Bill Harry
Encyclopedia
Bill Harry is the creator of Mersey Beat
, an important newspaper of the early 1960s, which focused on the Liverpool music scene. Harry had started various magazines and newspapers before attending the Liverpool College of Art
, with fellow students John Lennon
and Stuart Sutcliffe
, who both later performed with The Beatles
.
Harry met his wife-to-be, Virginia, at the Jacaranda club (managed by Allan Williams
, the first manager of The Beatles) and she later agreed to help him start a music newspaper. After borrowing £50, Harry released the first issue of Mersey Beat on 6 July 1961, with the first 5,000 copies selling out within a short time. Harry arranged for the future Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein
, to see them perform a lunchtime concert at The Cavern Club
on 9 November 1961. Epstein subsequently asked Harry create a national music paper, the Music Echo, but after problems with Epstein about editorial control, he decided to become a P.R.
; working for many solo artistes and groups.
, Liverpool, on 17 September 1938. He came from a poor Liverpudlian background and was raised in a rough neighbourhood near Liverpool's dockyards. His father died early, which burdened the family with debts and hardship. He attended the Catholic St. Vincent's Institute but had to get used to the priests dispensing corporal punishment on a regular basis. Because of his small stature, Harry was beaten by his classmates, kicked in the appendix and "left for dead". His poverty-stricken mother had no option but to transfer him elsewhere. Harry became interested in science fiction and read comics by candlelight (the house had no electricity), and eventually joined the Liverpool Science Fiction Society. At the age of 13, he produced his own science fiction fanzine, Biped, using a Gestetner
machine to print 60 copies. His pen friend at the time was Michael Moorcock
, the writer of science fiction and fantasy novels. After winning a scholarship to the Junior School of Art in Gambier Terrace, Liverpool, Harry started his first school newspaper, Premier.
At the age of 16, Harry obtained a place at Liverpool's College of Art at 68 Hope Street. After studying typography
and page layouts, he borrowed the college’s duplicating machine and published a newspaper called Jazz in 1958, which reported concerts at the Liverpool Jazz Society club, the Temple Jazz Club and The Cavern Club. He also worked as assistant editor on University of Liverpool
's charity magazine, Pantosphinx, and on a music newsletter for Frank Hessy's musical instruments store called Frank Comments. The title was suggested by the owner, Frank Hesselberg, as a play on his own comments, but was abandoned after a few issues.
Harry received a National Diploma
in design while at the Liverpool Art College and became the first student in the new Graphic Design course, eventually winning a Senior City Art Scholarship. Having to find some form of work during college vacations as he could not support himself on his student grant alone, he worked on the demolition of a flour mill in Birkenhead
. Harry maintained that students at art college should be bohemians
in their thoughts and actions and not like the "dilettantes and dabblers", whom Harry disapproved of for wearing duffle coat
s and turtle neck sweaters
. At the time, artist and teacher Arthur Ballard thought that Harry and Stuart Sutcliffe
both overshadowed John Lennon
at college, stating they were both "extremely well educated, and very eager for information". During their time at the college, Sutcliffe painted a portrait of Harry.
Meeting Lennon was a shock for Harry, as Lennon often dressed like a Teddy boy
and was a disruptive influence at the college. Despite his misgivings about Lennon's attitude, Harry introduced him to Sutcliffe, who was a small, soft-spoken and shy student. The three often spent time together at the Ye Cracke
pub in Rice Street and on the top floor of the Jacaranda club (run by Allan Williams
, who later managed The Beatles). Harry met his future wife-to-be Virginia, then 16 years old, at the club. Harry, Lennon, Sutcliffe and Rod Murray saw the poet Royston Ellis
at Liverpool University in June 1960, and they later met him at the Ye Cracke pub. Having been disappointed with Ellis' performance, Harry proposed the idea that they should call the assembled quartet of friends The Dissenters
and make Liverpool famous; Sutcliffe and Murray with their paintings, Harry writing and Lennon playing music.
and Cass & The Cassanovas. Harry carried notebooks with him, collecting information about the local groups. Harry once wrote to The Daily Mail, saying that "Liverpool is like New Orleans at the turn of the century, but with rock ‘n’ roll instead of jazz". He also wrote to The Liverpool Echo about the emerging Liverpool music scene, but neither paper were interested in stories about music that was popular with teenagers. The classified ads in The Liverpool Echo for local groups were always under the heading of "Jazz", but the paper refused to change this policy, despite pleas from promoters and groups who actually paid for them. Harry had planned to produce a jazz newspaper called Storyville/52nd Street and contacted Sam Leach, the owner of a club called Storyville. Leach promised to fund the newspaper, but failed to turn up for three meetings with Harry, leaving him no other option but to find another investor. Harry thought starting a fortnightly newspaper covering Liverpool's rock 'n' roll music scene would be more successful and would differ from national music newspapers such as the New Musical Express and the Melody Maker
, which only wrote articles about current chart hits and artists.
