THE Rf1D10 ONE ' flPST ENCYCLOPMWi Of POP IN 26 WUKLY PARTS PART I I THE WHO: first of theThunderers Gfilf VINCENT: 1 Classic Rocker 25p; Tfif ANIMALS: The nest of British R &es VERY PLUS: MINION & McCARTNft Soul Merseybeat & More AUSTRALIA 65c NEW ZEALAND 7Cc SOUTH AFRICA 70c NORTH AMERICA $1.25 & 1 S t IN THIS ISSUE THE ANIMALS by John Brown: The most convincing of the British mid-'60s R&B bands 281 MERSEYBEAT (Part 2) by John Pidgeon: The Beatles were not the only Liverpool group to hit the charts 284 GENE VINCENT by Rob Finnis: The epitome of the '50s greasy rocker 288 The first half of the '60s saw a totally unprecedented boom in HAIR — THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL? by Virginia ronside: British music. Britain — so long the Cinderella of rock — seemed A look at the changing attitudes to hair styles 291 suddenly to find an identity. The focus of the tremendous music THE WHO by Rick Sanders: The group that brought activity emanating from the British Isles was, of course, the Beatles thunder to rock & roll 293 — and through them, Liverpool. The city port had long been a melting pot of races and cultures, and had consequently formed ATLANTIC/STAX —THE STYLE LEADERS by Ian Hoare: a very real identity, quite separate from the rest of the country. In The rise of a small independent label to major the classical musical tradition — observed in other great music status 297 centres — there emerged from this cosmopolitanism a hybrid but WHY LIVERPOOL? by Mike Evans: The Cunard distinct form of rock. The Irish — from just across the water — had Yanks and other tales 300 brought to Liverpool an enduring interest in country & western: the Beatles and others had trekked as part of their apprenticeship TALKING 'BOUT MY GENERATION. The lyrics to to Hamburg: the city itself had a strong and lively folk tradition of 'Needles And Pins' and 'Tobacco Road' in full 'Scouse' songs. From these and many other influences emerged a plus analysis 303 Liverpool or Mersey Sound. In the wake of the Beatles came a deluge of Liverpudlian artists, few of the same stature, but many LENNON AND McCARTNEY by Rob Burt: The with the same clean-cut freshness. songwriting team that turned Tin Pan Alley The early part of the '60s also found renewed interest in both upside down 304 the blues and R&B. In clubs all over Britain, R&B standards were vigorously performed by groups who identified strongly with the POP FILE by Mitch Howard: Pop from A —Z 307 lot of their black originators. Newcastle — in many ways similar to Liverpool in its independence and musical strength, but on the EDITOR: Jeremy Pascali opposite side of the country — threw up the Animals, who are DEPUTY EDITOR: Andrew Kershaw featured in a profile this week. London itself gave us the Rolling EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Stu Versey Stones and the Who amongst many others. The Who — our super- Joselyn Morton MANAGING EDITOR: John Paton stars — started by advertising their act as 'maximum R&B ., a strong DESIGN DIRECTOR: Graham Donaldson contrast for anyone listening to Townshend's extremely individual- ART EDITOR: Robert Burt Jill Milsom istic music today. RESEARCH: Allan Smith Liverpool and R&B are our major themes this issue. Both PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Don Mason Liverpool the city, and Liverpool the sound are analysed: the writing ASSISTANT: Phil Howard-Jones talents of Lennon and McCartney are further assessed: we look at hair — a hang-up for adults who were aghast at the length of locks— CONTRIBUTORS: as a symbol and badge of the new '60s youth: and we conclude John Brown: record reviews editor for Cream, contri- our investigation of soul. In addition there is a profile of Gene butor to Rock File. Vincent, one of the great rockers, who continued as a performer John Pidgeon: editor of Let It Rock. Rob Finnis: writes for Oz, Rolling Stone, Cream, Record well after rock & roll had lost its impetus, and who influenced many Mirror and Let It Rock. of the new wave of performers. In this, as always, the radio Virginia lronside: author of Chelsea Bird. Writes for the programme reflects our publication — giving you an audio account Daily Mail and 19. Rick Sanders: writes for Cream, Record Mirror and of the second major chapter of the story of pop. Rolling Stone. lan Hoare: writes for Let It Rock and Time Out. Although the radio programme and this publication have been linked for readers in the UK, Mike Evans: ex-member of the Liverpool Scene, writes we have taken care to ensure that readers abroad will find this publication complete in itself. for Cream and Melody Maker. Rob Burt: art editor for The Story Of Pop. Subscription rates. For six months (26 issues): Mitch Howard: poet, motorcyclist and drum mer with The UK and overseas price is £7.85. This price includes postage and packing to Forces Favourites, writes for Cream. Disc and Record anywhere in the UK and abroad. Requests for subscriptions should be sent with your remittance to: W. H. Smith and Son Ltd, Subscription Services, 38 Vachel Mirror. Road, Reading, Berks. RG1 1NZ. Back numbers. Copies of any part of the Radio One Story of Pop can be obtained from the following address, price 25p per copy (to include postage 1973 Phoebus Publishing Company/BBC. Made and and packing): Back Numbers. Department D. Phoebus Publishing Company, St Giles House. printed in Great Britain by Petty & Sons Ltd.. Leeds. 