When They Were Boys (18 page)

S
UDDENLY, IN
S
COTLAND, TOURING WITH
J
OHNNY
G
ENTLE, THE GROUP (CALLED THE
B
EATLES CALLED) DISCOVERED THEY HAD NOT A VERY NICE SOUND—BECAUSE THEY HAD NO AMPLIFIERS
. T
HEY GOT SOME
. M
ANY PEOPLE ASK WHAT ARE
B
EATLES
? W
HY
B
EATLES
? U
GH
, B
EATLES, HOW DID THE NAME ARRIVE
? S
O WE WILL TELL YOU
. I
T CAME IN A VISION—A MAN APPEARED ON A FLAMING PIE AND SAID UNTO THEM
“F
ROM THIS DAY ON YOU ARE
B
EATLES WITH AN
‘A.'” T
HANK YOU, MISTER MAN, THEY SAID, THANKING HIM
. A
ND THEN A MAN WITH A BEARD CUT OFF SAID—WILL YOU GO TO
G
ERMANY
(H
AMBURG) AND PLAY MIGHTY ROCK FOR THE PEASANTS FOR MONEY
? A
ND WE SAID WE WOULD PLAY MIGHTY ANYTHING FOR MONEY
.

B
UT BEFORE WE COULD GO WE HAD TO GROW A DRUMMER, SO WE GREW ONE IN
W
EST
D
ERBY IN A CLUB CALLED
S
OME
C
ASBAH AND HIS TROUBLE WAS
P
ETE
B
EST. WE CALLED
“H
ELLO PETE, COME OFF TO
G
ERMANY
!” “Y
ES
!” Z
OOOOOM
. A
FTER A FEW MONTHS
, P
ETER AND PAUL (WHO IS CALLED
M
C
A
RTREY, SON OF
J
IM
M
C
A
RTREY, HIS FATHER) LIT A
K
INO (CINEMA) AND THE
G
ERMAN POLICE SAID
“B
AD
B
EATLES, YOU MUST GO HOME AND LIGHT YOUR
E
NGLISH CINEMAS
.” Z
OOOOOM, HALF A GROUP. BUT BEFORE EVEN THIS, THE
G
ESTAPO HAD TAKEN MY FRIEND LITTLE
G
EORGE
H
ARRISON (OF
S
PEKE) AWAY BECAUSE HE WAS ONLY TWELVE AND TOO YOUNG TO VOTE IN
G
ERMANY; BUT AFTER TWO MONTHS IN
E
NGLAND HE GREW EIGHTEEN AND THE
G
ESTAPOES SAID “YOU CAN COME
.” S
O SUDDENLY ALL BACK IN
L
IVERPOOL
V
ILLAGE WERE MANY GROUPS PLAYING IN GREY SUITS AND
J
IM SAID
“W
HY HAVE YOU NO GREY SUITS
?” “W
E DON
'
T LIKE THEM
, J
IM
”
WE SAID, SPEAKING TO
J
IM
.

A
FTER PLAYING IN THE CLUBS A BIT, EVERYONE SAID
“G
O TO
G
ERMANY
!” S
O WE ARE
. Z
OOOOOM
S
TUART GONE
. Z
OOM
Z
OOM
J
OHN (OF
W
OOLTON
) G
EORGE (OF
S
PEKE
) P
ETER AND
P
AUL ZOOM ZOOM
. A
LL OF THEM GONE
. T
HANK YOU CLUB MEMBERS, FROM
J
OHN AND
G
EORGE (WHAT ARE FRIENDS
).

John was always a man who enjoyed intriguing his audience. So in the interest of curiosity and history, Bill Harry offers an interpretation of the first Beatles biography:

“The man with the beard cut off is Allan Williams, he of the Jacaranda Club, who first booked them in Hamburg [at slave-labor rates and conditions]. . . . The Casbah was a club . . . in West Derby . . . run by Mona Best, Pete's mother. It was truly the first residence of the Quarrymen/Beatles, their first club.”

Smiling, with a sense of great nostalgia, Harry remembers some other Lennon signals, which caused an editorial nightmare.

J
OHN'S PECULIAR SPELLING OF
P
AUL
'
S NAME
[M
C
A
RTREY
]
MADE ME BELIEVE IT WAS HIS REAL NAME, SO
I
USED IT IN
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
FOR A WHILE
. A
S FAR AS THE
“G
ESTAPO,” IT WAS A REFERENCE TO THE
G
ERMAN
A
LIENS
P
OLICE WHO FORCED
G
EORGE TO GO HOME TO
L
IVERPOOL BECAUSE HE WAS NOT YET EIGHTEEN
. “G
REY SUITS” WAS A HIT ON THE OTHER
L
IVERPOOL GROUPS, SINCE THE
B
EATLES, POST
-H
AMBURG, WERE IN BLACK LEATHER
. O
NE OTHER THING, IT WAS A THRILL FOR ME TO SEE THAT THIS PIECE, IN
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
,
INSPIRED
P
AUL
M
C
C
ARTNEY FOR HIS 1997 ALBUM
,
F
LAMING
P
IE
.

