1966 is understood to be the year when Merseybeat era ground to a halt. A time when the chart hits dried up and bands that were hot a few years before became anachronisms compared with new more progressive psych sounds from London. But what really happened?
In fact what we saw was Mersey acts regroup to try and adapt to the new sounds and alongside a new clutch of acts from the Merseyside/Liverpool area, they produced fantastic material well into the Seventies:
- The Merseys – Sorrow (Single A-side, Fontana, 1966)
- Wimple Winch – Save My Soul (Single A-side, Fontana, 1966)
- Clayton Squares – Imagination (Single B-side to There She Is, Decca, 1966)
- Swinging Blue Jeans – Keep Me Warm (‘Til the Sun Shines) (Unearthed Merseybeat Volume 1, Viper, 2002 rec 1966)
- The 23rd Turnoff – Michael Angelo (Single A-side, Deram, 1967)
- The Searchers – Popcorn Double Feature (Single A-side, Pye, 1967)
- The Koobas – Gypsy Fred (Single A-side, Parlophone, 1967)
- Gerry Marsden – Gilbert Green (Single A-side, CBS, 1967)
- Billy J Kramer – Town of Tuxley Toymaker Part 1 (Single A-side, Reaction, 1967)
- Cilla Black – Follow the Path to The Stars (Sher-oo!, Parlophone, 1968)
- Timon – The Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane (Single A-side, Pye, 1968)
- Jason Eddie – Mr Busdriver (Unearthed Merseybeat Volume 1, Viper, 2002 rec 1968)
- Focal Point – Never Never (First Bite of The Apple, Kissing Spell, 2005 rec 1968)
- The Swinging Blue Jeans – Summer Comes Sunday (Good Golly, Miss Molly! (The EMI Years 1963 – 1969), EMI, 2008 rec 1969)
- Jimmy Campbell – In My Room (Half Baked, Vertigo, 1970)
- Liverpool Express – Every Man Must Have A Dream, (Single A-side, Warner Brothers, 1976)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Fantastic bunch of songs on this podcast – how could one small part of a small island produce so many wonderful sounds in such a short space of time?
The Remo 4 song seems to be missing from the playlist by the way