Whether you know anything about the Beatles or not, like them or not I would love to hear from everyone. Below are some questions for guidance, any information big or small is very welcome. You can post on here or send me a private message all responses will be gratefully received, the information will be used in documentation of my research in the form of an essay, if you prefer for your real name to be used or not please let me know. I look forward to hearing from you.

Questions
What I would like to find out is what life like was for you on the Wirral in the Sixties,

Where you lived and if you were aware of social class?

How old were you about?

What are your musical memories of this time?

What music did you like then?

Were you aware of the Beatles before they became famous? If you were, how did you come to hear about them, did you ever get to see them?

Once the Beatles came more into the public eye did you like them or not. Why?

Hello Natasher, My advice is to get down to the Royal British leigeon, Withens Lane, Wallasey on a Wednesday night about 8pm, there you will meet members of the Cheshire Cats, Some of the original Merseybeat band members from the 60s, all have had close links with the Beatles in the early days, and love to talk about there experiences,
You will hear some original Merseybeat music, played by some of the original merseybeat musicians from the time,
PM me for more private stuff

Questions
What I would like to find out is what life like was for you on the Wirral in the Sixties,
early 60s just started work and most of the places where you could meet girls had been tech college dances or different church hall dances

Where you lived and if you were aware of social class?
just off Grange Rd
slightly aware of social class - bosses and workersHow old were you about?
17
What are your musical memories of this time?
dances were jiving, the twist and the stomp
and bell-bottom jeans and suit & tieWhat music did you like then?
top 20 and c&w Were you aware of the Beatles before they became famous? If you were, how did you come to hear about them, did you ever get to see them?
not aware before famous Saw them at the Majestic (a teenager club - no alcohol only soft drinks) one winter and there was a TV camera thereOnce the Beatles came more into the public eye did you like them or not. Why?
enjoyed their music and was great at the time to pretend you were a scouser if you went anywhere outside Wirral

not old enough sorry

The Beatles and part of Wallasey's social history (1960) in the man's own words

"The Grosvenor Ballroom in Wallasey was one of the worst places; there would be a hundred Wallasey lads squaring up to a hundred lads from Seacombe and all hell would break loose. I remember one night a rumble had started before I realised what was happening. I ran to the stage to save my Elpico amp, my pride and joy at the time. There were fists flying everywhere. One Ted grabbed me and said, 'Don't move, or you're bloody dead!' I was scared for my life, but I had to get that amp."
Paul McCartney
Anthology

In the late 50's (I left town in 1958) so it would probably be 56-58, was aware of the band called "The Quarrymen", which later became the Beatles. Their line up was changing all the time as they tried out different people. I knew a Peter Wright who played in a group and I believe he had a go with them for a while. They were known then as being very good. I probably saw them during this time as there were groups forming all over the place. I could never get to grips with the guitar myself though I did try. There used to be droves of young lads playing guitars as they walked down the street, everybody was rock and roll mad due to "Rock Around the Clock" with Bill Haley.
The Beatles came to my notice in 1962 when I was in Mauritius, one of the lads used to get the New Musical Express or some suchlike, and the Beatles were getting good mentions in the paper. He brought them to my attention because of me being a Merseysider. He was raving over them and hadn't even seen them.
When they did take off I found that my accent was a godsend for chatting up the ladies in various ex-colonial countries as we went on a long 5 month cruise. Ditto when I got back to UK, this would be 1963/64. Of course I used to flannel them that I knew each of them individually and went to school with them (shameless).
Flower shirts then became the thing amongst our crew on the way back from the Far East, we all had them made to measure by "Sew Sew", the Chinese tailor. This was 1967 and the Beatles were still going strong as far as foreign nationals were concerned and my accent was again a source of fascination to them.
On leave I used to go to a couple of clubs with my civvie mates, there was never room to jive so it was just a foot tapping and head bobbing dance we used to do, with the occasional leap in the air and a clap of the hands, a la Mick Jagger. Beatlemania seemed to last for a long, long time. My actual musical tastes were varied but like the fact that each record that came out was different, can't stand rap.
Lonnie Donegan, Bill Haley, Sinatra, Dean Martin, the Stones, the Monkees, . All this between the ages of 15 and 27. I slowed down then. My music is still very much eclectic, if it's good to my ear then I like it e.g. love the Stranglers records.
I was certainly working class as a denizen of the lower deck in Her Majesty's Royal Navy for 11 years. For this reason I was only on the Wirral occasionally but there was always music in the pubs and clubs when I was on leave. Down south I used to go to a jazz club.
Hope this is of some use to you.