, Birkenhead
, New Brighton
, Crosby
and Southport
, as well as Warrington
, Widnes
and Runcorn
. He thought up the name Mersey Beat by thinking about a policeman's 'beat' (the area of duty) which had nothing to do with a musical beat. Virginia gave up her accountancy/comptometer
operator job at Woolworth's and worked full-time for £2.10/- a week (also contributing a Mersey Roundabout article), while Harry lived on his Senior City Art Scholarship funding. Matthews promised to photograph groups, while Anderson found a small attic office for £5 a week above David Land's wine merchant's shop at 81a Renshaw Street, Liverpool. Anderson and Matthews helped with the move to the new office, with Anderson providing a desk, chair and an Olivetti typewriter.
Harry asked printer James E. James (who had printed Frank Comments) if he could borrow the printing blocks
he used for photos, as they were too expensive for the fledgling company at the time. Harry also borrowed blocks from the Widnes Weekly News, Pantosphinx and local cinemas, but contributed to charities by printing free charity advertisements at the side of the front cover page. After taking Virginia home to Bowring Park in the evening, Harry would often return to the office and work throughout the night, pausing only to go to the Pier Head
to buy a cup of tea and a hot pie at four in the morning. Virginia's parents helped the paper during this time, as they paid for classified ads, and arranged for Harry and his future wife's first photographs together.
, Birmingham
, Sheffield
and Newcastle
. As the newspaper's sales rose, it became known as the "Teenagers Bible". Local groups were soon being called "beat groups", and venues started advertising concerts as "Beat Sessions".
Harry later said: "The newspapers, television, theatres and radio were all run by people of a different generation who had no idea of what youngsters wanted. For decades they had manipulated and controlled them. Suddenly, there was an awareness of being young, and young people wanted their own styles and their own music, just at the time they were beginning to earn money, which gave them the spending power. Mersey Beat was their voice, it was a paper for them, crammed with photos and information about their own groups, which is why it also began to appeal to youngsters throughout Britain as its coverage extended to other areas." Because of the employment situation in Liverpool at the time, The Daily Worker newspaper denounced the enthusiasm of younger people in Liverpool by saying "The Mersey Sound is the sound of 30,000 people on the dole."
, compiled a list of groups that they had personally heard of, which had almost 300 names. In 1962, Mersey Beat held a poll to find out who was the most popular Merseyside group. When the votes were counted, Rory Storm & The Hurricanes were in first place, but after looking through the postal votes again, Harry noticed that forty votes were all written in green ink, in the same handwriting, and from the same area of Liverpool, so the dubious votes were declared void. This was suspected to have been Storm himself, but Harry had no idea that The Beatles had done exactly the same thing.
The results were announced on 4 January 1962, with The Beatles in first place. The results were printed in issue 13 of Mersey Beat on 4 January 1962, with the front page announcing, “Beatles Top Poll!” Such was the popularity of the poll, Rushworth's music store manager, Bob Hobbs, presented Lennon and George Harrison
with new guitars. At the time, many groups in Liverpool complained to Harry that his newspaper should be called Mersey Beatles, as he featured them so often.
Harry asked a local singer, Priscilla White
, to contribute a fashion column after writing an article called "Swinging Cilla", in which he wrote, "Cilla Black is a Liverpool girl who is starting out on the road to fame." Harry’s mistake came about because he could not remember her surname (which he knew was a colour), but White decided to keep it as a stage name. Two years later Harry arranged for Black to sing for Epstein at the Blue Angel club, leading to a management contract.
In late 1962, Harry wrote an article called "Take a look up North", asking for A&R
men from London to travel up to Liverpool and see what was really happening with the music scene, but not one record company sent an A&R representative to Liverpool. Journalist Nancy Spain
once wrote an article for the News of the World
newspaper, stating that Harry and his wife were "Mr. & Mrs. Mersey Beat", and when Bob Dylan
visited Liverpool to appear at the Odeon, he specifically asked for Harry to act as his guide to the city.
