Category:Mersey Beat

Mersey Beat

Mersey Beat was a name coined by Bill Harry in 1961 to launch his newspaper Mersey Beat in Liverpool on 6 July 1961. The first issue contained John Lennon's own report on the origin of the Beatles and subsequent issues featured his 'Beatcomber' columns which inspired his two best-selling books. Brian Epstein became record reviewer with Issue No. 3 and there were features by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Among features by Brian Epstein were his report on the Beatles first recording session and their first tour of America. Paul McCartney wrote about their trip to Hamburg, the backing of a stripper and his trip to Paris with John.

There were over one hundred issues of Mersey Beat, which is now produced online at www.mersey-beat.com. Details of each issue are also to be found on .www.rockandpopshop.com

The sound of the Mersey groups at the time was labelled 'The Mersey Sound' or 'The Liverpool Sound' by the media and never called 'merseybeat', as Mersey Beat was a registered name.