Thank you all for your replies I really appreciate them

thank you for your reply but I can't PM you it says that a limit has been reached

Hi Natasha, good luck with your research. My time on the Wirral in the early '60's say 61 to 63 was not to my memory a Beatle time the most popular group then I would say was Rory Storm and the Hurricanes( I think Rory may have performed with the Beatles at that time). The Beatles played at the YMCA which was in Whetstone Lane and I don't recall them getting a big crowd, why not? they were just another group so no big deal. I was mostly into Stones and Bob Dylan. There was certainly a class thing going on, but being young you never bothered. My dad always used to tell me to keep away from the North End or anybody down Exmouth St/Conway/Cleveland area, but I ended having some good friends and girlfriends there so there was class in classes so to speak. I enjoy the Beatles now and probably from the middle sixties. I saw Paul McCartney in his Roller on Singleton Ave about 1968, I was doing roadworks for the Birkenhead Council and stopped him while a Road Roller was working, he was fine but his driver was not. Hope this helps.

i remember first seeing the Beatles on a programme called 'scene at 6.30. we had never heard of them before,we thought they were German because they had just come home from Germany,we did'nt know they were from Liverpool at the time-----well the rest is history! from then on we saw and heard more of them and i was hooked! i bought every single,EP and LP, if i bought someone elses record i felt as tho i was betraying them!
i was in their fan club it was 5 shillings [old money] to join, think that is 25p in todays money, every christmas they made a special record for their fan club members, it was of them just fooling around,i remember getting the tickets that were produced for their concert in America at Shea Stadium,of course it was after they had played the concert! when i think about it now--they would'nt of been real, just copies!!
they had a Beatles monthly magazine which i bought every month, my bedroom wall was covered in Beatle pictures, you could'nt see any wallpaper!! then one year my dad decorated my bedroom and warned me not to put any pictures up, and what did i do? yep,you guessed it------i put pictures up again----well i did it gradually!!

we used to have a tape recorder---one of the type were you put the tape on one side and wound the tape round the spool on the other side, and it weighed a ton!!!------on these tapes every sound would be recorded so when you were taping anything you had to be quiet, well i used to tape the Beatles when ever they were on the tele, i remember they were on Sunday Night at the London Palladiam once and i put the tape on to record it and what did my dad do? he came in,went up to the mike and shouted 'BOO'! well i went mad!!he used to say 'they don't sing they shout!' i wonder what he would say about the groups today? dad died 1966 when i was 14 going on 15.

I used to buy all my records from a shop on New Chester Rd called McKenzies,it's no longer there,the Co-op is there now.

Good luck with your project and i hope this helps.

There's a post on wikiwirral about where folks used to buy their records

clicky

Noticed today in Birkenhead market on the carboot stalls 3 books about the Beatles
VOL 1 & 2 where they played early days on Merseysde £2-99 EACH and not sure about the other

Wasn't there a BBC radio show the Beatles appeared on quite a lot called the 'Saturday Club'? Brian Matthews often talks about the impact of the Beatles appearing on this.

Think the BBC have archive material of these recordings available on the internet.

Hi Natasha,
Have you come across a book by local Wallasey author, Ray O'Brien called 'There are Places I;ll Remember'? It is an evocative look at the venues that The Beatles played in and around Merseyside in their formative pre-fame years. It stretches over 3 volumes in paper-back form. I helped ray undertake some of the research.

It might be worth contacting him at rayo1@ntlworld.com as I am only too sure he would be willing to help.

Good luck with your studies
FrankF

PS; It might also be worth contacting the children's charity, Merseycats as I am sure they too would be only to happy to help