, Harry complained that Sutcliffe should be concentrating on art and not music, as he thought he was a competent, but not brilliant bassist. As Harry and Sutcliffe were members of the Liverpool College of Art's Student Union committee, they put forward the idea that the college should buy its own P.A. system for college dances, which The Quarrymen often played at, but the equipment would later be appropriated by the group and taken to Hamburg. As late as 7 March 1962, the Student’s Union sent Pete Mackey to ask Lennon to either return the equipment or pay for it, but Lennon told him it had been sold in Hamburg. Harry asked Lennon to write a short biography of The Beatles for the first issue of Mersey Beat, which Harry titled, "Being A Short Diversion On The Dubious Origins Of Beatles, Translated From The [sic] John Lennon": Lennon was very grateful that Harry printed his 'Dubious Origins' piece without editing it and later gave Harry a large collection of drawings, poems and stories (approximately 250), telling Harry he was free to publish whatever he liked (under the pseudonym of "Beatcomber"). After moving downstairs to a larger two-roomed office, Harry confessed to Lennon at the Blue Angel club that the collection had been lost or stolen, which upset Lennon a great deal.
Harry convinced manager Brian Epstein
to sell 12 copies of the first Mersey Beat newspaper at his North End Music Stores (NEMS) which sold out in one day, resulting in Epstein having to order more copies. After ordering and selling twelve dozen copies of the second issue of the newspaper in his NEMS store, Epstein invited Harry for a glass of sherry in his office, proposing the idea that he (Epstein) should write a record review column, which started in the third issue, on 3 August 1961, titled "Record Releases by Brian Epstein of NEMS".
Epstein saw numerous posters around Liverpool advertising concerts by The Beatles as well as in the second issue of Mersey Beat, which had "Beatles sign Recording Contract!" on the front cover, as The Beatles had recorded the "My Bonnie
" single
with Tony Sheridan
in Germany. Some months after its release, Epstein (as stated in his biography) asked his assistant Alistair Taylor
about the single, because Raymond Jones, a customer, had walked into the NEMS store and asked Epstein for the single on 28 October 1961, which made Epstein curious about the group. Harry and McCartney repudiated this story, as Harry had been talking to Epstein about The Beatles for a long time (being the group he promoted the most in Mersey Beat) and by McCartney saying, "Brian [Epstein] knew perfectly well who The Beatles were, they were on the front page of the second issue of Mersey Beat."
The Beatles were due to perform a lunchtime concert at The Cavern Club on 9 November 1961, not far from Epstein's NEMS store. Epstein asked Harry to arrange for him and Taylor to watch The Beatles perform without queuing at the door. Harry phoned the owner, Ray McFall, who said he would inform the doorman on the day, Pat Delaney, to let Epstein in. Epstein and Taylor bypassed the line of fans at the door and heard a welcome message announced over the club's public-address system by Wooler (the resident DJ) saying, "We have someone rather famous in the audience today, Mr. Brian Epstein, the owner of NEMS..."
Lennon had once given Harry a collection of photos taken in Hamburg, showing Lennon standing on the Reeperbahn
reading a newspaper and wearing nothing but his underpants, performing on stage with a toilet seat around his neck, and one of McCartney sitting on a toilet. After Epstein became The Beatles’ manager, Lennon rushed into Harry's office and asked for them back, saying, "Brian [Epstein] insists I've got to get them back—the pictures, everything you've got. I must take it all with me now." When Epstein finally secured a recording contract with EMI
, he sent Harry a telegram from London to the Mersey Beat offices to announce the news.
The paper subsequently ran into financial problems, and Epstein had to merge it with another paper, becoming the Disc & Music Echo. When Harry and his wife moved to London he was already contributing a column for the magazine Weekend and also for the teen magazines Marilyn and Valentine. He then became the feature writer, news editor and columnist for Record Mirror
(using various pseudonyms such as 'Brenda Tarry' and 'David Berglas') and wrote features for Music Now (under the name of Nick Blaine) for Record Retailer
.
for The Kinks
and The Hollies
. During the next 18 years he was the P.R. to many artists, including Pink Floyd
, Jethro Tull
, Clouds
, Ten Years After
, Procol Harum
, David Bowie
, Led Zeppelin
, The Beach Boys
, Free
, Mott The Hoople
, The Pretty Things
, Christine Perfect, Supertramp
, Hot Chocolate, Suzi Quatro
, and Kim Wilde
. During his time working as a press officer, Harry started a monthly magazine called Tracks, a magazine that reporte the latest album releases, and Idols: 20th Century Legends. Harry compiled a 34-track compilation called Mersey Beat for Parlophone records, which was released on 31 October 1983.
Harry was presented with a gold award for a 'Lifetime Achievement in Music' by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA)
in 1994, has taken part in over 350 international television/radio shows and was hired by Rediffusion
to be programme assistant for the documentary Beat City. He was programme assistant for the BBC
's Everyman documentary about Lennon, A Day In The Life, and The Story Of Mersey Beat. The British Council asked him to represent them in Hong Kong, promoting The Beatles. Mersey Beat returned to publication in August 2009 with a 24-page special issue to celebrate the Liverpool International Beatle Week. Harry and Virginia have a son, Sean Harry, who is an actor.
