THE ultra-sexy Bangles, the timeless Beatles and even Blondie are just three of the main influences in a popular musical genre that spans generations - and styles if this disparate bunch are examples - that is once again striking a chord with the public and bands alike.
Tagged as Power Pop, a term apparently coined by The Who, it arrives in Liverpool next week in some considerable force. Almost 100 bands from across the world are converging on the famous Cavern for a seven-day jamboree of jangling guitar riffs and melodic sounds that evoke the heady days of Merseybeat.
First staged in Los Angeles six years ago the International Pop Overthrow (IPO) festival annually attracts musicians and groups that set store by strong lyrics and an "almost easy listening" format although organiser David Bash might take issue with that rather dismissive tone.
The festival celebrates the music made famous by the Beatles but Bash insists it is not a gathering of the tribute clans, just bands interested in their style of music and other trailblazing groups like the Beach Boys and Badfinger.
Scores more, he says, have kept the muse alive, even the Rolling Stones, Elvis Costello and in the 90s such outfits as Phish and Gin Blossoms, never mind the earlier Pretenders and Crowded House.
Reckoned to be the biggest music festival of its kind, this is the first time the gathering has taken place out of the USA. Bash was persuaded that Liverpool was the ideal location for this breakout by Liverpool-based Beatles expert and Fab Four fan club and web-site creator Jean Catharell.
He success of the Mathew Street Festival and the Beatles Conventions makes Liverpool the ideal place for this and I approached Bill Heckle and Dave Jones at Cavern City Tours who thought it a great idea," explains Jean, who has been an ardent Beatles fan since 1962, even though she was just too young to be allowed into the Cavern at that time.
But she did manage to meet the Beatles as a group before they broke up and has since met Paul McCartney on endless occasions, she reveals; the last time at his mega press conference in Madison Square Gardens to launch the last world tour.
Six years ago Jean helped organised the 40th anniversary celebration of the historic meeting between John Lennon and Paul McCartney at St Peter's Church in Woolton.
Now she is delighted to have been the catalyst for bringing the IPO to Liverpool.
"I was aware of the events in America because of my links with Beatles conventions worldwide so I wrote to David Bash and suggested he should come to the UK," she says.
"He was blown away when he found I was from Liverpool and talking about the world famous Cavern Club."
Bash was indeed stunned that there was a chance to stage his beloved festival in the city that spawned so many famous pop music groups.
Talking from his Los Angeles home last night he said: "I was so excited at the prospect when we first discussed it earlier this year. I am still pinching myself that it is actually going to take place in Liverpool where it all basically began, the Beatles and the Mersey Beat.
"I had initially thought of London as I certainly didn't have any Liverpool connections and it was beyond my wildest dreams. When Jean told me the Cavern was available I was thunderstruck," added the 45-year-old impresario who is also an established pop music journalist in the USA, writing for esteemed publications like Goldmine and Entertainment Today.
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