W
HAT HAPPENED IN THE SECOND EDITION
[
OF
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
]
WAS NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING
. T
HE
C
AVERN
'
S DEEJAY
, B
OB
W
OOLER, WROTE A LANDMARK PIECE ON
J
OHN
, P
AUL
, G
EORGE, AND
P
ETE
. S
EVERAL WORDS STAND OUT, WORDS THAT REFLECTED THE GROWING FEVER
. “T
HE
B
EATLES,” HE SAID, “ARE THE STUFF THAT SCREAMS ARE MADE OF
. . . . I D
ON
'
T THINK ANYTHING LIKE THIS WILL EVER HAPPEN AGAIN
.”

Wooler's article, along with coverage of so many of the Merseyside bands, helped establish
Mersey Beat
as the publication of record for the music fanatics of the early 1960s. The paper became a twice-a-month chronicler of local music history, with a heavy accent on the Beatles.
Mersey Beat
clearly helped propel the Beatles, and the Beatles fueled the sales of
Mersey Beat
. It was a marriage of press and public relations rarely seen in England, or any other country. And Harry's provocative readers' polls would make big news for the Beatles, as Harry explains in a startling admission later in this book.

News manipulation? Puffed-up journalism? No question about it. But Harry was also careful, despite being the Beatles' biggest cheerleader, to promote as many bands as possible. And when it came to the Ye Cracke crowd, he had exclusives. Did you know that Paul McCartney was a “reliable source”?

Harry remembers, “Yes, it was Paul that was the perfect PR person for me when he went to Paris with John, and to Hamburg, and he would write me all about it. He sent me all the stuff for
Mersey Beat
that was always so helpful to me. Although I was publishing all John's stuff, I now had Paul's stuff, as well. I was so pleased.”

“Was his stuff detailed?” I ask.

“Yes,” Harry replies. “But he put a good spin on everything, especially the crowd reaction.” This author has always believed that Paul would have been a great journalist. In fact, he probably is, considering the uncommon talent
he has had for creating his own imagery and controlling the message.

Paul was such a great “foreign correspondent” for
Mersey Beat
that Harry and Sowry were covered on every Beatles trip. Like George Harrison's ghostwritten columns from North America in 1964 for a London newspaper, Paul's “reporting” was invaluable to Harry and his staff.

Mersey Beat
was published through 1965. In 1964, Epstein bought a piece of the magazine, tried to turn it national, and partnered with Harry, but Harry resigned when he lost editorial control. It was a falling-out, no question about it, and it precipitated the end of the publication.

Bill Harry continued as a writer for national publications but remained in close touch with his friends from Ye Cracke and the Art Institute. He and Sowry then moved to London, where this child of poverty emerged as one of the most successful promotion operatives in music history. His clients included Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Procol Harum, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin, among many others. In 1994, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

From the youthful sessions at Ye Cracke to the dark and sometimes primitive night spots of Merseyside, Harry left his mark. He also wrote twenty-three books. Mostly, though, he will be remembered for his guile and marketing genius in producing
Mersey Beat
, and for providing a bigger stage for his friend John and his Beatles.

Like most good reporters, he could sense news happening before anyone else. In 1962, he wrote a piece titled “Take a Look Up North,” urging A&R (artists and repertoire) men to come to Liverpool and check out the spectacular music scene. It was a spirited piece, with the statistics and brief history to back up his claims.

Not one of London's record companies took his advice.

To the fans of popular music, Harry's books are a treasure. To the young people of the Art Institute, Harry was known for two talents: writing science fiction and looking east to the beat generation in New York City.

As part of my preparation in writing this book, I recorded numerous long interviews on tape that I quote throughout, wherever specific lines fit with a particular subject. The following interview with Bill Harry, however, so
authentically and completely describes the time, the place, and the people of Liverpool, that I want the reader to have the opportunity to read his complete story, unedited:

M
Y OWN INVOLVEMENT WITH THE SCENE BEGAN IN 1958, WHILE
I
WAS ATTENDING
L
IVERPOOL
C
OLLEGE OF
A
RT
. I
WAS ASKED TO CONTRIBUTE TO A MAGAZINE PRODUCED BY THE LOCAL MUSIC STORE
, F
RANK
H
ESSY
. M
R
. H
ESSELBERG, THE OWNER, INSISTED ON THE RATHER UNCOMMERCIAL TITLE
, F
RANK
C
OMMENTS, BUT GAVE COMPLETE EDITORIAL FREEDOM IN ALL OTHER RESPECTS
. I
DESIGNED THE COVERS AND PRODUCED INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS, REVIEWED LOCAL EVENTS, WROTE ABOUT JAZZ LEGENDS SUCH AS
B
UNK
J
OHNSON, AND EVEN PENNED A SCIENCE-FICTION JAZZ SERIAL
.