"The hundreds of interviews I have conducted over the past 40 years have been utilised. I have always been a hoarder of clippings in addition to collecting magazines, fanzines, newspapers and books. I'll never tire of it."
Mersey Beat
Mersey Beat was a music publication in Liverpool, England in the early 1960s. It was founded by Bill Harry, who was one of John Lennon's classmates at Liverpool Art College...
, an important newspaper of the early 1960s, which focused on the Liverpool music scene. Harry had started various magazines and newspapers before attending the Liverpool College of Art
Liverpool College of Art
Liverpool College of Art is located at 68 Hope Street, in Liverpool, England. It is a Grade II listed building.The building is currently owned by Liverpool John Moores University housing its School of Social Science....
, with fellow students John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe was a Scottish artist and musician, best known as the original bass player of The Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue a career as an artist, having previously attended the Liverpool College of Art...
, who both later performed with The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
Harry met his wife-to-be, Virginia, at the Jacaranda club (managed by Allan Williams
Allan Williams
Allan Williams is a former businessman and promoter of Welsh descent. He was the original booking agent of The Beatles...
, the first manager of The Beatles) and she later agreed to help him start a music newspaper. After borrowing £50, Harry released the first issue of Mersey Beat on 6 July 1961, with the first 5,000 copies selling out within a short time. Harry arranged for the future Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
, to see them perform a lunchtime concert at The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club is a rock and roll club in Liverpool, England. Opened on Wednesday 16 January 1957, the club had their first performance by The Beatles on 9 February 1961, and where Brian Epstein first saw The Beatles performing on 9 November 1961....
on 9 November 1961. Epstein subsequently asked Harry create a national music paper, the Music Echo, but after problems with Epstein about editorial control, he decided to become a P.R.
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
; working for many solo artistes and groups.
Early years
Harry was born in Smithdown Road HospitalSmithdown Road, Liverpool
Smithdown Road is a street in Liverpool, England, which forms part of the A562. It is the location of Toxteth Park Cemetery and Wavertree Playground. Penny Lane junction, the subject of The Beatles song Penny Lane, is situated at the junction of Smithdown Road, Smithdown Place and Penny Lane...
, Liverpool, on 17 September 1938. He came from a poor Liverpudlian background and was raised in a rough neighbourhood near Liverpool's dockyards. His father died early, which burdened the family with debts and hardship. He attended the Catholic St. Vincent's Institute but had to get used to the priests dispensing corporal punishment on a regular basis. Because of his small stature, Harry was beaten by his classmates, kicked in the appendix and "left for dead". His poverty-stricken mother had no option but to transfer him elsewhere. Harry became interested in science fiction and read comics by candlelight (the house had no electricity), and eventually joined the Liverpool Science Fiction Society. At the age of 13, he produced his own science fiction fanzine, Biped, using a Gestetner
David Gestetner
David Gestetner was the inventor of the Gestetner stencil duplicator, the first piece of office equipment that allowed production of numerous copies of documents quickly and inexpensively. He was awarded the John Scott Medal of The Franklin Institute in 1888...
machine to print 60 copies. His pen friend at the time was Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
, the writer of science fiction and fantasy novels. After winning a scholarship to the Junior School of Art in Gambier Terrace, Liverpool, Harry started his first school newspaper, Premier.
Liverpool College of Art
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
and page layouts, he borrowed the college’s duplicating machine and published a newspaper called Jazz in 1958, which reported concerts at the Liverpool Jazz Society club, the Temple Jazz Club and The Cavern Club. He also worked as assistant editor on University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
's charity magazine, Pantosphinx, and on a music newsletter for Frank Hessy's musical instruments store called Frank Comments. The title was suggested by the owner, Frank Hesselberg, as a play on his own comments, but was abandoned after a few issues.
Harry received a National Diploma
National Diploma (UK)
A National Diploma is a standard academic qualification, offered by most further education colleges and universities in the United Kingdom. The title National Diploma is used in a variety of ways, however most are undergraduate qualifications rated at levels 3 on the National Qualifications...
in design while at the Liverpool Art College and became the first student in the new Graphic Design course, eventually winning a Senior City Art Scholarship. Having to find some form of work during college vacations as he could not support himself on his student grant alone, he worked on the demolition of a flour mill in Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
. Harry maintained that students at art college should be bohemians
Bohemian style
In modern usage, the term "Bohemian" is applied to people who live unconventional, usually artistic, lives. The adherents of the "Bloomsbury Group", which formed around the Stephen sisters, Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf in the early 20th century, are among the best-known examples...
in their thoughts and actions and not like the "dilettantes and dabblers", whom Harry disapproved of for wearing duffle coat
Duffle Coat
A duffle coat, or duffel coat, is a coat made from duffle, a coarse, thick, woollen material. The name derives from Duffel, a town in the province of Antwerp in Belgium where the material originates...
s and turtle neck sweaters
Polo neck
A polo neck or turtle neck or skivvy is a garment—usually a sweater—with a close-fitting, round, and high collar that folds over and covers the neck...
