Catching the British Wave

The Merseybeats

The Merseybeats another British rock band from Liverpool formed in the early 1960s. Along with other bands at that time they often performed at a popular club called The Cavern. The boys in the band were Tony Crane founder, lead vocal and lead guitar, Billy Kinsley founder, lead vocals and rhythm guitar, doing the backing vocals and on the bass guitar was Bob Packham backing vocals, on keyboard and lead guitar Dave Goldberg and on the drums Lou Rosenthal .

The Merseybeats first hit single was “It’s Love That Really Counts” in 1963 and “I Think of You” in 1964 which became their million-selling recording and got The Merseybeats their first gold disc. Some of their other hits were “Don’t Turn Around” and “Wishin’ and Hopin”.

Other well-known and liked songs were “Mr. Moonlight” and “The Fortune Teller”. The Merseybeats regularly appeared at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and in 1964 they toured Germany and the U.S They had their own show on Italian TV.

In 1966 The Merseybeats disbanded and band members Crane and Kinsley formed a vocal duo calling themselves The Merseys. In 1968 they scored their first hit with “Sorrow” and made it on the U.K. Singles Chart.

Soon after they split up to come together again in 1993 to re-group The Merseybeats. In 2006 they celebrated 45 years of making music and today continue to tour about Europe and the US.

The Mindbenders

English beat group The Mindbenders came from Manchester, England. In the 1960s they were well-known for their song "A Groovy Kind of Love”. In 1965 they came out with another chart-topper “Game of Love”

The band was founded in 1963 by Wayne Fontana along with Bob Lang, Ric Rothwell, and Eric Stewart. They charted with the song “Ashes to Ashes”. In 1966 the band toured the US. Their album With Woman in Mind featured the songs “I Want Her, She Wants Me” and “Schoolgirl”. The album was not very well received in the UK so it was never released in the US. The Mindbenders tried for another hit with “We’ll Talk about Tomorrow” but were unsuccessful.

The Mindbenders were featured in the Sidney Poitier movie, “To Sir with Love” in 1967. On the movie soundtrack were their songs “Off and Running” and “It’s Getting Harder All the Time”. After a tour of the UK in 1968, they disbanded.

Gerry and the Pacemakers

Just like The Beatles the British rock group Gerry and the Pacemakers originated in Liverpool, England. ”How Do You Do It”, ”I Like It” and ”You’ll Never Walk Alone” were the hits they were most known for in 1963.

”Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin” and ”Ferry Across the Mersey”.are among their well-known songs. The band broke up in 1966 but Gerry brought them back together again in 1974 and they toured playing the music their fans like to hear.

Gerry and the Pacemakers were formed by Gerry Marsden who was also the lead singer in 1959 and included his brother Fred on the drums, Les Chadwick on bass, and on piano Arthur Mack who was later replaced by Les Maguire. Camell Laird Shipping Yard at Birkenhead was the venue they choose for their rehearsals. Following in the footsteps of The Beatles Gerry and the Pacemakers signed up with Brian Epstein. A movie with Gerry and the Pacemakers was filmed under the title of their song ”Ferry across the Mersey” in 1965.

Gerry and the Pacemakers stood out from other bands keeping their hair short and wearing conservative suits. Most of the songs were written by Gerry Marsden, The band gave one of their best performances with the song "It's All Right.” Another song preferred by fans was ”I’m the One”. They were another British band that went to the US to seek popularity and were very welcome. "Girl On a Swing" became their last hit in America in 1966.

In 2013 Gerry and the Pacemakers went on their 50th Anniversary Tour and released a new official video titled ”You’ll Never Walk Alone”.