When They Were Boys (20 page)

W
HEN HE PUBLISHED HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY
,
A C
ELLARFUL OF
N
OISE
,
IN
1965,
HE CLAIMED THAT HE FIRST HEARD OF THE
B
EATLES WHEN A YOUNG MAN CALLED
R
AYMOND
J
ONES CAME INTO HIS STORE ON
28 O
CTOBER
1961
AND ORDERED A COPY OF THE
B
EATLES
'
SINGLE
(
THE ONE WHICH WAS THE SUBJECT OF THE FRONT COVER IN
J
ULY
). T
HE STORY IS SO NEAT THAT WRITERS WHO HAVEN
'
T REALLY EXAMINED THE FACTS CHRONOLOGICALLY LOVE TO CITE IT
. I
T
'
S THE OLD STORY OF HAVING TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THE TRUTH AND THE LEGEND, AND OPTING TO GO FOR THE LEGEND
. I'
M WELL AWARE THAT
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
READERS WENT TO
NEMS
TO ASK FOR COPIES OF THE
B
EATLES
'
SINGLE, BUT THIS WAS ONLY AFTER
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
PRINTED THE COVER STORY IN
J
ULY
.

T
HE FACT THAT
R
AYMOND
J
ONES AND OTHERS WENT INTO
NEMS
TO ASK FOR THE RECORD OR NOT IS BESIDE THE POINT
. I
HAD BEEN DISCUSSING THE GROUP WITH
E
PSTEIN FOR MONTHS AND HE HAD READ ALL ABOUT THEM IN
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
AS THEY WERE THE GROUP
I
PLUGGED MOST IN THE PAPER
.

A
T LEAST
P
AUL
M
C
C
ARTNEY RECOGNIZES THE TRUTH, AND IN HIS OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY
,
M
ANY
Y
EARS FROM
N
OW
,
HE WROTE
, “B
RIAN KNEW PERFECTLY WELL WHO THE
B
EATLES WERE—THEY WERE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE SECOND ISSUE OF
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
,
THE LOCAL MUSIC PAPER
. B
RIAN SOLD TWELVE DOZEN COPIES OF THIS ISSUE, SO MANY THAT HE INVITED THE EDITOR
, B
ILL
H
ARRY, INTO HIS OFFICE FOR A DRINK TO DISCUSS WHY IT WAS SELLING SO WELL AND TO ASK IF HE COULD WRITE A RECORD REVIEW COLUMN FOR IT
.” H
E IS UNLIKELY TO HAVE MISSED THE
“B
EATLES
S
IGN
R
ECORDING
C
ONTRACT
”
BANNER HEADLINE, REPORTING THEIR SESSION WITH
T
ONY
S
HERIDAN FOR
B
ERT
K
AEMPFERT
.

O
N THE GROUP
'
S RETURN FROM
G
ERMANY
, P
AUL GAVE ME A COPY OF THE SINGLE IN QUESTION
. T
HE ONLY OTHER SPARE COPY HE GAVE TO
B
OB
W
OOLER, WHO BEGAN PLAYING IT AT THE LOCAL VENUES
. I
STILL HAVE THE RECORD, PERSONALLY SIGNED BY THEM ALL
(
PROBABLY THE FIRST RECORD THE
B
EATLES SIGNED PERSONALLY
),
BUT THERE IS NO INDICATION THAT THEY ARE ON IT
.

T
HERE IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF
T
ONY
S
HERIDAN ON THE COVER AND THE ONLY WORDS ARE
: “T
ONY
S
HERIDAN
. M
Y
B
ONNIE
. T
HE
S
AINTS
(W
HEN THE
S
AINTS
G
O
M
ARCHING
I
N
).”

T
HERE IS NO MENTION WHATSOEVER ABOUT THE
B
EATLES, AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE FOR
E
PSTEIN TO TRACE THE RECORD, AS HE SAID HE DID, ON THIS INFORMATION ALONE
. E
VEN IF HE HAD THE CATALOGUE NUMBER, HE WOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD THIS RELATED TO A SINGLE BY
S
HERIDAN ONLY
.

M
ERSEY
B
EAT
BECAME A CATALYST FOR THE SCENE, AND GROUPS, MANAGERS, AND ANYONE CONNECTED WITH THE MUSIC TOOK TO VISITING THE OFFICE
. I
NITIALLY THE
B
EATLES WERE THE MOST FREQUENT VISITORS, HELPING
V
IRGINIA OUT ON THE TYPEWRITER OR PHONE; EVEN
R
INGO USED TO DROP IN WHEN HE WAS VISITING THE NEARBY DOLE OFFICE IN
R
ENSHAW
S
TREET
.