. At the time, artist and teacher Arthur Ballard thought that Harry and Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe was a Scottish artist and musician, best known as the original bass player of The Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue a career as an artist, having previously attended the Liverpool College of Art...
both overshadowed John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
at college, stating they were both "extremely well educated, and very eager for information". During their time at the college, Sutcliffe painted a portrait of Harry.
Meeting Lennon was a shock for Harry, as Lennon often dressed like a Teddy boy
Teddy Boy
The British Teddy Boy subculture is typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, styles which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after World War II...
and was a disruptive influence at the college. Despite his misgivings about Lennon's attitude, Harry introduced him to Sutcliffe, who was a small, soft-spoken and shy student. The three often spent time together at the Ye Cracke
Ye Cracke
Ye Cracke is a pub in Rice Street off Hope Street, Liverpool, England. The 'Y' is a Thorn , thus the name is pronounced 'The Crack'. Despite the faux Old English name, Ye Cracke is in fact a 19th-century public house...
pub in Rice Street and on the top floor of the Jacaranda club (run by Allan Williams
Allan Williams
Allan Williams is a former businessman and promoter of Welsh descent. He was the original booking agent of The Beatles...
, who later managed The Beatles). Harry met his future wife-to-be Virginia, then 16 years old, at the club. Harry, Lennon, Sutcliffe and Rod Murray saw the poet Royston Ellis
Royston Ellis
Royston Ellis is a British writer heavily influenced by the American Beat Generation.Ellis began his career with two poetry collections published during that era: "Jiving To Gyp" and "Rave" . In June 1960, he travelled to Liverpool, England to perform a poetry reading at Liverpool University...
at Liverpool University in June 1960, and they later met him at the Ye Cracke pub. Having been disappointed with Ellis' performance, Harry proposed the idea that they should call the assembled quartet of friends The Dissenters
Dissenter
The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...
and make Liverpool famous; Sutcliffe and Murray with their paintings, Harry writing and Lennon playing music.
Music and journalism
A fellow student, John Ashcroft, introduced Harry to rock ‘n’ roll records, and he got to know members of Rory Storm & The HurricanesRory Storm
Rory Storm was an English singer and musician. Born Alan Caldwell in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contemporaries of The Beatles in the late 1950s, and early 1960s...
and Cass & The Cassanovas. Harry carried notebooks with him, collecting information about the local groups. Harry once wrote to The Daily Mail, saying that "Liverpool is like New Orleans at the turn of the century, but with rock ‘n’ roll instead of jazz". He also wrote to The Liverpool Echo about the emerging Liverpool music scene, but neither paper were interested in stories about music that was popular with teenagers. The classified ads in The Liverpool Echo for local groups were always under the heading of "Jazz", but the paper refused to change this policy, despite pleas from promoters and groups who actually paid for them. Harry had planned to produce a jazz newspaper called Storyville/52nd Street and contacted Sam Leach, the owner of a club called Storyville. Leach promised to fund the newspaper, but failed to turn up for three meetings with Harry, leaving him no other option but to find another investor. Harry thought starting a fortnightly newspaper covering Liverpool's rock 'n' roll music scene would be more successful and would differ from national music newspapers such as the New Musical Express and the Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
, which only wrote articles about current chart hits and artists.
Mersey Beat
Dick Matthews, a friend from the Jacaranda, heard about Harry's problems with Leach and introduced Harry to a local civil servant, Jim Anderson, who lent Harry £50. This enabled Harry to found the newspaper Mersey Beat in 1961. Harry decided to publish the newspaper every two weeks, covering the music scene in Liverpool, WirralWirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
, Birkenhead
Birkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
, New Brighton
New Brighton, Merseyside
New Brighton is a seaside resort forming part of the town of Wallasey, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England. It is located at the northeastern tip of the Wirral Peninsula, within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and has sandy beaches...
, Crosby
Crosby, Merseyside
Crosby is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. Historically part of Lancashire it is situated north of Bootle, south of Southport, Formby and west of Netherton-History:...
and Southport
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...
