Merseybeat

[andy-hughes]

Hopefully our well-spread AB'ers can settle an argument between the present Mrs Hughes and myself.

I believe the term 'Merseybeat', used by the media to describe Liverpool pop music in the 1960's, was coined by the London press to give a snappy name to the new sound of The Beatles and others.

Therefore, in my view, anyone from that era, no matter where they live in the country, will know what the term 'Merseybeat' means.

Mrs Hughes is convinced it is only a Northern expression, and anyone south of Birmingham would be baffled by reference to it today.

Can any AB'ers anywhere in the UK confirm which of us is correct?

[bobbinwales]

Well I heard the term Merseybeat lots of times - Gerry& Pacemakers, Beatles, Searchers... even The Merseybeats. And I wasn't even aware of music at the time but heard the term lots of times since

[rowanwitch]

Well I grew up in London and even as a child, of ten or so I understood the term mainly because it was obvious that certain groups ' talked funny' and that funny was a Liverpool accent.

[Ken4155]

Andy, scroll down to the paragraph beginning "The sound was similar to that of Rock and Roll..."

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/articles/the-story-of-how-merseybeat-took-over-the-world/

[mallyh]

i'm from down souff and always knew the Merseybeat was northern music

[Ken4155]

'Merseybeat' was a type of music and though originating in Liverpool, according to my link, influential Merseybeat bands emanated from cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and London.

[MargoTester]

https://www.britannica.com/art/Merseybeat
Why would southerners be baffled

[pastafreak]

I wasn't even born in the uk and I know hat it means..
.have done for a long time.

[JimF]

It was a common expression in Glasgow at the time too.

[-SharonA-]

As a Londoner, heard the term many a times!!

[jno]

you are. Here's a rather pessimistic Australian reference to it from 1965

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/105762506?searchTerm=merseybeat

Whether the Australian youth of today know what it means I couldn't say, but it was obviously known at the time some way south of Birmingham.

[Prudie]

I've never lived further North than Wiltshire and have always known the term Merseybeat and that it referred to Liverpool bands.

[Chipchopper]

I'm of the exact same opinion as bobinwales on this.

[choux]

I started with a search for Brian Matthew - best DJ ever imo.
He did a 13 part radio series on the Beatles.
Then I came across @Bill Harry/Mersey Beat Ltd.
http://www.triumphpc.com/mersey-beat/birth/

[Atheist]

I believe the term to describe the Liverpool musical explosion of the time was "mersey beat". The Merseybeats was the name of a group. These terms appear in the popular press and media, invented or adopted by journo's to simplify their prose and make it snappy and comprehensible by a wide audience.
In my day, "Hippies" (invented by US journo's) were previously called 'Heads' or Freaks', and the later 'Hippies' was so uncool! The labels mark the time when the original in-crowd becomes overrun with a wider range of fans, and the in-crowd labels are changed and lost in history.

[naomi24]

I’m surprised that anyone doesn’t recognise that term as pretty much universal. Must have led a very sheltered life.

[ToraToraTora]

I thought it was a Liverpool magazine. I have heard the term though on the South coast.

[andy-hughes]

It was Tora, but that was 'Mersey Beat' like a police constable beat.

'Merseybeat' is the generic name for Liverpool bands, usually a four-piece with no designated lead singer.

[tiggerblue10]

I've heard the term several times and always thought it referred to Liverpool bands from the 60s. Bit before my time and I'm a Saff Londoner but still....definitely heard it.

[choux]

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/mersey-beat

[jno]

first recorded use 1963 and actually at a "peak" (roughly the size of a molehill) now

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Merseybeat&year_start=1951&year_end=2000&;corpus=18&;smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2CMerseybeat%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2CMerseybeat%3B%2Cc0