49/50 Poland Street, LONDON W1A 2LG. Outside the UK: your newsagent from whom you bought this copy can usually All charts positions and release dates refer to the UK supply back numbers at the normal retail price in your country. In case of unless otherwise stated. difficulty please remit to the United Kingdom address immediately above. Predictadly enough. many of tie balds The Beatles' meteoric -ise to that flourished brief', in this hot-house fame just over 10 years ago atmosphere were pretty dire. Some, Ike ushered in a new era for Er tish pop the Kinks and the Wh:. (both initially music. Out went Cliff Richard, Hank promoted as R&B ban:s), ware ery B. Marvin, the Shadows, 3illy Fury, good indeed, but had littie or nothing to do with any part ol the blues tradit 3n. Marty Wilde and tieir many rather But the British blue: boom was never a feeble imitators. In came the total fraud, because ar-ong the riY3-iny Mersey Sound ald, hc.t on its promoters and musi:ians busily jump ng heels, rhythm & blues — English- on the bandwagon there were at lea_Ft a style. Looking back, it's hard not to handful of musicians whc did haie a Y-ery be amazed by the excesses and real love fp,. the bluE — End also had :he considerable musical talents necessar. to world-wide trends inspired by this do any rE al justice to one of :he midst sudden change in musical fashions. disciplined and dema -ding forms of mr.3ic. The London suburb: with thei - cJr )us Fol owing his successes with the blend of sophistica tion and )royir ial Beatles, manacer Brian Epsteir quickly got funk, produced the Rol ing Stones and most of the top-line Liverpool bads under the Yardbirds (then featuriig Eric Clapion), contract - well before tie London two of thE bands tha - went on to domi -ate promoters and record company executives the Britisr R&B movemen:. Only one c- her had real v begun to grasp what was going band came anywhe -e near them. They on. The only potential chElleigers to were called the Animals, and t ley came the Beatles at that time were :he London - from Newcastle upon Tyne. based, blues-orientated Rolliig Stones, and the promoters' initial reacticn was to Wild Stage Act rush out and start signing up ary bunch of young hopefuls that could iu -nble their Like Stones a id the Yarcbirds the way through a 12-bar blues and pronounce Animals came up the hard way They a few revered names like Muddy Waters started cut as the Alai Price Co -lido, and Nowlin' Wolf. playing a ramsha:kle Newca stle club Virtually overnight. nundreds cf so-called called the Downbeat Gradually they Duilt 'blues' bands sprang up. Partly, it was an up a fanatical local following, and moved attempt by the powers-that-be in the to the la -ger and plushier, Club A Gc Go. music industry to cash in on the phen- The wildness of their stage act prorr died omenal success of the Rollinc_ Stones, but the nickname "Anir- als" and, id/ the time it was also a genuine recognit on of the they came down to try and anak.e it in sudden awaken ng of interest in the black London ii January 1964, the name had musical styles that had laLrched the stuck. In those days, the band was a five - who,e rock & roll explosic n 10 years man ou :fit, with Eric Burdo is vocals earlier. backed up by Alan Pr ce on <eybc 3rds, A E t Features 281 Dezzo Hoffman Bryan 'Chas' Chandler on bass, Hilton Like most other R &B bands at the time, Now established as a top-line na:ional Valentine on guitar, and John Steel on the Animals built their repertoire around band, the Animals embarked on a series drums. All five were Newcastle born and re-workings of songs by black American of successful tours, both in Britair and bred, and their Northern working-class artists like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Ray abroad, and 'The House Of The Rising Sun' background helped add the conviction that Charles, John Lee Hooker, Jim my Reed was followed, over the next two yea's, by so many of their middle-class Southern and Slim Harpo — all of whom had become a string of singles hits: 'I'm C-ying' rivals sadly lacked.