FORMER MOJO
It's a surprising thing, but almost every Mersey group to make the big time has had changes in personnel.

You know of the changes in the Beatles, and Arthur McMahon was the former pianist with Gerry & the Pacemakers; Brian Redman the former drummer with the Fourmost, and so on.

But did you know that Adrian Wilkinson was a founder-member of the Mojos? Adrian, who uses the stage name Adrian Lord, began with the Mojos when they formed under the name the Nomads. Together with Stu Slater, he was the main songwriter in the group.

Adrian, who was replaced by guitarist Nicky Crouch, is currently with a very dynamic R&B group the Mastersounds.

And talking of the Mastersounds, that group has a member, Mal Jefferson, who looks very like Don Andrew of the Remo Four.

But that's not surprising really, for Mal is Don's brother and he changed his name because he didn't want to cash in one his brother's fame.

THE GIRLS
There have always been numerous girl vocalists on the Liverpool scene and it is not surprising that one of them, Cilla Black, has made the big time. Irene Green has joined the Four Dimensions.

Decca recording artist Beryl Marsden is still without a regular backing group; Myra Grayson and Beverley Fraser provide vocal harmony for the Karacters.

Ted Knibbs' new discovery is 15-year-old Vicky Cheetham. Former vocalist with the Dominators, Jackie Martin has commenced a solo career. The Three Bells record for Pye and have provided backing for Duane Eddy at Hamburg's Star club.

The Charmers are a vocal duo...and there are numerous others. The girls are always welcome on the scene...and good luck to them all. But when you come to think of it, quite a few Liverpudlian girl entertainers are doing very well. There's the Vernons Girls, Lyn Cornell, the Breakways, Lita Roza and the Ladybirds.

NAME CHANGES
Groups, it seems, nearly always have second thoughts about their names, particularly on the banks of the Mersey. Virtually every major group from the area started with a different name to the one they now have.

The Quarry Men became the Beatles, the Mars Bars became Gerry & the Pacemakers, the Mavericks became the Mersey Beats, the Nomads became the Mojos, the Four Jays became the Fourmost - even Billy Kramer introduced the mysterious 'J' into his name.

Name changing still goes on. The Original All Stars became the Pete Best Four and, more recently, Sonny Webb & the Cascades became the Hillsiders, the Undertakers became the Takers and the Mastersounds became the Bluesville Bats.

BEATIT
Take my tip: make sure you see 'Beatit' the 27-minute movie featuring the Merseybeats. They make an exciting sound in it. They also come over superbly photo-wise.

Tony Crane and the boys perform six numbers. For the record they are: 'Mr Moonlight', 'Got My Mojo Working', 'Funny Face', 'Fortune Teller', 'Really Mystified' and 'Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry.' They also do all the background music. Great stuff it is, too. Here's to their NEXT film.

FILM LP
Plenty happening for Gerry & the Pacemakers discwise right now. Their single of 'Ferry 'Cross The Mersey' (title song of their film, of course) has now been followed by the LP of the same name. Of the nine numbers performed by Gerry and his group on it, Gerry himself wrote - nine!

To complete the genuine Merseyside flavour of the album, the Fourmost perform a track ('I Love You Too'), so does Cilla Black ('Is It Love?') and the George Martin Orchestra chip in with an instrumental called 'Liverpool Scene.' By the way, did you know that 'Ferry 'Cross The Mersey' is a song that nearly wasn't?

Gerry thought up the melody during his summer show in Blackpool last year and was so excited about it he phoned his mother and hummed it to her. The next morning Gerry realized that he couldn't remember a single note of the tune. He got into quite a flap and then remembered he had phoned his mother. Luckily, she was able to hum enough of it for Gerry to be able to fill in the rest.

Return to main section