Is this the worst of the budget label Beatles knock-offs? Sure seems to be, but since I haven't heard them all, I can't really say for certain. Meet the three Liverpool Kids, all of whom appear to be pushing 40. (Maybe it's the lighting.) Beattle Mash, says the cover--with two t's. Maybe the Palace and Masterseal labels (this also came out on Masterseal) were simply being clever. But, wait--on the label, the title becomes Beatle Mash, and the Liverpool Kids become... the Schoolboys. Was the staff asleep when it put this one out?
It gets weirder. I quote this sentence fragment from the liner notes: "THE LIVERPOOL MOPTOPS--these four young men, who with a group of excellent musicians, have adopted the style of BEATLING, the hottest craze in show business on either side of the Atlantic." The notes promise that the Liverpool Moptops "will give you the great pleasure you are looking for." So, if you've been looking for great pleasure, you've found it right here.
So, our group is the four-guy trio called THE LIVERPOOL MOPTOPS, and not the Schoolboys, and not the Liverpool Kids. And their specialty is "BEATLING." So, why are most of the tracks Twist numbers? I'll answer that soon.
But let's start with the two numbers which make this trash classic a classic--they are 1) a pretty decent fake version of She Loves You, and 2) a blatant plagiarism of I Want to Hold Your Hand, called Why Don't You Set Me Free (the chorus lyrics being, "Why don't you let me go?"). Which could be retitled Why Did They Not Get Sued? Absolutely priceless. My guess is that the Beatles and Brian Epstein weren't going to halt their wildly successful concert and record gigs and go after a track on a label so indifferent to product quality that it couldn't get either its LP title or fake group name straight. As if they'd know or care about this Franken-collection. Anyway, these first two tracks are gems, at least to fake-hit fanatics like me.
And a little checking revealed that all or most of the rest are retitled Twist numbers from three LPs issued on this label (and Masterseal) and credited to Bobby Dunn with Les Cooper and His Twisters. The old reuse-and-retitle strategy. So, Japanese Beatles is also The Latin Twist, from an earlier Palace/Masterseal LP, a Twist collection very imaginatively titled, Twist. Pea Jacket Hop is The Chinese Twist (huh??). Lookout for Charlie is Twisting on the Hill, while I'm Lost Without You is Shimmy, Baby, and Thrill Me Baby is What a Thrill. All from Twist. Dunn and Cooper probably never imagined that, shortly down the road, they'd become a four-man "BEATLING" trio called THE LIVERPOOL MOPTOPS. Or the Schoolboys. Or the Liverpool Kids.
There may be a worse Beatles knock-off cheapie out there, but none as absurd. Then again, you can't underestimate these outfits too much....
DOWNLOAD--Beattle Mash--The Liverpool Kids
She Loves You
Why Don't You Set Me Free
Let Me Tell You
Take a Chance
Swinging Papa
Thrill Me Baby
I'm Lost Without You
You Are the One
Pea Jacket Hop
Japanese Beatles
Lookout for Charlie
Beattle (or Beatle) Mash--The Liverpool Kids, or the Schoolboys, or the Liverpool Moptops (Palace 777; 1964)
Lee
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