0:00:02 > 0:00:04Pubs have been at the heart of Britain for hundreds of years.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06Cheers, mucka!
0:00:06 > 0:00:07In city taverns...
0:00:07 > 0:00:09And village inns.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Landlords have pulled pints for locals, travellers...
0:00:12 > 0:00:13And, well, the odd king or two.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Myself included
0:00:15 > 0:00:17Try and have a drink now.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22But with 30 pubs closing every week,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25our historic taverns need defending.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Step. Step.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We're heading out to discover amazing stories linked to the
0:00:30 > 0:00:32nation's watering holes.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36- Not far to go.- How far? - Oh, a couple of miles.- What!
0:00:36 > 0:00:38From the Wars of the Roses...
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..to shipbuilding on the Clyde.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44We've ditched our bikes so that we can sample an ale or two.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Get in!
0:00:46 > 0:00:47This is very good.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50So, join us for...
0:00:50 > 0:00:53- BOTH:- The Hairy Bikers' Pubs That Built Britain.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00It's home to The Liver Birds, the Scouser
0:01:00 > 0:01:02and two major football teams.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07But the proud city of Liverpool is most famous for its music.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Music that had 1960s Britain swinging.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18And what was at the heart of Liverpool's rock
0:01:18 > 0:01:19and roll revolution?
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Why, the good old British pub of course.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Welcome to Liverpool, the city that has produced more number one
0:01:30 > 0:01:33hit records than any other city in the world.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37But what I wanna know is,
0:01:37 > 0:01:41why the '60s music revolution happened here, in Liverpool?
0:01:41 > 0:01:44I mean, it's not like a load of teenagers got together and
0:01:44 > 0:01:46thought, "Right, let's make Liverpool famous," or nothing,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48is it, you know?
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Hey, I think you'll find they did, Kingy.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56We're grooving our way back to the late 1950s,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59when all across Britain teenagers were digging a new American craze -
0:01:59 > 0:02:02rock and roll.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06With a busy Atlantic port, Liverpool's cool kids were
0:02:06 > 0:02:11some of the first to hear the new sounds, man.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13And the first to play them.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Hundreds of bands were gigging in Liverpool's clubs and pubs.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26And one of them was about to take the world by storm.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30But before that happened, a young John Lennon was about to pop
0:02:30 > 0:02:34the cork, on a musical revolution down his Liverpudlian local.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Here you go mate, Ye Cracke.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Now, that's what I call a proper backstreet pub.
0:02:44 > 0:02:45Aye, it's a small pub,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49but some big ideas were certainly brewed up there, let me tell you.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56This back street boozer was christened, "Ruthin Castle,"
0:02:56 > 0:03:01but locals renamed it, "Ye Cracke," after its titchy front bar.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07By the late 1950s, it was John Lennon's local
0:03:07 > 0:03:09and the very place where he and his mates
0:03:09 > 0:03:11decided to make Liverpool famous.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Here, Dave, what do you reckon John Lennon's favourite tipple was?
0:03:18 > 0:03:21No idea, but his old drinking buddies will know.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26Artist, Rod Murray and writer, Bill Harry.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31- Here's the fellas. Hi.- Hello, Rod. Hi, Dave, nice to meet you.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Here, Kingy this is a first - it's the first time I've ever
0:03:35 > 0:03:38been in a pub, I've looked at a plaque on a wall,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40and the two fellas whose pictures are there,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43are standing in front of me.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Back in the late '50s, John and his schoolmates
0:03:45 > 0:03:49had already formed their first band.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52They'd originally started as a band called The Quarrymen.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56And, in fact, they used to rehearse in the college life rooms.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59And me and Rod were in the corner playing in a skiffle group. I was
0:03:59 > 0:04:01- doing the kazoo, remember?- Yeah.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03And they were in the other corner playing.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06And it was here that Bill, Rod, John
0:04:06 > 0:04:08and original Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe,
0:04:08 > 0:04:12hatched a plan to put Liverpool at the heart of the new scene.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15So, The Dissenters, tell us a little bit about that.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Well, this was when all the four of us, Rod, Stuart, John and I -
0:04:19 > 0:04:22we says, "Everyone's copying American stuff,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25"there's great things in Liverpool." Liverpool is ignored.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29We will dissent against this, we'll make Liverpool popular.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Rod and Stuart would do it with a painting,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34John would do it with his music, I'll do it with my writing.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36And, of course,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39The Beatles certainly transformed the world's music.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Not half! And to promote the groovy goings on,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Bill started Mersey Beat - the now legendary music mag that,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50eventually, lent its name to Liverpool's unique sound.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53So, fellas, with John Lennon being a drinking buddy,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56The Beatles must have featured pretty heavily then?
