Liverpool (city)


 * (This page is about the city in north-west England. For the football team of the same name, see Liverpool.)

Liverpool is a city in Merseyside, England. In 2014, the city local government district had a population of 470,537 and the Liverpool/Birkenhead metropolitan area had a population of 2,241,000. (Read more at Wikipedia.)

Links to Peel



 * "I was always very, very proud of being associated, in my own mind at least, with Liverpool. I mean, people in Liverpool didn’t think of me as being a Liverpool person at all, but I thought of myself as being a Liverpool person because that’s where I like to be and that’s where I worked and that’s where my father worked, and my mother and father both came from there, and so on. So I thought of myself as a Liverpudlian. And the people of Liverpool have always I think thought of Liverpool in rather the way that people living in Italian city states did sort of a couple of hundred years ago – as being whether they liked it or not part of a greater whole but actually really not being, not because they were compelled to be. And so there was this incredible independence about Liverpool were it was obviously geographically part of England, but everybody knew that really in their heart of hearts that it wasn’t at all." 

Liverpool FC

 * (Main article: Liverpool)

Peel was a huge fan of Liverpool FC and attended many matches at its Anfield ground in the city.

Liverpool Music

 * (Related article: Liverpool: Sessions)

Peel’s Merseyside background opened the way to his start in radio – as a “Beatles expert” for KLIF in Dallas – and he remained keen to support music from Liverpool, the city where he bought his first record and also attended his earliest gigs. In September 2004, he was still touting a local musical hero of the late 1950s and early 60s, Billy Fury, as the only “credible UK rocker”.

On 15 April 1997, Peel cheerfully claimed:

"'There are a couple of ways of getting records played on this programme that are pretty much near certainties. One is to have a song with the word Pig in the title, and the other is to come from Liverpool.'"

Generations of bands from the Liverpool area benefited from this partisanship, in the form of airtime for record releases and Peel sessions, from Liverpool Scene in the late 60s to Ladytron and Clinic in the early 2000s. Thirteen artists on the city’s Probe Plus label were booked for sessions, including Half Man Half Biscuit, while other long-term local favourites included The Farm and Wah!, whose 1980 debut single Peel described as “further proof that Liverpool is the cultural center of the globe.”

Nevertheless, the DJ did concede, reluctantly, that there were times when Liverpool’s northern neighbour, Manchester, had the musical edge. In 1987, looking back at the post-punk years – and the emergence of the Fall and Joy Division – he told John Walters:

"“I resented the fact that the best and the most interesting bands seemed to be coming out of Manchester. I’m afraid this is something that is still true.”"

In later years, Peel’s most-cherished songs came to include 'Does This Train Stop On Merseyside?' by Amsterdam, which he first heard on a promotional album issued by Liverpool club The Picket as part of its fight against closure. With lyrics alluding to historic events and landmarks in the city, the song appealed to both his sentimental nature and enduring local pride. On 10 December 2003, he admitted:

"“It’s now reached the point at which it makes me cry every time I hear it.”"

Plays
(The following list, compiled only from the database of this site, is chronological, by first play of the release. Except for “Jukebox At Eric’s,” assembled by Eric’s club founder Roger Eagle, all of the releases feature music from the Liverpool area. Please add more details if known.)
 * Liverpool Compilations

(LP – This Is Mersey Beat, Vol. 1) Oriole
 * 18 October 1969: Ian & The Zodiacs: Let’s Turkey Trot

(2xLP – Mersey Beat 1962-1964) United Artists
 * 17 April 1975: Rory Storm & The Hurricanes: I Can Tell

(LP – Street To Street: A Liverpool Compilation) Open Eye
 * 02 August 1979: Modern Eon: Benched Down / 70s Sixties
 * 09 August 1979: Big In Japan: Match Of The Day
 * 14 August 1979: Id: Julia's Song
 * 21 August 1979: Echo & The Bunnymen: Monkies
 * 22 July 1982: Big In Japan: Match Of The Day

(2xLP – Mersey Sounds) Decca
 * 04 June 1980: Big Three: Cavern Stomp
 * 12 June 1980: Big Three: By The Way
 * 30 June 1980: Big Three: Don't Start Running Away

(LP – Jukebox At Eric's Vol 1: Rock 'N' Roll) Eric's
 * 01 April 1981: Fabulous Wailers: Shanghaied
 * 02 April 1981: Rays: Elevator Operator
 * 12 September 1990: Playboys: Jungle Fever
 * 28 April 1999: Tommy Blake: F-olding Money

(LP – Street To Street, Volume Two) Open Eye
 * 30 July 1981: Chinese Religion: Eden
 * 03 August 1981: Cooling Towers: The Thesis
 * 04 August 1981: Egypt For Now: Days On Edge

(LP – Live At The Cavern) London
 * 22 August 1981: Marauders: track unknown (Peel forgets to give title), introduced by Bob Wooler, "the Andy Peebles of his day" (JP)

(LP – To The Shores Of Lake Placid) Zoo
 * 08 March 1982: Those Naughty Lumps: Iggy Pop's Jacket
 * 15 March 1982: Echo & The Bunnymen: Pictures On My Wall
 * 18 March 1982: Big In Japan: Society For Cutting Up Men
 * 22 March 1982: Echo & The Bunnymen: Read It In Books

(LP – Jobs For The Boys) Natalie
 * 18 March 1985: This Final Frame: Mondays Child

(LP – Ways To Wear Coats - A Compilation From Vulcan Studios) Vulcan
 * 26 November 1986: Da Vincis: The Book
 * 29 November 1986 (BFBS): Half Man Half Biscuit: Arthur's Farm
 * 02 December 1986: Da Vincis: The Book

(2xLP – This Is Mersey Beat) Edsel
 * 15 July 1989 (BFBS): Faron's Flamingos: Let's Stomp

(CD/LP – The Zoo Uncaged 1978-1982) Document
 * 01 December 1990: Teardrop Explodes: Camera Camera
 * 03 December 1990 (Ö3): Big In Japan: Nothing Special
 * 16 December 1990: Teardrop Explodes: Treason (It's Just A Story)

(LP – Hits Of The Mersey Era, Vol.1) EMI
 * 03 June 1994: Big Three: Some Other Guy

Links

 * Liverpool Echo (10 Feb. 2014): Who topped our poll of the 100 Greatest Merseysiders?: Peel at #6 (up from #36 in 2003), with Nigel Blackwell of Half Man Half Biscuit at #10 (up from from #57).
 * The Story of The Picket, trailer]: Peel features in video about Liverpool venue The Picket.