Liverpool, the Fifth Beatle; An African-American Odyssey by P. Willis-Pitts Published by Amozen Press All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, graphic, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording, taping, electronic data, internet packets or by any other information storage or retrieval method without the written permission of the publisher. For information, contact Amozen Press, P.O. Box 323, Littleton, Colorado 80160 Copyright November 2000 by P. Willis-Pitts Library of Congress Card Number: ISBN 0-9703118-0-X Front Cover Photograph Courtesy Bill Harry Front and Back Cover Background Photograph Courtesy Glynn Parry (digitally manipulated composite) Visit the web site for Liverpool, The 5th Beatle: http://www.beatlesbook.net Manufactured in the United States of America This book is dedicated to: My dear Vimal Brendan McCormack, The Fey Celt who went the extra mile—and more Cassie, for her clarity of vision Derry Wilkie who showed me what soul is And all those Scousers and others who gave so freely of their time and memorabilia Rock on… And A special thought to the relatives of two ne men, two ne musicians, Colin Manley and Johnny Guitar who kept the beat until the nal bar Acknowledgements: For additional materials and invaluable assistance: David Abdulah, Margaret Avinyo, Tony Boase at Mersey Music, Barry Chambers, Patrick Cluskey, David Hillhouse at Wirral Museums, Spencer Leigh, Garrick Prayogg, Norman Williams, Bob Wooler and the Wallasey Library. Lyrics from In My Liverpool Home by Peter McGovern by kind permission of Spin Publications. Poems reproduced by kind permissions of Adrian Henri and Roger McGough. Photographic Permissions: Margaret Ainscough for the Harry Ainscough Collection Liverpool Daily Echo and Post, per Mr. Colin Hunt, Chief Colin Areety Librarian Bluecoat Press, per Vanessa Chellembron Liverpool Libraries and Information Services, per David Stoker Ches Cherry Derek Massey Patrick Cluskey John McCormick Combo Musical Weekly, per Matthew D’Arcy Mindscaffolding Tony Davis Tony Myers Sugar Deen National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, per The Board Ken Dodd of Trustees John Edwards Glynn Parry FAB, Fleetway Publications PEBE Splash Records & Casbah Promotions Dave Forshaw Paul Pilnick Gaz Gaskell Private Eye, Ms. Hope Pym, Editor Johnny Gustafson Harry Prytherch Peter Halligan Reflections, per Carol Sharp Neil Hamilton David Rushworth Bob Hardy Kingsize (Teddy) Taylor Bill Harry Colin Thorpe Karl Hughes Wallassey News Professor Quentin Hughes Hank Walters Charlie Jenkins Weekend Daily Telegraph Michael A. Joseph Bernie Wenton The Imperial War Museum, per Janice Mullen Mrs. Wilkie International Guitar Festival of Great Britain, per Brendan Dave Williams McCormack Norman Williams Spencer Leigh Wirral Museums, per David Hillhouse Lewis’s Department Store, Liverpool Bob Wooler Every effort has been made to ensure that the photographic credits are correctly listed. The publisher and author apologize for any photographic credits that have been omitted. Table of Contents Introduction: 1 Plate: The Liver Building, Liverpool (courtesy Reections) Chapter 1 In the Beginning Was Mathew Street .............................................................. 3 Plate 1: Mathew Street, circa 1960 (Author’s collection) Chapter 2 Look For The Girl With The Sun In Her Eyes .................................................. 7 Plate 2: Slum Rooftops, Everton (courtesy Quentin Hughes) Chapter 3 The Beatles In Close-Up ............................................................................. 13 Plate 3: Paul McCartney at St. John’s Hall (courtesy Patrick Cluskey) Personal Anecdote: A Hard Day’s Night* - 14 Chapter 4 Life In The Streets......................................................................................19 Plate 4: A Liverpool Street, 1965 (courtesy Margaret Ainscough) Personal Anecdote: Jimmy Mac—A Violent Way of Life* - 21 Chapter 5 Liverpool Clubs: The Scene Of The Crime .....................................................27 Plate 5: The Harlems at the Cavern (courtesy Mindscaffolding) Chapter 6 Liverpool Music & The Irish ........................................................................43 Plate 6: The Irish Center, Liverpool (courtesy Mindscaffolding) Chapter 7 Drugs & Rock ‘n Roll—Opening For The Beatles............................................ 49 Plate 7: John Lennon’s Statue by Arthur Dooley (courtesy Mindscaffolding) Personal Anecdote: Opening For The Beatles—Disaster Strikes* - 55 Chapter 8 The South Discovers Liverpool .....................................................................67 Plate 8: Beatle Street Sculpture by Arthur Dooley (courtesy Mindscaffolding) Chapter 9 The Lure Of America .................................................................................81 Plate 9: Ray Charles and Kingsize Taylor (courtesy Teddy Taylor) Chapter 10 Subculture and Pub Culture ........................................................................ 