0:04:56 > 0:05:00The Beatles were in every issue. And, when we did a poll,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Rory Storm And The Hurricanes, with Ringo Starr drumming, got more
0:05:03 > 0:05:08votes, but I cancelled all those and put The Beatles as number one.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10The man with power.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13You certainly backed the right horse, didn't you?
0:05:13 > 0:05:17But, Rod, this must have been amazing times to be young?
0:05:17 > 0:05:20Yes, it was a time of transition, really.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24- The beginning of probably teenagers. - There was like a teenage revolution.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29The kids were, for the first time, beginning to have their voice.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34And to think, this pub helped Liverpool's hip
0:05:34 > 0:05:36teenage revolution get swinging.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40The four of us used to come here all the time.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43We lived a pub and coffee bar culture.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46It was cheaper to be warm in here, than in the flat.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51- That's what we told our parents anyway.- Did you?- Oh!
0:05:51 > 0:05:52Shucks.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Many's the day I've huddled round a pint for warmth, Kingy.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Speaking of which, time to get your round in.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Right, I'm getting the drinks in fellas.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05So, what we would have the time? What would you be drinking?
0:06:05 > 0:06:07We'd have had a Black Velvet probably.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11Now, traditionally, Black Velvet is a mix of champagne
0:06:11 > 0:06:16and stout, invented by a barman in 1861 to commemorate the death
0:06:16 > 0:06:17of Prince Albert.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22But John Lennon's version is a mix of stout and cider.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26A Poor Man's Black Velvet, if you like.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29What we're expecting to see from you, Kelly,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31is a separation of Guinness and cider. And we should float.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Oh!
0:06:33 > 0:06:38This is one of the drinks that got us barred from here.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39Is it?
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Well, once John had had a couple of those he'd start
0:06:42 > 0:06:44poking fun at some of the regulars.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48One time, the barman, barmaid came round
0:06:48 > 0:06:50and there is John on the floor, like this.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53And she says, "What you doing down there?"
0:06:53 > 0:06:56He said, "I'm swimming." She said, "Well, stop it, straight away."
0:06:56 > 0:06:58He said, "I can't, I'll drown!"
0:06:59 > 0:07:02There they are, four pints of the finest Black Velvet
0:07:02 > 0:07:04you've ever seen.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06One could call it, "The Fab Four."
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Let's get stuck in, lads!
0:07:09 > 0:07:12- Cheers!- ALL:- Cheers!
0:07:16 > 0:07:18- That is pretty good. - It's all right, isn't it?
0:07:18 > 0:07:20You little diamond.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- Spot-on, girl! Well done. - She's got the touch.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27What a treat, to share a pint with the legendary Lennon's
0:07:27 > 0:07:28drinking buddies
0:07:28 > 0:07:32To think, I was just born when Liverpool's pubs were jumping
0:07:32 > 0:07:35with cool cats getting into the new sounds.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40And the first new sound was skiffle.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45# Oh, mamma don't allow no skiffle... #
0:07:45 > 0:07:48It's what John Lennon played before he formed the Beatles
0:07:48 > 0:07:51and what musician Hughie Jones was playing too.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54That was before he joined another legendary Liverpool band,
0:07:54 > 0:07:55The Spinners.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Ah, yes, I remember those yellow shirts well.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02And didn't they have their own TV show?
0:08:02 > 0:08:04That's right, mate.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Hello, welcome back to the Octagon.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Another session of songs with The Spinners, that's us.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12# As I walked out across Piccadilly
0:08:12 > 0:08:15# One evening before it was spring... #
0:08:15 > 0:08:18But Hughie's first love was skiffle,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21which was being lapped up in boozers up and down the country.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23- Hello, Hughie.- Hiya.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26It's odd to try and imagine what the music scene was like in Liverpool.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28What is skiffle?
