 THE preparations for Capital of Culture in 2008 have somewhat overshadowed those for another significant milestone in 2007 - the 800th anniversary of Liverpool's foundation. But the countdown is moving on apace for this particular celebration - a pivotal point for which will be the publication of the book Liverpool 800: Culture Character and History, scheduled to be published in September next year. A project co-funded by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool City Council, it will tell the tale of the city's sojourn from the granting of letters patent to the Steward of West Derby by King John, the charter that founded the Borough of Liverpool in 1207, right the way through to the present day. In the run-up to the book's launch, a series of four free public lectures have been organised to raise awareness of the celebration. Hosted by Liverpool's most public champion, the TV presenter and writer Loyd Grossman, their format will focus on subjects crucial in the city's development with talks given by experts in their field. The topics will be entitled Architecture or Development: Learning From The Past, the Culture of Sport on Merseyside and Cosmopolitan Liverpool. The first takes place at Liverpool's Academy of Performing Arts next Wednesday, October 5, when Grossman, board chairman of the influential Culture Northwest, will present questions to acclaimed locally born rock journalist Paul Du Noyer on the "importance of music to the history identity and future of the city". Fifty-one-year-old Du Noyer, who grew up in Bootle and Maghull, is the author of Wondrous Place, the definitive history of Merseyside's popular music scene. A former pupil at the now defunct Salesian College, he went on to study at the London School of Economics before joining the New Musical Express during its widely acknowledged hey days of the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was the time of enfant terribles such as Julie Birchill, Tony Parsons and Paul Morley when, as Paul recalls, "editorial meetings were one long barney every week". He had his own significant part to play. Besides assignments interviewing rock gods around the world, his brief was to cover the burgeoning Liverpool scene at the legendary Eric's Club in Mathew Street. This was formative in spawning what he feels were some of the most innovative bands of the '80s such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Echo and the Bunnymen - something which had a lot to do with Liverpool having its own peculiar musical identity. "Coming back here from London every weekend, I got to see the very clear difference between Liverpool and the London scene," says Du Noyer. "The Liverpool crowd took themselves a lot less seriously except in the art of posing and being very good at the art of self mythologising." | 
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