|
Main Site |
Blog Home
The
dubious origins of The Cavern Beatles
Summer 1989 and
it will still be 3 years before Reservoir Dogs is
released, but this is the embryo of The Cavern
Beatles..... "The Merseymen"
From left to right we have:
Graham Harald (bass), Phil Garrigan (drums), Derek
Kerrigan (lead guitar/vocals) and Rick Alan (rhythm
guitar/vocals). The group was initially formed as a practical joke by
Derek, who was by day working as model for the
Freemans Catalogue and needed an outlet for some ill
fitting suits he had received from an overseas
assignment. He spelled out his idea to his long
standing buddy, Phil, who bought the lot from him on
easy to manage monthly repayments. The duo decided to augment themselves with a friend of
Phil's from the Liverpool circuit. Rick, who was
making a living wearing stockings, suspenders and a
basque, wasn't much of a guitarist, but he knew how to
look a t**t on photographs.... In 1989, this was most
crucial. No one is quite sure how Graham came to
be in the group, but he did play bass and that was
important.
This photo was taken outside Alchemy Recording Studios
in Liverpool... don't bother looking for
it... it's not there anymore!!
Alchemy was booked for a
week to take in some rehearsals and recording for a demo
to hike around American agents to get work in the
US. The tapes turned out OK, but there was
something wrong. The material was too diverse and
we figured that the States would already be awash with
cover bands. Rick suggested that if Derek could
play bass guitar, his vocal range and physical
resemblance to Paul McCartney would be a big plus for
the US market. Rick had already played in a group
with someone who looked like Lennon, and this Lennon had
already made the point that Rick had a look of George,
so it was decided to make a somewhat serious attempt at
a Beatle band. The Lennon bloke (henceforth we
shall call him "The L" ) was
asked, liked the idea, and about a fortnight later the
band was rehearsed up and ready to gig.
The line up was now: The L (rhythm guitar/ vocals),
Derek (bass/vocals), Rick (lead guitar/vocals) and Phil
(drums)
|
