The Beat Goes On: Liverpool, Popular Music and the Changing City

In 2001 the Guinness Book of Records declared Liverpool `City of Pop', reflecting its status as the British city that has produced the most hit records relative to the size of its population. But why is Liverpool so important musically and how has it sustained its importance, from the Beatles to the Zutons and beyond?

The Beat Goes On is a critical historical account of popular music in Liverpool which explores the contextual, creative and geographical factors that have contributed to the city's status as a major centre of creativity within Anglo-American popular music. Rather than attempting to create a singular linear account of the history of popular music and its cultures within the city, the book takes a thematic and case-study approach, drawing on popular music history, cultural geography, and ethnography. The Beat Goes On explores the ways in which Liverpool has been represented through its music and its musicians, and makes use of extensive interview material to provide a fascinating set of new perspectives on both the dominant and the less well known elements of the musical history of the `City of Pop'.

Marion Leonard is a Senior Lecturer and Robert Strachan a Lecturer in the School of Music, University of Liverpool.