The key members of this unique ensemble were: Adrian Henry, Andy Roberts, Mike Hart and Mike Evans. Their name comes from the title of a poetry book in 1967, published in London and bringing to the public the works of Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henry (nowadays better known as an artist).
The town of Liverpool had a fairly high presence in the late 60s, owing to that band of mop-tops who shall remain nameless. And ‘the Scene’, according to beat poet Allen Ginsberg, was the conscious center of the human universe; hence, the name of this band. Musicians + poets had been a wonderful combination since Lord Buckley first made his ‘scene’ happen. In England, it was the Scaffold (Roger McGough, Roger Gorman and Michael McGear) who were able to combine music, comedy and poetry into albums and singles that made it onto the charts … but more on them later.
A book called (The Mersey Sound), featuring Henri, McGough and Patten, featured pop-song (and pop culture) influenced poetry. Roger McGough – also a member of Scaffold - saw it this way:The kids didn't see this poetry with a capital ‘p’, they understood it as modern entertainment, as part of the pop-movement. He and some excellent Liverpool area musicians began holding regular Tuesday sessions of this new hybrid genre … and a group was formed from these meeting.
The late, great John Peel put his support behind them, and produced their first LP in 1968, which didn't sell very well despite his backing. The second LP fared no better. A third album, thematically inspired by a disastrous tour of the states made no major steps toward fame and fortune for the band, whose members had now begun to invest time in other projects.
The group’s records now command a nice price in excellent condition. I happened upon my copy of “The Amazing Adventures of the Liverpool Scene” at a long-defunct used record store here on Long Island. I fell in love with the band’s unique style of jazz/rock/beat/poetry. Well-played stuff, this is. Some of the pieces are quite beautiful and moving, some are clever and witty, and some relate to the fast-moving paces and cultural icons of the times. One of the latter, a piece entitled “Batpoem”, remains a favorite of mine. I played it often during my years on WCWP Radio at C.W. Post College. So … here it is. If anyone is interested in hearing the entire album, let me know. It is long out of print, and unavailable on CD.
Batpoem
“Amazing Adventures of …”
Songs:
Tramcar To Frankenstein / Che Guevara / Gliders and Parks / Burdock River Run / Che Guevara / Universes / Batpoem / Che Guevara / Percy Parslow`s Hamster Farm / Happy Burial Blues / Palms / Che Guevara / Love Story
RCA Victor LSP-4189
Produced by John Peel
Copyright 1969
Line Up:
Andy Roberts, Vocal Guitar
Adrian Henri, Poet
Mike Evans, Vocal, Guitar
Mike Hart, Vocal, Guitar
Percy Jones, Bass
Brian Dodson, Drums
Material is written by various group members, mainly Adrian Henri
Special thanks to Nobby for the great info that can be found about these folks on: http://www.mekons.de/home/
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