3 Films: Liverpool in the '60s

For me, Liverpool remains a intriguing place. Perhaps it was my Wall Street Journal assignment there in the winter of 2012, when I spent several days in the city with Mike McCartney. Or the used book store, where I bought an armful of poetry hardbacks. Or the wonderful teasing sense of humor I experienced at every turn.

But I suppose the real fascination is how this port city became a geyser of big-beat talent in the early 1960s, producing the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, the Merseybeats, the Searchers, Rory Storm, the Chants, the Big Three and dozens of others. The reasons are both complex and quite simple: Liverpool was a grim place, economically, back then and music for teens was a jolt of optimism and civic pride, and a way out of poverty if you were in a band and had talent.

Below are three films that provide a loving look at the city that changed the sound of rock 'n' roll:

Here's Beat City from 1963...

Here's Liverpool Beat in 1965...

And here's Ferry Cross the Mersey with Gerry and the Pacemakers from 1965 in three parts:

Here's Part 1...

Here's Part 2...

And here's Part 3 (be sure to check out Cilla Black at 16:30 in what is a fabulous segment of her singing (or syncing) Is It Love?...