S
OON, GROUPS BEGAN CALLING THEMSELVES
B
EAT GROUPS INSTEAD OF ROCK
'
N
'
ROLL BANDS, AND VENUES WHICH HAD BEEN ADVERTISING
“T
WIST SESSIONS
”
AND
“
JIVE SESSIONS
”
BEGAN CALLING THEM
“B
EAT SESSIONS
,”
WHILE THE
“
JIVE HIVES
”
WERE NOW BEING CALLED
B
EAT CLUBS
. O
NCE THE
B
EATLES HAD ACHIEVED THEIR INITIAL SUCCESS ON RECORD, AND THE PAPERS WERE LOOKING FOR A TAG TO IDENTIFY THE MOVEMENT, THEY FIRST BEGAN TO CALL IT THE
“M
ERSEY
S
OUND
”
AND
“T
HE
L
IVERPOOL
S
OUND
.” S
OME YEARS LATER THEY ADOPTED THE NAME OF THE PAPER AND
“M
ERSEY
B
EAT
”
BECAME PART OF THE
E
NGLISH LANGUAGE
.

A
S THE WORLD
'
S FIRST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC PAPER, THE FIRST
“W
HAT
'
S
O
N
,”
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
INTRODUCED MANY INNOVATIONS WHICH WERE LATER ADOPTED BY THE NATIONAL MUSIC PRESS
. I
T ALSO CREATED A WONDERFUL RANGE OF EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE
B
EATLES FOR POSTERITY
. N
O OTHER GROUP ACHIEVING THEIR INITIAL SUCCESS WOULD HAVE HAD SUCH A LARGE PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD OF THEIR EARLY CAREER
.

I
NITIALLY
, D
ICK
M
ATTHEWS TOOK ALL THOSE WONDERFUL SHOTS OF THE
B
EATLES AT THE
C
AVERN FOR ME
. I
MADE ARRANGEMENTS WITH
VARIOUS PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS AND PAID THEM WITH ADVERTISEMENTS, PUBLICITY, AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN EXCHANGE FOR EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
. I
DID THOSE DEALS WITH THE PROFESSIONAL STUDIOS OF
P
ETER
K
AYE
, H
ARRY
W
ATMOUGH, AND
G
RAHAM
S
PENCER
.

A
S THE POLICY OF
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
WAS TO INTRODUCE INNOVATION, THE PHOTOGRAPHERS WERE ENCOURAGED TO DO WHAT THE
L
ONDON SHOWBIZ PHOTOGRAPHERS DIDN
'
T DO—LEAVE THE STUDIO AND TAKE SHOTS ON LOCATION OR DURING PERFORMANCES ON STAGE
.

T
HE
B
EATLES HAD ORIGINALLY BEEN PORTRAYED BRILLIANTLY IN
G
ERMANY BY
A
STRID AND
J
URGEN
V
OLLMER
, AND
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
CREATED A WHOLE RANGE OF UNIQUE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THEM PERFORMING IN
L
IVERPOOL
.

T
HERE WAS AN UNDOUBTED EDITORIAL BIAS IN THEIR FAVOR, AND THIS CAUSED
B
OB
W
OOLER TO COME TO THE OFFICE ONE DAY TO COMPLAIN ON BEHALF OF THE OTHER GROUPS
. H
E SAID THAT
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
WAS PLUGGING THE
B
EATLES TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT WE SHOULD RENAME THE PAPER
M
ERSEY
B
EATLE
,
AND IN FACT
I
LATER INTRODUCED A SPECIAL SECTION CALLED JUST THAT
.

W
HEN WE DECIDED TO RUN A POLL TO ESTABLISH THE
N
O
. 1
GROUP IN
L
IVERPOOL, WE RECEIVED A HUGE RESPONSE
. V
IRGINIA AND
I
SPENT MANY HOURS SORTING OUT THE VOTES
. W
HEN WE
'
D FINISHED
, R
ORY
S
TORM
&
THE
H
URRICANES HAD MORE VOTES THAN ANYONE ELSE
. H
OWEVER, WE NOTICED THAT A LARGE BUNDLE OF THEIR VOTES HAD BEEN WRITTEN IN THE SAME HANDWRITING IN GREEN INK AND POSTED FROM THE SAME AREA AT THE SAME TIME, SO WE DISQUALIFIED THE GREEN-INK BATCH, WHICH MADE THE
B
EATLES
N
O
. 1
AND
R
ORY
S
TORM
&
THE
H
URRICANES
N
O
. 4.