, as well as Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
and Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
. He thought up the name Mersey Beat by thinking about a policeman's 'beat' (the area of duty) which had nothing to do with a musical beat. Virginia gave up her accountancy/comptometer
Comptometer
The comptometer was the first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator, patented in the USA by Dorr E. Felt in 1887.A key-driven calculator is extremely fast because each key adds or subtracts its value to the accumulator as soon as it is pressed and a skilled operator can enter all...
operator job at Woolworth's and worked full-time for £2.10/- a week (also contributing a Mersey Roundabout article), while Harry lived on his Senior City Art Scholarship funding. Matthews promised to photograph groups, while Anderson found a small attic office for £5 a week above David Land's wine merchant's shop at 81a Renshaw Street, Liverpool. Anderson and Matthews helped with the move to the new office, with Anderson providing a desk, chair and an Olivetti typewriter.
Harry asked printer James E. James (who had printed Frank Comments) if he could borrow the printing blocks
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
he used for photos, as they were too expensive for the fledgling company at the time. Harry also borrowed blocks from the Widnes Weekly News, Pantosphinx and local cinemas, but contributed to charities by printing free charity advertisements at the side of the front cover page. After taking Virginia home to Bowring Park in the evening, Harry would often return to the office and work throughout the night, pausing only to go to the Pier Head
Pier Head
The Pier Head is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It is part of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004....
to buy a cup of tea and a hot pie at four in the morning. Virginia's parents helped the paper during this time, as they paid for classified ads, and arranged for Harry and his future wife's first photographs together.
The first issue
Splitting the price of the newspaper (threepence) with retailers, Harry found three major wholesalers, W.H. Smith, Blackburn's, and Conlan's, who all agreed to sell Mersey Beat. Harry personally delivered copies to more than 20 newsagents as well as to local venues, musical instrument and record stores such as Cramer & Lea, Rushworth & Draper, and Cranes. The paper released its first edition on 6 July 1961, selling out all 5,000 copies. The paper's circulation increased rapidly as Harry started featuring stories about groups in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. As the newspaper's sales rose, it became known as the "Teenagers Bible". Local groups were soon being called "beat groups", and venues started advertising concerts as "Beat Sessions".
Harry later said: "The newspapers, television, theatres and radio were all run by people of a different generation who had no idea of what youngsters wanted. For decades they had manipulated and controlled them. Suddenly, there was an awareness of being young, and young people wanted their own styles and their own music, just at the time they were beginning to earn money, which gave them the spending power. Mersey Beat was their voice, it was a paper for them, crammed with photos and information about their own groups, which is why it also began to appeal to youngsters throughout Britain as its coverage extended to other areas." Because of the employment situation in Liverpool at the time, The Daily Worker newspaper denounced the enthusiasm of younger people in Liverpool by saying "The Mersey Sound is the sound of 30,000 people on the dole."
Liverpool groups
Between 1958 and 1964, the Merseyside area had about 500 different groups, which were constantly forming and breaking up, with an average of about 350 groups playing concerts on a regular basis. In 1961, Harry and The Cavern's DJ, Bob WoolerBob Wooler
Bob Wooler was most notable for being instrumental in introducing The Beatles to their manager, Brian Epstein, and as the DJ at The Cavern Club.-Career:...
, compiled a list of groups that they had personally heard of, which had almost 300 names. In 1962, Mersey Beat held a poll to find out who was the most popular Merseyside group. When the votes were counted, Rory Storm & The Hurricanes were in first place, but after looking through the postal votes again, Harry noticed that forty votes were all written in green ink, in the same handwriting, and from the same area of Liverpool, so the dubious votes were declared void. This was suspected to have been Storm himself, but Harry had no idea that The Beatles had done exactly the same thing.
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
with new guitars. At the time, many groups in Liverpool complained to Harry that his newspaper should be called Mersey Beatles, as he featured them so often.
Harry asked a local singer, Priscilla White
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
, to contribute a fashion column after writing an article called "Swinging Cilla", in which he wrote, "Cilla Black is a Liverpool girl who is starting out on the road to fame." Harry’s mistake came about because he could not remember her surname (which he knew was a colour), but White decided to keep it as a stage name. Two years later Harry arranged for Black to sing for Epstein at the Blue Angel club, leading to a management contract.
In late 1962, Harry wrote an article called "Take a look up North", asking for A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
men from London to travel up to Liverpool and see what was really happening with the music scene, but not one record company sent an A&R representative to Liverpool. Journalist Nancy Spain
Nancy Spain
Nancy Brooker Spain was a prominent English broadcaster and journalist.She spent much of her youth in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne. Her father was Lieutenant-Colonel Spain, a freeman of the city and a prominent figure in local military and antiquarian affairs...
once wrote an article for the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
newspaper, stating that Harry and his wife were "Mr. & Mrs. Mersey Beat", and when Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
visited Liverpool to appear at the Odeon, he specifically asked for Harry to act as his guide to the city.
The Beatles and Brian Epstein
Harry often heard Lennon, McCartney and Harrison rehearsing or playing in the Art College canteen in the basement, but after Sutcliffe joined The QuarrymenThe Quarrymen
The Quarrymen are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, initially formed in Liverpool in 1956, that eventually evolved into The Beatles in 1960...
