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The Liverpool Bands That Have Impacted The City’s Culture

Liverpool has always been known for its massive range of music, over the past few decades it has shown us time and time again that there is massive talent throughout the city. In a place like Liverpool, you are always submerged in lots of different cultures, and they always seem to have connotations towards the amazing music that comes from Liverpool.

This article is going to take you through what I believe to be the top 5 Liverpool bands you must listen to if you live in Liverpool, are travelling to Liverpool or if you just want to get immersed in the city’s history.

Gerry And The Pacemakers

In 1956, Gerry and The Pacemakers formed in Liverpool with founding member Gerry Marsden, being the frontman of the group along with his brother Fred, Les Chadwick and Arthur McMahon. In the 1960s they were discovered during the Mersey beat scene and were managed by Brian Epstein who then signed them to Columbia records. In 1963 they began recording and gained there first number 1 in the UK with How Do You Do It?

It really took off for Gerry and The Pacemakers when they released their next two singles, I Like It and the infamous You’ll Never Walk Alone. When You’ll Never Walk Alone was released, it was adopted by Liverpool Football Club and became an anthem still to this day for football fans around the world.

Echo And The Bunnymen

In 1978, Echo And The Bunnymen formed in Liverpool as a four-piece and never looked back. In 1980 they released their debut album Crocodiles which got them into the Top 20 in the UK charts.

After receiving cult status for their first 3 albums, they then went on to make their fourth album in 1984, titled Ocean Rain. This album created mainstream success for the band with the lead single The Killing Moon entering the top 10.

This impacted Liverpool’s culture as it brought the genre of new wave and post-punk to new audiences and led them to solidify themselves in the 80s culture of music with their sound and style.

The La’s

The La’s formed in Liverpool in 1983, and were only active until about 1992. A short-lived musical career, but an impactful one nonetheless. With a name like The La’s they stood out to the public as a group of scousers with a dream that they were going to make a reality.

When they released their only proper mainstream hit There She Goes it took a few re-releases of the track before the song really started to gain recognition, but ultimately overtime, has garnered the attention it deserves. I think this changed the culture of Liverpool as this was starting to show the change in the music and fashion scene that would be experienced in the 90s, and I believe The La’s really set the tone for things to come. Even down to the song’s music video, which features the La’s scampering through run-down Liverpool streets filmed with a hand-held camera.

The Wombats

The Wombats formed in 2003 in Liverpool, and are still together today. The three members met while studying at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and from 2004 to 2007 released many Eps and singles, but it wasn’t until the release of A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation in October of 2007 that led to mainstream success. They went onto win the “Best Dancefloor Filler” award at the 2008 NME Awards with their single Let’s Dance to Joy Division.

Along with their successes they have managed to perform at many major festivals such as Glastonbury, T in the Park, Reading and Leeds Festival.

In the early days of their career, I think they had some impact on Liverpool’s culture because they made music in the indie rock genre, which hadn’t really been made in Liverpool yet, as it was thriving from other places like America and only really from Sheffield in the UK. But their use of this genre brought it to life and started a shift in the early 2000s music that was coming out at the time.

The Beatles

How could we talk about bands that have impacted Liverpool’s culture without even mentioning The Beatles? The Beatles are arguably one of the most successful bands ever, with fans all over the world, the Beatles really changed how music was made, produced and performed.

Forming in 1960, they only had an active career that lasted until 1970, and in the space of 10 years they changed everything. I think the Beatles impacted Liverpool so much because they weren’t from well off families; they were just 4 regular lads from Liverpool with a real drive and passion for music.

Their style was copied by millions, even the famous Beatles haircut was donned by many men at the time. When the Beatles eventually stopped touring in 1966, this led them to really experiment with their instruments and sound as they didn’t need to perform what they made, which led the Beatles to often be credited for the creation of the psychedelic rock genre after the release of their album revolver which used experimental production techniques and lyrics with themes of psychedelic drug use and altered states of consciousness. To say The Beatles are one of the most influential bands ever would be completely fair.

Lucy Faulkner

Editor

Founder and Editor, Clare Deane, shares her passion for all the amazing things happening in Liverpool. With a love of the local Liverpool music scene, dining out a couple of times a week and immersing herself in to all things arts and culture she's in a pretty good place to create some Liverpool Noise.

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