Whitechapel - NEMS bites the dust.

Here are two photographs of the same building, a building that for a time was the centre of Liverpool music business - here 'the most important contract in music history' was signed.

 And 40 years later... demolished for redevelopment.

Photo from PhillipGMayer

It shows the NEMS (standing for North End Music Stores) building on Whitechapel, Liverpool.  


Legend has it that At about three o'clock on October 28th, 1961, a boy called Raymond Jones, walked into 
this NEMS record-store in and asked:


 'There's a record I want. It's "My Bonnie" and it was made in Germany. Have you got it?'

Behind the counter was the store manager, Brian Epstein. 

He shook his head. 'Who is the record by?' he asked. 

'You won't have heard of them,' said Jones. 'It's by a group called The Beatles....'

Whether the story is true or not, it was from this building where Brian began his music empire signing The Beatles and going on to manage some of the biggest bands of Merseybeat.

The building is now gone but i'm sure the legend will live on.

Thanks to Phillip G Mayer, check his photostream of Liverpool photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/44435674@N00/

Hello -

Hello and welcome to my new blog where I hope to be exploring the rich musical heritage of the City of Liverpool, England.




Now, you probably know about The Beatles - and you can't really talk about Liverpool music without mentioning them - but I want the scope of this blog to go beyond Merseybeat.

The name of the blog, 'Beneath the Beat' isn't just a nod to the fab four. It's a statement saying that beneath all music are the people who make it and listen to it.  I want to focus on the music that came from everyday people - from the basements of pubs right up to the terraces of Anfield and Goodison Park.

 It's an acknowledgement that for every Merseybeat there were other musical threads continuing through Liverpools history, not as popular but every bit as important.  From the sea-shanties and folk tunes of the quaysides to the DIY punk of Eric's and the current resurgence in live jazz music in pubs and bars across the city.

I hope that over the coming months, you will find something here to interest you.

If you have any ideas or comments about what you'd like to see on here, please get in touch. It'd be great to hear from you.