, Harry complained that Sutcliffe should be concentrating on art and not music, as he thought he was a competent, but not brilliant bassist. As Harry and Sutcliffe were members of the Liverpool College of Art's Student Union committee, they put forward the idea that the college should buy its own P.A. system for college dances, which The Quarrymen often played at, but the equipment would later be appropriated by the group and taken to Hamburg. As late as 7 March 1962, the Student’s Union sent Pete Mackey to ask Lennon to either return the equipment or pay for it, but Lennon told him it had been sold in Hamburg. Harry asked Lennon to write a short biography of The Beatles for the first issue of Mersey Beat, which Harry titled, "Being A Short Diversion On The Dubious Origins Of Beatles, Translated From The [sic] John Lennon": Lennon was very grateful that Harry printed his 'Dubious Origins' piece without editing it and later gave Harry a large collection of drawings, poems and stories (approximately 250), telling Harry he was free to publish whatever he liked (under the pseudonym of "Beatcomber"). After moving downstairs to a larger two-roomed office, Harry confessed to Lennon at the Blue Angel club that the collection had been lost or stolen, which upset Lennon a great deal.
Harry convinced manager Brian Epstein
Brian Epstein
Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...
to sell 12 copies of the first Mersey Beat newspaper at his North End Music Stores (NEMS) which sold out in one day, resulting in Epstein having to order more copies. After ordering and selling twelve dozen copies of the second issue of the newspaper in his NEMS store, Epstein invited Harry for a glass of sherry in his office, proposing the idea that he (Epstein) should write a record review column, which started in the third issue, on 3 August 1961, titled "Record Releases by Brian Epstein of NEMS".
Epstein saw numerous posters around Liverpool advertising concerts by The Beatles as well as in the second issue of Mersey Beat, which had "Beatles sign Recording Contract!" on the front cover, as The Beatles had recorded the "My Bonnie
My Bonnie
My Bonnie is the name of a 1961 single, a 1962 album and a 1963 EP by Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers, better known as The Beatles.-History:...
" single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
with Tony Sheridan
Tony Sheridan
Tony Sheridan , is an English rock and roll singer-songwriter and guitarist...
in Germany. Some months after its release, Epstein (as stated in his biography) asked his assistant Alistair Taylor
Alistair Taylor
James Alistair Taylor was the English personal assistant of Brian Epstein who accompanied him to the Cavern Club when he first saw The Beatles play on 9 November 1961...
about the single, because Raymond Jones, a customer, had walked into the NEMS store and asked Epstein for the single on 28 October 1961, which made Epstein curious about the group. Harry and McCartney repudiated this story, as Harry had been talking to Epstein about The Beatles for a long time (being the group he promoted the most in Mersey Beat) and by McCartney saying, "Brian [Epstein] knew perfectly well who The Beatles were, they were on the front page of the second issue of Mersey Beat."
Lennon had once given Harry a collection of photos taken in Hamburg, showing Lennon standing on the Reeperbahn
Reeperbahn
The Reeperbahn is a street in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, one of the two centres of Hamburg's nightlife and also the city's red-light district...
reading a newspaper and wearing nothing but his underpants, performing on stage with a toilet seat around his neck, and one of McCartney sitting on a toilet. After Epstein became The Beatles’ manager, Lennon rushed into Harry's office and asked for them back, saying, "Brian [Epstein] insists I've got to get them back—the pictures, everything you've got. I must take it all with me now." When Epstein finally secured a recording contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, he sent Harry a telegram from London to the Mersey Beat offices to announce the news.
The last issues and London
On 13 September 1964, Epstein approached Harry to create a national music paper, so Harry coined the name Music Echo, and gradually merged Mersey Beat into it. Epstein had promised Harry full editorial control, but then hired a female press officer in London to write a fashion column and a D.J. to write a gossip column, without informing Harry of his intentions, leaving Harry with no other option but to resign.The paper subsequently ran into financial problems, and Epstein had to merge it with another paper, becoming the Disc & Music Echo. When Harry and his wife moved to London he was already contributing a column for the magazine Weekend and also for the teen magazines Marilyn and Valentine. He then became the feature writer, news editor and columnist for Record Mirror
Record Mirror
Record Mirror was a British weekly pop music newspaper, founded by Isadore Green and featured, news articles, interviews, record charts, record reviews, concert reviews, letters from readers and photographs. The paper became respected by both mainstream pop music fans and serious record collectors...
(using various pseudonyms such as 'Brenda Tarry' and 'David Berglas') and wrote features for Music Now (under the name of Nick Blaine) for Record Retailer
Record Retailer
Record Retailer was a trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker...
