The term "Merseyside"
references the River Mersey that runs past Liverpool and its environs.
In the wake of the success of the Beatles, Merseyside also became
briefly synonymous with successful pop music, which some dubbed "Mersey Beat."
|
| Map of Britain |
| Map of Liverpool |
| The region soon became
the focus of England's major record companies who sent numerous
A&R (Artists and Repertoire) agents to places like the Cavern
Club in search of pop gold. Dick Rowe, for example, sought to make
up for losing the Beatles by offering contracts to several Liverpool
groups. Brian Epstein assumed the role of the northern Larry Parnes
and became the manager for a number of Scouse groups. |
| The model
for both Epstein and Parnes seems to have been the British aristocrat
whose most ostentatious display of wealth were his/her horses. The
modern pop moguls had their "stables" of stars and had themselves
photographed with them en masse. They also demonstrated to a legion
of other entrepreneurs that you did not need to know much about
pop music in order to be successful in the business. |
| Left: The Royal
Liver Building near Liverpool's docks. |
