The Liverbirds
{{Short description|English rock band}}
{{other uses|The Liver Birds (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2010}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = The Liverbirds
| image = TheLiverbirds1965.jpg
| alt = The Liverbirds (1966)
| caption = The Liverbirds in April 1965; from left to right: Valerie Gell, Sylvia Saunders, Mary McGlory and Pamela Birch.
| image_size = 240px
| background = group_or_band
| alias =
| origin = Liverpool, England
| genre = Merseybeat, R&B, rock and roll
| years_active = 1963–1968, 1998
| label = Star-Club Records
| associated_acts =
| website =
| current_members = Valerie Gell
Pamela Birch
Mary McGlory
Sylvia Saunders
| past_members =
}}
The Liverbirds ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|aɪ|v|ər|b|ɜr|d|z}}) were an English all-female rock band from Liverpool, active between 1963 and 1968. The group consisted of vocalist and guitarist Valerie Gell, guitarist and vocalist Pamela Birch, bassist and vocalist Mary McGlory, and drummer Sylvia Saunders. They were one of the very few female bands on the Merseybeat scene, as well as one of the first all-female rock and roll bands in the world.{{Cite web|url=http://www.getintothis.co.uk/2016/01/lost-liverpool-5-girls-guitars-liverbirds-britains-first-female-rock-band/|title=Lost Liverpool #5: Girls with guitars - The Liverbirds, Britain's first all female rock band|date=2016-01-27|website=Getintothis|access-date=2019-05-28}} They took their name from the fictional liver bird, which is the symbol of their native Liverpool. They were mostly a cover band, except for three of their songs being written by Pamela Birch.
History
Gell, Saunders, and McGlory formed the band in 1963,Rohkohl, Brigitte: Rock Frauen (Rowohlt 1979) along with guitarist Sheila McGlory (Mary's sister) and vocalist Irene Green, both of whom quickly left to join other bands and were replaced by Pamela Birch. According to Bruce Eder, the group formed in early 1962 as the Debutones. Irene Green left to join Tiffany's Dimensions and Sheila McGlory to the Demoiselles.{{Cite web|title=The Liverbirds Radio: Listen to Free Music & Get The Latest Info|url=https://www.iheart.com/artist/the-liverbirds-521627/|access-date=2020-12-03|website=iHeartRadio|language=en}} They achieved more commercial success in Germany than their native Britain.{{cite web|author=Bruce Eder |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-liverbirds-mn0001259038/biography |title=The Liverbirds | Biography & History |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=2016-12-17}} Early in their career, they followed in the footsteps of fellow Liverpudlians the Beatles and made their way to Hamburg, where they performed at the Star-Club after the Beatles' own tenure and were billed as "the female Beatles".{{cite news|last=Leigh|first=Spencer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/dec/14/valerie-gell-obituary|title=Valerie Gell obituary|newspaper=The Guardian|date=14 December 2016}} John Lennon of the Beatles infamously told the group that "girls" were unable to play guitars. This remark motivated the band, and they proved him wrong as The Liverbirds became one of the top attractions at the Star-Club and released two albums and several singles on the club's own label. One of those singles, a cover of Bo Diddley's "Diddley Daddy", reached No. 5 on the German charts. The group broke up in 1968, just after finishing a tour of Japan. They briefly reunited in 1998.
Three members of the band settled in Germany permanently. Saunders moved to Spain, settling in Alicante with her husband, John (died 2 April 2017). Sylvia Saunders is now living in Glasgow. McGlory runs a Hamburg-based company called Ja/Nein Musikverlag ("Yes/No Music Publishing") which she founded with her husband, German songwriter Frank Dostal (died April 2017), who was one of the band's former colleagues from the Star-Club and later vice-chairman of the German performance rights organization GEMA.{{Cite web|url=https://dangerousminds.net/comments/meet_the_liverbirds_the_all-girl_beatles_who_once_toured_with_the_kinks_and|title=Meet The Liverbirds: The all-girl Beatles who once toured with the Kinks and Rolling Stones|date=2016-04-25|website=DangerousMinds|access-date=2019-05-28}} Birch also settled in Hamburg and worked for many years in the city's clubs. She died at the UKE on 27 October 2009, at the age of 65.{{cite news |url=https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/article107580591/Saengerin-der-Liverbirds-im-UKE-gestorben.html |trans-title=Singer of the Liverbirds died on 27 October 2009 |work=Hamburger Abendblatt |date=2009-10-29 |title=Sängerin der Liverbirds im UKE gestorben |language=de}} Gell, who settled in Munich but later returned to Hamburg, died on 11 December 2016, aged 71.