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Skiffle was a thing that everybody did and it's so easy to do.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Famous names, like, you know, Gerry and the Pacemakers and all that.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Skiffle was actually improvised music that
0:08:38 > 0:08:41started in America. And over here, we copied them, you know.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45- I'll give you a demonstration of the skiffle noise.- Go on!
0:08:45 > 0:08:50# It takes a worried man
0:08:50 > 0:08:53# To sing a worried song
0:08:53 > 0:08:58# It takes a worried man to sing a worried song... #
0:08:58 > 0:09:01The words are very intelligent.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03But that was also part of the charm.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06But they were all incredibly melodic though.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09A lot of them were traditional songs, of course.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11We know it came from America, but nobody knows
0:09:11 > 0:09:14who wrote it or anything like that.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Seems to me, there was that many pubs in Liverpool
0:09:16 > 0:09:18and people had the freedom to make their own way.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23Yeah. And the pub landladies, they loved music in their pubs.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Music divided, from skiffle, three ways.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30So, that would country, folk, and then rock and roll.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Yeah, absolutely. That's what happened.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36# To my twiddle-iy, iddle-iy, iddle-iy-ay... #
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Hughie's band, The Spinners, spun off down the folk route taking them
0:09:39 > 0:09:41to back rooms of Liverpool's pubs.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44But not for long.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47So, having done all these folk clubs, we sort of graduated
0:09:47 > 0:09:51to the major halls. And we never looked back.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55And wherever they played, there was always one song on the request list.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58One of the most requested numbers we have had was
0:09:58 > 0:10:00In My Liverpool Home.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Well, it's very fitting really, because, I mean, we're in Ye Cracke.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05- Yeah.- Go on, can you play it for us, Hughie?
0:10:05 > 0:10:10# I was born in Liverpool down by the docks
0:10:10 > 0:10:15# My religion was Catholic, occupation - hard knocks
0:10:15 > 0:10:19# At stealing from lorries, I was adept
0:10:19 > 0:10:24# And under old overcoats each night we slept
0:10:24 > 0:10:28# In my Liverpool home
0:10:28 > 0:10:32# In my Liverpool home
0:10:32 > 0:10:37# We speak with an accent exceedingly rare
0:10:37 > 0:10:41# We meet under a statue exceedingly bare
0:10:41 > 0:10:45# And if you want a cathedral we've got one to spare
0:10:45 > 0:10:50# In my Liverpool home. #
0:10:50 > 0:10:53- Etc, etc.- Brilliant, brilliant. - Thanks, Hughie.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Oh, Kingy, we're so lucky to be able to meet people who actually
0:11:00 > 0:11:02did make history.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05By the way, who's got the record for having the most number one singles?
0:11:05 > 0:11:09Oh, mate, it's got to be, it's got to be the Beatles or Elvis.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Yeah, it's The Beatles.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14- They had 20 number ones, compared to Elvis' mere 18.- Ooh!
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Do you know, you learn something new every day.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24And in Liverpool, there's lots to learn - from the pub signs.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34The Baltic Fleet harks back to Victorian times, when rum
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and vodka were smuggled into the city by the ship-load -
0:11:37 > 0:11:40all the way from The Baltic, no less.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45While the White Star is named after the Liverpudlian shipping
0:11:45 > 0:11:47company that owned the Titanic.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50A perfect place to SINK a few pints, eh?
0:11:51 > 0:11:55And the Philharmonic Dining Rooms. Strange name for a pub though.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Ah, but what a pub!
0:11:58 > 0:12:01In 1898, it was built in the style of as fancy
0:12:01 > 0:12:02gentleman's club.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05And a fancy gents it has too.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07The loveliest men's lavvies in Liverpool.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Back on the streets of Liverpool, we're taking a break
0:12:19 > 0:12:23from the pubs to explore more of Merseyside's musical past.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26I want to go round Liverpool and see some more Beatles sites
0:12:26 > 0:12:28and I reckon you should come with me.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31- Because? - I wanna hold your hand.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Look, there's more to Liverpool than The Beatles, you see.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36So, you say hello and I say goodbye.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Laters!
