Merseybeat Liverpool

The Blue Angel – 106-108 Seel Street The venue was originally known as the Wyvern Social Club. It was bought by Allan Williams and renamed The Blue Angel in 1960 as a jazz club. In May 1960 the Silver Beetles auditioned for a support slot on an upcoming Billy Fury tour for impresario Larry Parnes. They did not secure this, but were offered their first tour outside Liverpool, supporting singer Johnny Gentle on a tour of Scotland. Later that same year, on 12 August, Pete Best auditions to join the Silver Beetles in the Blue Angel. After Brian Epstein saw Cilla Black performing at the Blue Angel on 6 September 1963, he signed her; she would be his only female client. In the 1980s the Blue Angel became the Razamataz, giving it the long surviving nickname, The Raz. The club became popular with students due to the cheap drinks on sale and range of music played. In 2008 DJ equipment was seized from the club and a noise complaint made from flats at the back of the venue, where a smoking area had been created following the recent smoking ban. There was a campaign to ‘Save the Raz’. In 2010 the venue won the court battle to open and operate as normal. Photo metadata – Front of the Blue Angel club. Taken on 19 March 2021 by Vicki Caren.

The Jacaranda - 23 Slater Street The Jacaranda Coffee Bar was opened in September 1958 by Allan Williams. The venue served coffee and food during the day and at night the basement became a private members bar with live music. The Royal Caribbean Steel Band, a group of West Indian musicians from Toxteth, had a residency there. The band were led by Lord Woodbine, real name Harold Philips, who returned to England on the Empire Windrush following his RAF wartime service. Lord Woodbine was a Trinidadian calypso singer and musician, and also a music promoter. One of the bands he promoted was the Silver Beetles. Their first gig at the Jacaranda was on 30 May 1960. Allan Williams was said to have made them work at the club before he would let them play. John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe painted murals on the walls. The band played here several times before their first shows in Hamburg, accompanied by Lord Woodbine and Williams. The Jacaranda continues to be a key part of Liverpool’s live music scene today with new developments from a record shop and cafe on the first floor to the creation of an independent record label Jacaranda Records. In 2018 Jacaranda Phase One was opened, a sister venue, with capacity for live music, a record shop and café bar at 40 Seel Street. The following year the top floor of the Jacaranda was converted into a studio space. Photo metadata - Front of the Jacaranda club. Taken on 19 March 2021 by Vicki Caren.

BBC Radio Merseyside - corner of Hanover Street and College Lane This is the third building used by BBC Radio Merseyside in the city centre. In November 1967 the station started broadcasting from council owned offices in Commerce House on Sir Thomas Street. By the end of 1981 purpose-built studios at 55 Paradise Street became the new home of BBC Radio Merseyside and broadcasting continued there for the next 25 years. In 2006 BBC Radio Merseyside moved again, to a new location and a new purpose-built studio, on the corner of Hanover Street and College Lane, with 2 studios and a performance space area. Here Spencer Leigh conducted several interviews for his documentary ‘Soup & Sweat & Rock & Roll' celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Cavern club on Mathew Street. Accessibility note – if you take the route down Manesty’s Lane to avoid the steps at the end of College Lane, when you turn right on to Paradise Street to walk to Whitechapel you will pass the location of the former BBC Radio Merseyside studio on the left, now part of Liverpool One retail and leisure complex. Photo metadata - Front entrance of BBC Radio Merseyside Studios. Taken on 19 March 2021 by Vicki Caren.