I
N THE MEANTIME
, S
TUART
S
UTCLIFFE AND
J
OHN
L
ENNON WERE AMONGST MY CLOSEST FRIENDS AND WE USED TO SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME TOGETHER, MAINLY DISCUSSING THE SUBJECTS YOUNG PEOPLE DISCUSS—WHAT THE FUTURE HELD, THE LATEST BOOKS AND FILMS, ART, ACADEMIC LIFE, AND SO ON
.

J
OHN HAD A GROUP AND TWO OF ITS MEMBERS
, P
AUL
M
C
C
ARTNEY AND
G
EORGE
H
ARRISON, WERE PUPILS OF
L
IVERPOOL
I
NSTITUTE, WHICH WAS SITUATED NEXT DOOR TO THE COLLEGE
. T
HEY USED TO COME TO OUR CANTEEN DURING LUNCH BREAKS AND ALSO REHEARSED IN THE LIFE ROOMS
. S
TU AND
I
WERE MEMBERS OF THE
S
TUDENTS
' U
NION
C
OMMITTEE AND PUT FORWARD THE PROPOSAL THAT WE USE STUDENTS
'
FUNDS TO BUY A
PA
SYSTEM, WHICH
J
OHN
'
S GROUP COULD USE WHEN THEY APPEARED AT OUR COLLEGE DANCES
.

I
REFERRED TO THEM AS THE “COLLEGE BAND” AT THE TIME, AND THEY WERE BOOKED REGULARLY FOR OUR DANCES AS SUPPORT TO HEADLINERS SUCH AS THE
M
ERSEYSIPPI
J
AZZ
B
AND
.

S
KIFFLE MUSIC HAD BEEN POPULAR FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AND
I
USED TO STUDY THE HISTORY OF
A
MERICAN FOLK MUSIC AND RAILWAY SONGS AT
P
ICTON
L
IBRARY, IN ADDITION TO PRODUCING A DUPLICATED MAGAZINE AT THE COLLEGE, SIMPLY CALLED
J
AZZ
.

W
ITH THE EXPERIENCE OF EDITING A NUMBER OF FAN MAGAZINES BEHIND ME, MY INVOLVEMENT WITH
FRANK COMMENTS
,
MY ASSOCIATION WITH THEIR PRINTERS
, J
AMES
E. J
AMES, AND STUDIES IN TYPOGRAPHY, PRINTING, AND NEWSPAPER DESIGN AND LAYOUT AT THE COLLEGE
, I
HAD VISIONS OF PRODUCING A MAGAZINE CALLED
S
TORYVILLE
& 52
ND
S
TREET
.

O
NE EVENING, WE ALL WENT ALONG TO
L
IVERPOOL
U
NIVERSITY TO HEAR A POETRY READING BY
R
OYSTON
E
LLIS
. L
ATER, AT THE LOCAL ART COLLEGE DRINKING HOLE
Y
E
C
RACKE, IN A DISCUSSION WITH
J
OHN
, S
TU, AND
R
OD
M
URRAY
, I
POINTED OUT THAT
E
LLIS, IN COMMON WITH A LOT OF OTHER POETS, WAS INSPIRED BY THE
A
MERICAN BEAT POETS SUCH AS
L
AWRENCE
F
ERLINGHETTI
, A
LLEN
G
INSBERG, AND
G
REGORY
C
ORSO
. M
Y FEELING WAS THAT PEOPLE WERE MORE LIKELY TO STRETCH THEMSELVES CREATIVELY BY EXPRESSING THEIR OWN ENVIRONMENT AND EXPERIENCE RATHER THAN BY COPYING SOMEONE ELSE
'
S
. I
SUGGESTED THAT WE SHOULD USE OUR CREATIVE TALENTS TO EXPRESS WHAT WE WERE PERSONALLY INVOLVED IN, THAT WE SHOULD TAKE A VOW TO MAKE
L
IVERPOOL FAMOUS
: J
OHN WITH HIS MUSIC
, S
TU AND
R
OD WITH THEIR PAINTING, AND MYSELF BY WRITING ABOUT THE CITY
. I
EVEN SUGGESTED THAT WE CALL OURSELVES THE
D
ISSENTERS
.