50 years of Mersey Sound

‘The Mersey Sound’ is a collection of poems by Liverpudlian poets Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri.

It was hugely successful when first published 50 years ago in 1967. Fueled by the craze for The Beatles and ‘Mersey Beat’, the ‘Liverpool Poets’ flourished.

Through their books and live recordings they cemented poetry within popular culture reaching a wider and younger audience than their predecessors and more traditional contemporaries. The book sold over 500,000 copies and it became one of the bestselling poetry anthologies of all time.

The poems are accessible and unpretentious. They touch on the ordinary and the extraordinary with all the flavour of a John Lennon lyric and open up a world of poetry which uses familiar words to tell illuminating stories. It was, and still remains, poetry for all people.

At the Museum of Liverpool we have a cherished selection of objects on display about the great Liverpool poets in the writers section of our Wondrous Place gallery including an original copy of ‘The Mersey Sound’.  Read more…