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Now I've ditched Dave, I'm off to find out about Mersey Beat's
0:12:45 > 0:12:47rock star scene in the '60s.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Billy Hatton from The Foremost... Remember them?
0:12:50 > 0:12:52..is the man to reveal all.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Billy, how you doing?
0:12:55 > 0:12:57I'm Si, nice to meet you.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59You're far away from home, aren't you?
0:12:59 > 0:13:02I am quite far away from home. Pretty similar though,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04- the Tyne and the Mersey, are we not?- Not half.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09Meanwhile, I've Beatled off to learn more about where The Beatles began.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13I'm joining a fab four-themed tour on this psychedelic bus,
0:13:13 > 0:13:14with a new bunch of pals.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18That's right, Kingy, I've got new mates now!
0:13:18 > 0:13:22- Hello, I'm Dave.- Hello, Dave, I'm Jay, nice to meet you.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25You step right this way, you can join the Magical Mystery Tour.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28- That's an invite I couldn't refuse. - Let's go.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Do you know, I'm really looking forward to this.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42I feel as though I've hijacked your tour halfway through.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46I hope I haven't spoilt it for you.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Jay's taking us to the city's South-East, where both Lennon
0:13:49 > 0:13:51and McCartney grew up.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Oh, look, there's Rita the meter maid.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58OK, it wasn't her. She's probably retired by now.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03But here's a street name that you will recognise.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Coming up on the left-hand side, the next row of shops is the famous
0:14:07 > 0:14:12Penny Lane barbershop. Basically what the song is all about,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16the various different local people coming in and out of the barbershop.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20Do you know what really works in Beatles songs is,
0:14:20 > 0:14:22they wrote the songs about things that they knew.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25They wrote the songs about real people and real places.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29- Who was Maxwell And His Silver Hammer?- I don't know
0:14:34 > 0:14:36But in Liverpool's Woolton village, Jay does know
0:14:36 > 0:14:40a place where the course of British pop was changed forever.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43In this hall, on the 6th of July 1957,
0:14:43 > 0:14:48this is the place where John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Gosh! Performed the afternoon of 6th July at St Peter's Church Fete.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Cor!
0:14:53 > 0:14:56I love that quote. "As John recalled, 'that was the day,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59" 'the day that I met Paul, that it started moving.' "
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Lennon's skiffle group, The Quarrymen,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07were playing at a fete in the hall.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Wowed by the band, Paul strolled over to John after the set.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14McCartney sat down on the steps of the stage.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18He did an old Eddie Cochran number, called 20 Flight Rock,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22which just happened to be John Lennon's favourite song at the time.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Now, John, he was really impressed with this McCartney guy.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28He then did Gene Vincent's Be-Bop-A-Lula.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31By the end of Be-Bop-A-Lula, the church hall, it was rocking.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33All the young people they were clapping,
0:15:33 > 0:15:38- they were cheering. And the rest, I suppose, is history.- Crumbs!
0:15:38 > 0:15:41It's a history that's made an impression on my new buddy,
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Herman the German!
0:15:43 > 0:15:45So, Herman, how big a Beatles fan are you?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Out of ten, I'd say, ten.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49- Really?- Yes.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53I first listened to the Beatles, an uncle of mine gave me a tape
0:15:53 > 0:15:54and I was hooked.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58I can remember, I was six years old, in 1963 when it came on our little
0:15:58 > 0:16:01grainy black and white telly, that they
0:16:01 > 0:16:04were landing in America and the phenomenon hit. And even then,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08I remember thinking, "How on earth can a man have hair that long?"
0:16:08 > 0:16:11And just look at me now!
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Across the road from the church hall is, funnily enough, the church.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25So, here we are folks, St Peter's Church, Woolton Village.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29The place where John Lennon was a choirboy, when he was a young boy.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33John Lennon a choirboy? Imagine.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37And the churchyard has one more intriguing Beatles connection.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40There is actually an Eleanor Rigby buried here.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43There it is, "My dear husband John Rigby." Then just below there,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45"Also Eleanor Rigby."
