ALAN WHALLEY'S WORLD

DRUMMER Allan Wilson, who swung through the 'sixties with the Magic Lanterns beat group, has thrown some extra light on the local pop scene from that hectic and exciting era.

And it would seem that St Helens and district was teeming with talent which entered the slipstream of The Beatles and their then novel Mersey Sound.

Allan, now living at Pendle Road, Golborne, picks up on the Cavern Club theme which has been echoing through this column for the past few weeks.

He was responding to a mention of the Magic Lanterns by 'sixties pop devotee Jim Barrett of Grant Close, St Helens. The MLs were briefly among the most successful of our local musical hopefuls, breaking into the pop charts and appearing on top TV and radio shows.

Jim had spotted their name on Liverpool's latest place of pop pilgrimage, the Wall of Fame at the new Cavern pub, named in honour of the legendary cellar club which launched the Fab Four and other groups into superstardom.

Each brick on the pub facade bears the name of an act which appeared at the sadly-mourned Cavern. And Jim had noted the Magic Lanterns alongside two other St Helens-based groups, Chris and the Autocrats and Ray Malcolm and the Sunsets. He wondered, via this page, if there were any others from his hometown among those inscribed bricks.

Response was immediate. Terry Broughton, a member of The Incas who came close to the big-time during the early 1960s, added his foursome to the list (this page October 2).

And now, Allan Wilson provides a couple more memory-stirring names from the St Helens area - Mike Cadillac and the Playboys and The Blackwells. "There are others," he writes, "but unfortunately I cannot recall their names."

The Magic Lanterns originally kicked off as The Sabres and made many appearances at The Plaza, in Duke Street, St Helens. After a couple of years they changed their name to The Hammers after a same-name conflict with a Liverpool group called Denny Seyton and The Sabres. Twelve months later, after a couple of changes in the band, they adopted the Magic Lanterns title after being offered a recording contract with CBS in 1966. Their first record, 'Excuse Me Baby' crept into the top-30 in July 1966, and there were TV appearances on the cult programme 'Ready, Steady, Go!', 'Five O'Clock Club' and Granada's 'Scene' programme. There were also numerous radio appearances, sometimes going out live. They reached No.1 in the pirate Radio Caroline charts and supplied music for the Brigitte Bardot film, 'Two Weeks in September.'

After cutting two LPs and about eight singles, the group, which had by then undergone further changes in personnel, finally disbanded after about three years on the road.

"However," says Allan, "we were fortunate to play abroad in places such as Belgium, Holland, Sweden and Germany. We also toured the length and breadth of Britain (even the Orkneys) occasionally supporting groups such as The Who, Small Faces, Spencer Davies Group and The Hollies, to name but a few."

Ten years ago, three of the group originals - Pete Shoesmith (lead guitar) Ian Moncur (bass guitar) and drummer Allan - re-formed to perform at a number of charity concerts.

"We were aided," adds Allan, "by vocalist Chris Wren (now again singing with The Hunters from Newton-le-Willows) and an excellent guitarist, Mitch Mitchison, from The Two Of Us duo.

Thanks, Allan, for that fine helping of nostalgia.

And I'm grateful also to John Marsh of Junction Lane, Sutton, for putting another St Helens group in the frame. His son Terry's group, The Cordells, also performed at the Cavern club in the late 'fifties and early 'sixties.

And John explains: "Like the other groups mentioned, having played clubland and other out-of-town venues, they were faced with a dilemma." Whether or not to perform in Germany for two weeks, where possible fame and fortune beckoned, while at the same time putting their day jobs in jeopardy.

"My son, and I think the other three lads, held local government jobs and they reluctantly decided to forgo the trip abroad," says John who was their road manager for a while until the group finally disbanded.

Terry Marsh is now a freelance outdoor and travel writer plus photographer, living in Worcester. "I phoned him about your article," says John, "and he remembers most of the groups mentioned."

Terry would now like to know if his group is mentioned on that brick wall of fame.

ANYONE able to say? If so, please drop me a line at: Whalley's World, St Helens Star, YMCA Buildings, Duke Street, St Helens WA10 2HZ.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.