Merseybeat was a male-dominated sound. Cilla Black and Beryl Marsden were the best-known female performers, but rather than form backing bands of their own, they sang with established groups.
Beryl Marsden (no relation to Gerry) worked with Lee Curtis & The All-Stars for a while and made her first single when she was only 16. It was a gutsy version of Barbara George’s US hit I Know (You Don’t Love Me No More).
She also had the confidence to perform in Hamburg alongside the fellas.
Performing at the Star Club when she was 17, Beryl had to be out of the club and off the streets by 10:30 pm – just as all the other bands were going out to enjoy themselves!
Beryl had other solo releases but is best known for her later work with Shotgun Express, a London band that included Rod Stewart, Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood.
In the 1970’s she returned to Liverpool and worked with Paddy Chambers in a soul band called Sinbad, before returning to London and trying her hand at solo contemporary recordings.
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