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Apparently, this is the most photographed gravestone,
0:16:48 > 0:16:49in the whole of the world.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Number two, I believe, is Jim Morrison.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54So, do you think The Beatles actually came and saw this?
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Is that where he got the idea from for the song?
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Well, Paul McCartney's been asked the question on a number
0:16:59 > 0:17:01of occasions, and he said, "Definitely not."
0:17:01 > 0:17:05He said, "We got the Eleanor from Eleanor Bron the movie star.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10"We got Rigby from Rigby and Evans Wine Merchants in Bristol."
0:17:10 > 0:17:13However, Paul does admit that he could have picked it up
0:17:13 > 0:17:15possibly subconsciously.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Well, I'd like to think I've just met the real Eleanor Rigby,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22especially as John's singing career started in the choir right here.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27# A little lovin', a little lovin'
0:17:27 > 0:17:31# Goes a long, long, long, long way... #
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Well, there's no doubting who I've just met, me little pop picker.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Local music legend Billy Hatton.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40A Little Lovin' reached number six in the hit parade
0:17:40 > 0:17:44for Billy's band The Fourmost in 1964.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47By then, the Mersey Beat scene was rocking in the pubs
0:17:47 > 0:17:50and clubs across the city.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Rocking to red blooded rock and roll.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58And where better for us to meet than Curly Music?
0:17:58 > 0:18:02It's been kitting out the city's guitar heroes for decades.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Billy, there was some massive names at the time, wasn't there, that
0:18:05 > 0:18:07were on the circuit here, weren't there?
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Of course, we had The Beatles, Gerry And The Pacemakers, Billy J Kramer.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12We had Cilla. Did I mention Billy Fury?
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- Oh, well, Billy Fury. - He was my best mate at the time.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18The country was run by London music. He was the first
0:18:18 > 0:18:23person to go down to London, make an album with all his own songs on.
0:18:23 > 0:18:28This is pre-Beatles. So, he proved it could be done, from Liverpool.
0:18:28 > 0:18:33That's why he's so important to the progression of music in Liverpool,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- was Billy Fury. My best mate. - Your best mate.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Cos there were two types of bands, weren't there, at the time?
0:18:39 > 0:18:42There was the bands like you lads, who, in the Fourmost, who were
0:18:42 > 0:18:46proper professional musicians wanted to make it, wanted to do
0:18:46 > 0:18:49this for a living. And then there was just bands that couldn't
0:18:49 > 0:18:52play very well and were just there to get girls, is that right?
0:18:52 > 0:18:55- They still exist today.- Well, I think most of them are like that.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58There was a difference. Most people were actually semi-pro
0:18:58 > 0:19:00musicians anyway, we all had a job to do.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03We was four in the band. Getting that together, with very,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07very little money. We did comedy, did impressions
0:19:07 > 0:19:09and we were entertainers.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12What was the type of stuff that you used to make?
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- We started off doing? - Yeah, what was it?
0:19:14 > 0:19:18- Can I borrow that stool do you think?- Yeah, course you can,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22course you can. Let me get this for you. There you are, sir.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- Do you remember Carl Perkins? - I do very well, yeah.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35# Well how can you say you will when you won't
0:19:35 > 0:19:39# You say you do, baby, when you don't
0:19:39 > 0:19:42# Let me know, honey, how you feel
0:19:42 > 0:19:44# Tell me now how is love real
0:19:44 > 0:19:48# Well ah-ah Honey, don't
0:19:48 > 0:19:54# Oh, honey, don't Hey, honey, don't
0:19:54 > 0:19:59# Say you will when you won't Well, ah-ah, honey, don't. #
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Yes! That, my friend, was -
0:20:06 > 0:20:10A, a great privilege and B, fantastic. Thanks, Billy.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12He was good, Carl, wasn't he?
