Liverpool: Wondrous Place : Music from Cavern to Cream

by Paul Du Noyer

Liverpool is the cradle of British pop, a city responsible for more number 1 hits than any other. This is the definitive story of its journey from the Cavern to Cream.
Even before it gave us the Beatles, Liverpool produced the first true rock 'n' roll star to be born outside America, Billy Fury. There has been a stream of star names ever since - from the Merseybeat time of the Beatles, Cilla Black and the Searchers to Echo And The Bunnymen, Elvis Costello, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, The La's, Lightning Seeds and Atomic Kitten. Liverpool even rules the dance floor, through its very own super-club, Cream.
Wondrous Place is a unique look at how one city became central in the history of music. The book looks at its full range of cultural influences, from Bill Shankly and the Liverpool/Everton divide to poets such as Allen Ginsberg and Roger McGough, comedians including Jimmy Tarbuck and Alexei Sayle, Shirley Valentine and The Boys From The Black Stuff, the Toxteth riots and the Hillsborough disaster. Despite the backdrop of economic decline, Liverpool has never lost its uniquely creative energy.

Genres: Music

400 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Tyler Houle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Really shines a light on the rich music scene of the city and how it effects the entire consciousness of this wondrous place :)

[Mark Cornelius · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit old now, having been published in 2002. So Liverpool has moved on a bit since Paul Du Noyer wrote his book. It describes the Liverpool music scene from The Beatles to The Coral – perhaps rather lopsided fixed points. I must admit that, before I read the book, I thought the Liverpool music scene had thrown up many more big acts than it actually has. A sensible retort would be, “well The Beatles trump every other band that has existed”, which is probably true. But that seems to the be the problem for Liverpool, The Beatles were just too good and too successful. Even during the Merseybeat era of the early sixties when many groups thrived in Liverpool, they all seemed to benefit from The Beatles’ success, either directly by playing some of Lennon and McCartney’s unwanted songs, or indirectly by being from the same city. Even comedians like Jimmy Tarbuck probably got their breaks into the big time, because they were from the same place as John, Paul, George and Ringo. And then in the 1970s, this weight of The Beatles’ fame seemed to stifle the life out of any aspiring young rock star. After that some stars did emerge, Echo and the Bunnymen, The La’s, OMD, and Atomic Kitten. But with all due respect to these talented folk, were they ever the big names that would match some of those from nearby Manchester?

Du Noyer’s book does have some interesting stories in it. And because he is a Scouser himself, he has a good line in funny quips. The problem with the book is that it is a bit like a good antique fair or a church bazaar. There is lots of great stuff, but it is organised oddly and difficult to find. Its encyclopaedic inclusion of facts about so many groups means there is too much to wade through, you are left feeling bored for quite large sections of the book. It needed a good editor. I suspect that the publishers thought they had one, as Du Noyer had edited the NME, Q Magazine and Mojo. Sadly, he wasn’t hard-hearted enough to kill his some of his own darlings.