The Merseybeats

The Merseybeats were one of the better quartets to come out of the British Invasion without ever making a dent on the charts in the United States -- along with the Roulettes, the Chants, and the Undertakers, they represent an undeservedly lost chapter in early-'60s British rock & roll. Although they enjoyed a little less than a year of serious chart success, the Merseybeats were unable to pull together the various facets of their sound into a cohesive, coherent whole in the manner of the Beatles or the Hollies, and into something lasting, in part because of a lack of original songwriting ability in their ranks. The group's roots go back to the early '60s in Liverpool, and a band originally known as "the Mavericks," comprised of Tony Crane (lead guitar, vocals), Billy Kinsley (bass, vocals), David Elias (rhythm guitar, vocals), and Frank Sloane (drums). They were doing well but soon found the name to be a drag on their success, making people think that they were a country & western band. They briefly used the name "the Pacifics," and then became the Merseybeats -- evidently their timing was such that they grabbed the name, previously a local music reference, ahead of anyone else in a city boiling over with musical activity. By the end of 1962, the Merseybeats lineup had solidified around Crane and Kinsley, with Aaron Williams joining on rhythm guitar in place of Elias and John Banks succeeding Sloane. The group made their recording debut around this time as part of the Oriole label's Liverpool showcase, This Is Merseybeat. With the help of the manager of the Cavern Club, they were formally signed to Fontana Records in mid-1963, and made their debut in August of that year with a single of "It's Love That Really Counts" b/w "Fortune Teller" -- the A-side, a...