O
UR FAMOUS COVER OF ISSUE
N
O
. 13
WITH THE HEADLINE
“B
EATLES
T
OP
P
OLL
”
ESTABLISHED THEM ONCE AND FOR ALL AS THE TOP GROUP IN THE NORTH OF
E
NGLAND
—
A FACT THAT
B
RIAN
E
PSTEIN WAS QUICK TO CAPITALIZE ON
.

T
HE PAPER
'
S CIRCULATION KEPT INCREASING ISSUE BY ISSUE AND BEGAN TO STRETCH THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, COVERING GROUPS IN
M
ANCHESTER
, B
IRMINGHAM
, S
HEFFIELD, AND
N
EWCASTLE
. W
E WERE ALSO TO CHAMPION THE
R
OLLING
S
TONES
.

W
HAT GAVE
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
THE EDGE WAS THE
“
BULGE
,”
WHICH
A
MERICANS REFER TO AS THE
“
BABY BOOM
.” T
HERE WERE MORE BABIES BORN IN THE FEW YEARS TOWARDS THE END AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE
S
ECOND
W
ORLD
W
AR THAN AT ANY TIME IN HISTORY
. T
HOSE BABIES BECAME TEENAGERS IN THE 1950S
.

I
N PREVIOUS DECADES, THERE WAS NO REAL AWARENESS OF
“
TEENAGERS
” (
A TERM WHICH ONLY EMERGED IN THE
1950
S
). I
N
L
IVERPOOL, FOR INSTANCE, YOUNGSTERS WERE MINI REPLICAS OF THEIR PARENTS
. F
ATHERS WOULD LOOK ON WITH PLEASURE WHEN THEIR SONS REACHED A CERTAIN AGE AND STARTED TO ACCOMPANY THEM TO THE LOCAL PUBS FOR THEIR FIRST PINT
. S
ONS WOULD ALSO FOLLOW FATHERS INTO THE BUSINESS OR UNION THEY BELONGED TO, AND YOUNGSTERS WOULD DRESS EXACTLY LIKE THEIR PARENTS
.

S
UDDENLY, THERE WAS AN AWARENESS OF BEING YOUNG, AND YOUNG PEOPLE WANTED THEIR OWN STYLES AND THEIR OWN MUSIC, JUST AT THE TIME THEY WERE BEGINNING TO EARN MONEY, WHICH GAVE THEM SPENDING POWER
. O
N
M
ERSEYSIDE
,
M
ERSEY
B
EAT
WAS THEIR VOICE
. I
T WAS A PAPER FOR THEM, CRAMMED WITH PHOTOS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR OWN GROUPS, WHICH IS WHY IT ALSO BEGAN TO APPEAL TO YOUNGSTERS THROUGHOUT
B
RITAIN AS ITS COVERAGE EXTENDED TO OTHER AREAS
.

T
HE NEWSPAPERS, TELEVISION, THEATRES, AND RADIO WERE ALL RUN BY PEOPLE OF A DIFFERENT GENERATION WHO HAD NO IDEA WHAT YOUNGSTERS WANTED
. F
OR DECADES THEY HAD MANIPULATED AND CONTROLLED THEM
[
SEE THE SCENE WITH
G
EORGE
H
ARRISON AND
K
ENNETH
H
AIG IN
A
H
ARD
D
AY
'
S
N
IGHT
],
BUT NOW THE YOUNGSTERS WANTED TO CREATE THEIR OWN FASHIONS
.

Bill Harry remains the most credible reporter of that early period. The story of
Mersey Beat
as a major force in pushing the Beatles to early success
is more than just legend. At the level of the Beatles' talent and ability in those early years, Bill and Virginia Harry helped catapult them to prominence. But as the story unfolds to you, it becomes clear that the band, with all the competition and hurdles ahead, may have never moved forward without the power of the printed words in
Mersey Beat
, required reading for the music-hungry kids of Liverpool.

The period of 1958 to 1964 was exciting, energetic, and unique, a magical time when an entire city danced to the music of youth.