.
P.R. and present
Harry and his wife moved to London in 1966 and was engaged as a public relations (P.R.)Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
for The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
and The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
. During the next 18 years he was the P.R. to many artists, including Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
, Clouds
Clouds (60s rock band)
Clouds were a 1960s Scottish rock band that disbanded in October 1971. The band consisted of Ian Ellis , Harry Hughes and Billy Ritchie .- Early days: The Premiers :...
, Ten Years After
Ten Years After
Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart...
, Procol Harum
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, Free
Free (band)
Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a...
, Mott The Hoople
Mott the Hoople
Mott the Hoople were a British rock band with strong R&B roots, popular in the glam rock era of the early to mid 1970s. They are popularly known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name.-The early years:Mott The Hoople...
, The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things
The Pretty Things are an English rock and roll band from London, who originally formed in 1963. They took their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing" and, in their early days, were dubbed by the British press the "uglier cousins of the Rolling Stones". Their most commercially successful...
, Christine Perfect, Supertramp
Supertramp
Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
, Hot Chocolate, Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, and Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde is an English pop singer, author and television presenter who burst onto the music scene in 1981 with the number 2 UK Singles Chart new wave classic "Kids in America". In 1987 she had a major hit in the United States when her version of The Supremes' classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On"...
. During his time working as a press officer, Harry started a monthly magazine called Tracks, a magazine that reporte the latest album releases, and Idols: 20th Century Legends. Harry compiled a 34-track compilation called Mersey Beat for Parlophone records, which was released on 31 October 1983.
Harry was presented with a gold award for a 'Lifetime Achievement in Music' by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA)
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors was founded in 1947.It represents its members within the industry, to the government and to the European Commission....
in 1994, has taken part in over 350 international television/radio shows and was hired by Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
to be programme assistant for the documentary Beat City. He was programme assistant for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Everyman documentary about Lennon, A Day In The Life, and The Story Of Mersey Beat. The British Council asked him to represent them in Hong Kong, promoting The Beatles. Mersey Beat returned to publication in August 2009 with a 24-page special issue to celebrate the Liverpool International Beatle Week. Harry and Virginia have a son, Sean Harry, who is an actor.
Books written or co-written by Bill Harry
Harry commented on his numerous books:"The hundreds of interviews I have conducted over the past 40 years have been utilised. I have always been a hoarder of clippings in addition to collecting magazines, fanzines, newspapers and books. I'll never tire of it."
- Arrows : The Official Story, Everest Books (1976) ISBN 0-903925-61-3
- Mersey Beat: The Beginnings of The Beatles, Omnibus Press (1977) ISBN 0-86001-415-0
- The Beatles Who's Who, Aurum Press (1982) ISBN 0-906053-38-2
- Beatlemania, Virgin Books (1984) ISBN 0-86369-041-6
- Paperback Writers, Virgin Books (1984) ISBN 0-86369-021-1
- The Book of Lennon, Aurum Press (1984) ISBN 0-906053-74-9
- Ask Me Why, Javelin Books (1985) ISBN 0-7137-1635-5
- Beatles For Sale, Virgin Books (1985) ISBN 0-86369-097-1
- The Book of Beatle Lists, Javelin Books (1985) ISBN 0-7137-1521-9
- The McCartney File, Virgin Books (1986) ISBN 0-86369-157-9
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Atalanta Press (1987) ISBN 1-870049-08-X
- The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia, Virgin Books (1992) ISBN 0-86369-681-3
- Jan Olofsson: My 60s, Taschen (1994) ISBN 3-8228-8915-6
- The Encyclopedia of Beatles' People, Blandford Press (1997) ISBN 0-7137-2606-7
- The Best Years of The Beatles, Headline (1997) ISBN 0-7472-7762-1
- Whatever Happened to ..., Cassell (1999) ISBN 0-7137-2675-X
- The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated, Virgin Books (2000) ISBN 0-7535-0481-2
- The John Lennon Encyclopedia, Virgin Books (2000) ISBN 0-7535-0404-9
- The Paul McCartney Encyclopedia, Virgin Books (2002) ISBN 0-7535-0716-1
- The George Harrison Encyclopedia, Virgin Books (2003) ISBN 0-7535-0822-2
- The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia, Virgin Books (2004) ISBN 0-7535-0843-5
- The British Invasion, Chrome Dreams (2004) ISBN 1-84240-247-1
- Bigger Than The Beatles, Trinity Mirror (2009) ISBN 978-1906802042
- Lennon's Liverpool, Trinity Mirror (2010) ISBN 978-1906802516
- The Sixties (with Robert Orbach) Endeavour London Ltd. (2011) ISBN 978-1873913789