87 Plate 10: The Baltic Fleet Pub, Liverpool (courtesy Mindscaffolding) Personal Anecdote: It’s O.K., I’m With The Band* - 94 Chapter 11 Pre-Beatles England & Class ...................................................................... 101 Plate 11: Montage by Author (author’s collection and courtesy Liverpool Libraries & Information Services) Personal Anecdote: An Afternoon Session, Circa 1963, The Cavern* - 114 Chapter 12 A City Of Characters............................................................................... 121 Plate 12: Montage by Author (Author’s collection) Chapter 13 Sexual Attitudes, Mirth & Mayhem ........................................................... 133 Plate 13: Sir Jacob Epstein’s Statue ‘Liverpool Resurgent’ (courtesy Mindscaffolding) Chapter 14 Football, Humor & Violence ................................................................... 143 Plate 14: Riversdale Football Team (Author’s collection) Chapter 15 Death & Madness In Liverpool ................................................................. 151 Plate 15: Psychiatric Patterns (Author’s collection) Personal Anecdote: Liverpool South Psychiatric Annex, The Acute Ward* - 160 Chapter 16 Crime As Play ....................................................................................... 167 Plate 16: Up the Pole by Karl Hughes Chapter 17 Crime As Crime..................................................................................... 171 Plate 17: Kids (courtesy Margaret Ainscough) Personal Anecdote: The Great Candy Robbery: A Fully Felonious Event With A Modicum of Luck* - 173 Chapter 18 The Fey Quality Of The Celts .................................................................. 183 Plate 18: Brendan McCormack and Lute (courtesy Colin Thorpe) Chapter 19 Liverpool Blacks..................................................................................... 193 Plate 19: A Liverpool Policeman (courtesy Tony Myers) Personal Anecdote: A Black Odyssey: From Lightest Coffee to Deepest Black* - 203 Chapter 20 The Blues & Liverpool ............................................................................ 223 Plate 20: Black and White Guitar (Author’s collection) Chapter 21 The Slave Trade: Liverpool & Bristol......................................................... 231 Plate 21: Slave and Liver Building (Author’s collection) Personal Anecdote: Bristol, Scrumpy & The Blues* - 234 Chapter 22 American Blacks & Liverpool Whites......................................................... 239 Plate 22: Chubby Checker and Kingsize Taylor (courtesy Teddy Taylor) Chapter 23 The American Presence In Europe ............................................................ 249 Plate 23: American G.Is Arriving in Liverpool, 1942 (courtesy The Imperial War Museum) Chapter 24 I Meet Little Richard & The Rolling Stones ................................................ 265 Plate 24: Little Richard and the The Roadrunners, a Liverpool group (courtesy Dave Williams) Personal Anecdote: Where Were You In ‘62? Little Richard Meets Two Liverpool Louts—And Smiles* - 267 Chapter 25 Strange Connections: Our Theme............................................................. 273 Plate 25: Montage by Author End Note A Plea.................................................................................................. 280 Plate 26: Liverpool Kids (courtesy Michael A. Joseph) Notes Bibliography *All personal anecdotes are courtesy of the book, Tales of a Liverpool Lad by P. Willis-Pitts Introduction “Liverpool is the pool of life.” Carl Jung he details which form this book are drawn from my childhood in the Irish ghetto of Liverpool 8 and my Trst-hand experience of the Beatles and the rise of the Mersey Sound. Typical of my background, I was totally unaware of politics and the social movements which were taking place around me. However, after spending 18 years in the USA and getting myself two degrees, I now possess two languages: that of the street; and that of the educated researcher. The truth is, it is the language of the street which best illustrates the theme of this book. But by itself, though colorful, that would not communicate the message. So you will nd the book is laid out in more or less alternating chapters: a “learned” chapter of social research is followed immediately by a real-life “street” anecdote from actual experience which eshes out the more studied chapter. When I rst wrote the “street” anecdotes, modesty as well as self-preservation made me write in the third person—partially to