0:20:12 > 0:20:15He was flipping good, wasn't he? And, my, what hallowed company
0:20:15 > 0:20:18- as well.- Oh, yes.- Do you know, if you're not in the rock and roll
0:20:18 > 0:20:20- Hall of Fame, you should be. - I'm in the Liverpool one.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Get in. That'll do for me.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27From a Liverpool legend who played in clubs and pubs,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30to the legendary boozers themselves.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33But not all of Liverpool's pub's are about music, you know.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36It's time to meet a local who loves their local.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Today, we're slap bang in the city centre at The Roscoe Head to
0:20:44 > 0:20:47salute Liverpudlian landlady Carol Ross.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52This local's been running a tight ship here, for almost two decades.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55It's been a family pub for 30 years.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57I'm very passionate about that.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00It's still as it was, all them years ago.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04A long line of Liverpudlian families have run this jumping little joint.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07But in this city of rock and roll, it's a, "no, thank you,"
0:21:07 > 0:21:09to the music.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12We asked the customers did they want music in this pub?
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And it was a stern, "no."
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Because they wanted this to be left
0:21:17 > 0:21:20as the only music in here was conversation.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22The Great British Pub is famous all over the world.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27People like coming here, to Great Britain, for our pub culture.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32We have conversation, we have debates.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34It's part of our culture in Liverpool, you know.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37We do our socialising in the pubs not at home.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40People come in and they don't know each other, they go out as friends.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42All right, thanks a lot. Ta-ra!
0:21:42 > 0:21:47And Carol reckons that the cosy layout makes it even friendlier.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49There's only two small rooms, there's a tiny little snug.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52You actually walk in off the street and you don't know what
0:21:52 > 0:21:55you're walking into. If someone hasn't been here before,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57they go, "Wow!"
0:21:57 > 0:22:00But first-time punter or pint supping regular,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02there's no funny business on Carol's watch.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05That's for sure.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Oh, yes, we have a rule, no swearing.
0:22:07 > 0:22:08If you swear in this pub, I can hear it,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11then you've got to put money into a swear box.
0:22:11 > 0:22:1310p a swear word. But, I'm telling you,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16if you carry that on, then it becomes a note.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18It's quite strict rules, I'm afraid.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Quite right, Carol.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Hey, dude, turns out another principled Liverpudlian was
0:22:24 > 0:22:26the pub's namesake, you know.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30William Roscoe was a leading slave trade abolitionist.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34A bit of a local hero then. Just like Carol.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Aye, she might not allow music,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42but the Roscoe Head has topped the charts Great British boozer style.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45This is only one of five pubs to have featured in every edition
0:22:45 > 0:22:51of the Good Beer Guide, since first published in 1974.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53So, what do the regulars make of it all?
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Excellent pint of beer. Lovely company.
0:22:57 > 0:22:58Lovely people.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01You've not got the telly on, you've got music blaring
0:23:01 > 0:23:03and you've got guys here who want to talk.
0:23:03 > 0:23:04This girl's my world
0:23:04 > 0:23:09- Cheers to Roscoe.- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16We're back on Liverpool's pub
0:23:16 > 0:23:19and pop legend trail in an area known as the Cavern Quarter -
0:23:19 > 0:23:23after the music venue that made so many '60s stars famous.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33The Cavern was where they all played,
0:23:33 > 0:23:38from Cilla to the Searchers - and, of course, the Beatles.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41And across the street is our next stop, The Grapes,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45where all those '60s stars, used to hang out between gigs.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50- Hey, Kingy, look!- What? - Genuine 1960s wall paper.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52That'll have been here when The Beatles were here.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56- Now, you sit where John Lennon sat. - Right.- I'll sit where Paul McCartney
0:23:56 > 0:23:59- sat, cos obviously I'm the good looking one.- Of course.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03All right, Dave. Anyway, radio DJ and music historian Spencer Leigh
0:24:03 > 0:24:06has the skinny on why The Cavern,
0:24:06 > 0:24:10and The Grapes, play such a big part in the Mersey Beat story.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15The Cavern was noted for being the first club in the country
0:24:15 > 0:24:17that had lunchtime sessions.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19These became really, really popular.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22So, The Beatles did a lot of lunchtime sessions there.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Back then, The Cavern didn't serve alcohol.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28So, everyone used to pile into the Grapes.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31They drank alongside workers from the surrounding fruit
0:24:31 > 0:24:34warehouses, which may have given the pub its name.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38After a lunchtime session, The Beatles would come here and drink.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42And they'd go over to NEMS, which was Brian Epstein's shop.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44And they'd go to the listening booths,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47because then you could hear records being played.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51And it wasn't long before the now legendary rock manager
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Brian Epstein decided to check this new band out.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Brian Epstein walked over from his shop NEMS, few hundred yards to
0:24:58 > 0:25:02The Cavern and saw the Beatles for the first time. And was transfixed,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06as indeed you would be, as indeed I would be seeing them back then.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08The rest, as they say, is history.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13So, Spencer, how my gigs the Beatles actually do in The Cavern then?