Saunders and McGlory, the two surviving members of the band, published an autobiography The Liverbirds: Our life in Britain’s first female rock ‘n’ roll band in 2024.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-04 |title=Europe's first all-female rock band recall sexist John Lennon remark |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-liverbirds-john-lennon-sexist-keith-richards-b2506475.html |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=The Independent}}
Members
- Valerie Gell – vocals, guitar (1963–1968, 1998; died 2016)
- Mary McGlory – vocals, bass (1963–1968, 1998)
- Sylvia Saunders – drums (1963–1968, 1998)
- Sheila McGlory – guitar (1963)
- Irene Green – vocals (1963)
- Pamela Birch – vocals, guitar (1963–1968, 1998; died 2009)
Discography
=Albums=
- Star-Club Show 4 (1965){{cite web|author=Richie Unterberger|author-link=Richie Unterberger|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/star-club-show-vol-4-mw0000962061 |title=Star Club Show, Vol. 4 - The Liverbirds | Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=2016-12-17}}
- More of the Liverbirds (1966){{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/more-of-liverbirds-mw0000895371/releases |title=More of Liverbirds - The Liverbirds | Releases |publisher=AllMusic |accessdate=2016-12-17}}
=Compilations=
- From Merseyside to Hamburg - The Complete Star-Club Recordings (2010), Big Beat CDWIKD 290{{cite web |url=http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=8511 |title=Ace Records |accessdate=2011-02-19 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119151708/http://acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=8511 |archivedate=19 November 2010}} (features the 29 songs from both studio albums, though not in the order on the albums){{Cite web|title=The Liverbirds - From Merseyside To Hamburg: The Complete Star-Club Recordings|url=https://www.discogs.com/The-Liverbirds-From-Merseyside-To-Hamburg-The-Complete-Star-Club-Recordings/release/4082678|access-date=2020-11-30|website=Discogs}}
=Singles=
- "Shop Around"/"It's Got to Be You" (1964 or 1965)
- "Diddley Daddy"/"Leave All Your Loves in the Past" (1965)
- "Peanut Butter"/"Why Do You Hang Around Me" (1965)
- "Loop de Loop"/"Bo Diddley Is a Lover" (1966)
- "Love, love, love" (2024)
=Possible songs=
Tablyrics.com lists some songs that are not known outside of the site. Their existence is unknown.
- "The Past"
- "Nobody But You"
- "Baby I Dig Love"
- "Tell Me"{{Cite web|title=The Liverbirds's lyrics & chords|url=https://www.tablyrics.com/artist-the-liverbirds-chords-lyrics|access-date=2020-12-01|website=www.tablyrics.com}}
In other media
The story of the Liverbirds is the subject of the 2019 musical, Girls Don't Play Guitars, written by Ian Salmon and directed by Bob Eaton{{Cite web|url=http://www.bobeatontheatredirector.com/|title=Bob Eaton: theatre director and writer|website=Bobeatontheatredirector.com|accessdate=2020-06-11}} at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodnewsliverpool.co.uk/2019/10/03/girls-dont-play-guitars-opens-at-royal-court/|title=Girls Don't Play Guitars opens at Royal Court |website=Goodnewsliverpool.co.uk|date=3 October 2019 |accessdate=2020-06-11}} Founding members McGlory and Saunders have been involved with the production and join in the cast on stage for the encore. Also in 2019, The New York Times produced a sixteen-minute documentary about the band called We're Britain's First Female Rock Band. This is Why You Don't Know Us.. It featured surviving members Mary McGlory and Sylvia Saunders.{{Cite web|date=18 December 2019|title=We're Britain's First Female Rock Band. This is Why You Don't Know Us. {{!}} 'Almost Famous' by Op-Docs|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1QqLCpXMIw&ab_channel=TheNewYorkTimes|access-date=|website=YouTube}} It is also known as The Other Fab Four.{{cite web |title=The Other Fab Four |url=https://breakwaterstudios.com/film/the-other-fab-four/ |website=Breakwater Studios |access-date=23 November 2021}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- Rohkohl, Brigitte: Rock Frauen (Rowohlt 1979), {{ISBN|978-3499144547}},
- Flannery, Joe: Standing in the Wings (The History Press 2018), {{ISBN|978075098760 8}}
- McGlory, Mary, Saunders, Sylvia: The Liverbirds: Our life in Britain’s first female rock ‘n’ roll band, (Faber & Faber 2014) {{ISBN|0571377025|978-0571377022}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20091028134407/http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Villa/9500/liverbirds.htm Web.archive.org]
- [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p182628/biography|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic.com]
- {{discogs artist|385517|The Liverbirds}}
- {{youTube|k1QqLCpXMIw|We're Britain's First Female Rock Band. This is Why You Don't Know Us. - 'Almost Famous' by Op-Docs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liverbirds, The}}
Category:Musical groups established in 1963
Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1968
Category:Rock music groups from Liverpool
Category:English rock music groups
Category:British rock and roll music groups
Category:English all-female bands