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*Win
a
a signed copy of Wondrous Place*
"Liverpool was a huge melting pot of music... When rock 'n'
roll arrived and we heard Elvis, Gene Vincent, Fats Domino and Little
Richard, the game was up.. We knew we had to do it for a career.
And the rest is history"
Sir Paul McCartney
Even
before the Beatles, Liverpool produced its first true rock n roll
star, Billy Fury. Ever since there has been a stream of stars -
from Merseybeat to Echo and the Bunnymen, Elvis Costello, Frankie
Goes to Hollywood, The La's, The Lightning Seeds and Atomic Kitten.
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| Paul
Du Noyer at BBC Radio Merseyside |
Liverpool:
Wondrous Place is the first book to document the whole Liverpool
Music Scene from the 1950's to the present.
The book takes a unique look at the role the city played in the
development of British pop culture and explores the very roots of
Scouse culture, from its deep links with America and the overwhelming
Irish influence, showing how Liverpool has never lost its distinctive
creative energy.
BBC's Spencer Leigh recently caught up with the author, Paul Du
Noyer on the BBC Radio Merseyside programme 'On the Beat'.
Liverpool has had more number one hits than any other city,
yet Paul chose to name the book after a hit by Billy Fury which
barely made the top 30.
"I liked the name Wondrous Place for a few reasons. One,
that it was a way of getting Billy Fury foremost in the story- people
don't often realise that Liverpool rock doesn't begin with the Beatles,
it actually begins with Billy Fury who was certainly the coolest
of the first wave of the British rock stars. Wondrous Place was
a song of his, not his biggest by any means, but I think one of
his best - an increadibly moody atmospheric record. I liked the
way that Wondrous Place, as a title, enhances the image of Liverpool."
Paul was born and raised in Liverpool and in his book he talks about
the street on which he was brought up, Belmont Road in Anfield,
which had a very musical history.
"When interviewing people I would notice when they mentioned
Belmont Road. It occured to me what an extraordinary amount of entertainment
related activity that had occured on there. Alexi Sayle told me
that his mum had been the lollipop lady outside my school at Oakfield
Road, Elvis Costello would visit his relatives there, Echo and the
Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes had early rehearsals there; and at
the far end of the street was Newsham Park where Holly Johnson has
had his first homosexual encounter. It has a rich and varied entertainment
history"
Paul Du Noyer has interviewed all the major players in the Liverpool
scene to reveal the individual stories that make up this definitive
story of Liverpool pop.
Click the links below to hear clips of the show.
Liverpool: Wondrous Place is published by Virgin Books and priced
£18.99 in hardback.
*Win
a
a signed copy of Wondrous Place*
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