0:25:13 > 0:25:17- Well they say 292.- Really?
0:25:17 > 0:25:19How on earth, in the period of time that they were playing,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22did they ramp up all of those gigs?
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Well, quite easily, because they could do three gigs in a day.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26They were playing all over Liverpool,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28there was a lot of things going on.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32But was the Cavern very important in The Beatles' success?
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Oh, I think so, very definitely.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40Seeing as it's across the street, we have to check it out, Kingy.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44OK, mucker. And guess what? The good news is, the Cavern's now got a bar.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And a man who knows all about this historic club -
0:25:47 > 0:25:49its director, John Keats.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53- Hello, John.- Hello, Dave.- Lovely to meet you. What a place this is, eh?
0:25:53 > 0:25:59And it's still most importantly John it's still a live music venue,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- isn't it?- Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, seven nights a
0:26:02 > 0:26:05week, new bands, tribute bands, big names,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08- all the big names still want to come back.- I'll bet the big names,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11they'd give their eye teeth to be on that stage though, wouldn't they?
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Well, maybe you'd like to join the list of artists
0:26:14 > 0:26:16- who have performed at The Cavern. - You're joking!
0:26:16 > 0:26:19- Might as well give it a go, lads! - Now you're here, be rude not to.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22- I think so.- Oh, fantastic - Get in. Thanks, John.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24Come on, lads, let's go! Which way's the stage?
0:26:24 > 0:26:29- Follow me, you go that way. - Follow me, I'm right behind you.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33You know what, Kingy, we've got a chance to make showbiz history here.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35I can't believe this is happening.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40Will you welcome on stage, The Hairy Bikers! Come on!
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Join in, if you dare!
0:26:45 > 0:26:47- # Shake it out, baby, now - Shake it out, baby
0:26:49 > 0:26:52- # Twist and shout - Twist and shout
0:26:52 > 0:26:56- # Come on, come on, come on, baby - Come on, baby
0:26:56 > 0:26:59- # Come on and work it all out - Work it all out
0:26:59 > 0:27:03- # Do you know you twist and shout - Twist and shout
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- # Do you know you twist so fine - Twist so fine
0:27:06 > 0:27:09- # Come on twist a little closer - Twist a little closer
0:27:09 > 0:27:12- # And let me know that you're mine - That you're mine
0:27:12 > 0:27:16# Ooh... #
0:27:16 > 0:27:19I think we're getting away with it.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25- # Ah-h-h ah-h-h. # - Scream!
0:27:25 > 0:27:29Argh!
0:27:29 > 0:27:35- The Hairy Bikers!- Thank you! - Live at the Cavern, come on!
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Well that's given me a cracking taste of what it would have
0:27:45 > 0:27:48been like to be part of the '60s scene here.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Aye, it's right good round-off to our historic Liverpudlian
0:27:51 > 0:27:53clubs and pubs tour.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57- Well, mate, that was brilliant. - That was amazing!
0:27:57 > 0:27:59I hope you don't mind me saying though,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01- but I think you were a little off key, like.- I never was!
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Here, I've got a bit of trivia for you.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08So, Paul McCartney's Yesterday, has been recorded by numerous people.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11But how many recorded versions are there?
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Quite a few, got to be 100.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16Mate, you're way off.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18- 3,000!- Whoa!- Isn't it!
0:28:18 > 0:28:21- Shall we make it 3,001? - Not flipping likely.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Aw! Well, maybe we should just Let It Be!
0:28:25 > 0:28:26- Cheers!- Cheers!