Liverpool International Music Festival: Black Music and The Beatles
Explore the symbiotic relationship between Black music and The Beatles, and its influence on Yaw, curator of LIMF
By The Beatles Story
Yaw Owusu
Nile Rodgers & Chic (2019) by Liverpool International Music FestivalThe Beatles Story
LIMF
Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF), which is the city’s awarding winning music festival that has run annually since 2013, not only reflected The Beatles but also exposed some often unrecognised and unknown elements that formed some of The Beatles’ musical story!
NEMS exhibit at The Beatles Story by The Beatles Story, Liverpool.The Beatles Story
URBEATZ
Coming in to LIMF I had some knowledge about The Beatles and their often-undocumented relationship with Black music. The initial information was a result of a short documentary I executively produced under my first company URBEATZ over a decade ago.
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Liverpool 8
‘L8: A Timepiece’, was about the L8 social clubs and how The Beatles may have been influenced by the Black music being played in these social clubs in Liverpool 8, as well as by a local Black vocal group called The Chants, who The Beatles were enamoured with.
Nile Rodgers & Chic (2019) by Liverpool International Music FestivalThe Beatles Story
‘Routes Jukebox’
My understanding of this relationship between The Beatles and Black music got even deeper through the process of making a music documentary as part of LIMF 2015.
Liverpool Skyline (2011-05-31) by Paul ThompsonGetty Images
The Cunard Line
The ‘Cunard Yanks’, who were merchant seamen from Merseyside are commonly credited with bringing back Black R&B records from the US that influenced the entire Liverpool music scene, especially around the beginning and height of the Merseybeat era.
Little Richard gig poster (1962) by Tony BoothThe Beatles Story
Little Richard
It's also strongly stated that members of the band were also actively seeking out inspiration from Black groups - whether touring from the states (like Little Richard) or local groups (like The Chants.)
Robinson, Smokey (1994)LIFE Photo Collection
Motown
The Beatles took a lot from the Motown Sound, covering many songs and emulating vocal delivery styles from the likes of Smokey Robinson. In fact in 1962 they performed 3 covers from Motown Records for BBC Radio and later released 3 covers as part of their second album release.
Flag of Jamaica (1962) by Jamaican House of RepresentativesThe Beatles Story
Jamaica
We discovered from music historians and academics in Kingston that not only did Jamaican musicians have tremendous respect for The Beatles but so many Jamaican bands covered the Beatles and vice versa! The Beatles were being influenced by and influencing Black music in Jamaica!
Record album:The Supremes A' Go-Go (1966) by Motown Record Corp.The Strong National Museum of Play
The Supremes
The Supremes' album ‘A Bit of Liverpool’ was a dedication to an almost symbiotic relationship developed through the Motown relationship with The Beatles.
Written by Yaw Owusu for The Beatles Story, Liverpool
