From New York to Liverpool

From New York to Liverpool - Simon Pritchard

In Simon's own words:-

"Whilst looking forward to my 40th birthday trip to New York and planning my fourth exhibition at he Liverpool Academy of Arts, the obvious connections between the two port cities struck me immediately - that exciting moment on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 when the Beatles well & truly took Rock 'n' Roll back to America, Mersey style! And of course the journey of John Lennon, who started his life and career in Liverpool, then both were abruptly ended in New York City. This is just one of the many stories of the twin cities.

Thinking I had a good idea for an exhibition theme, I delved into the idea further and found many interesting & intriguing connections and the more obvious the link between the two cities became. From 1940s New York jazz and Sinatra to 1950s be-bop and Rock 'n' Roll, from Elvis on Ed Sullivan to Atlantic R 'n' B, from 1960s girl groups and Greenwich folk to the re-invention of Rock 'n' Roll with 1970s punk and the glam of Studio 54, the progression of New York musical history and pop culture mirrors that of Merseyside."

On the right is a picture taken at the private view showing Simon with Faron of the sixties band Faron's Flamingos

The Exhibition is open from the 4th to the 14th November, 12am til 4pm Monday to Friday.

Below are images of some of the paintings, just click on the image to see them full size in our viewer:-

The New York Dolls were one of the earliest and most influential Punk bands to emanate from New York in the 1970s. They created an in-your-face visual style, blending elements of Glam Rock, cross dressing, transsexual camp and Punk Rock.

Iconic Doll's guitarist Johnny Thunder along with the rest of the band inspired many of the Brit Punk bands of the seventies especially the great Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols. Four of the original members including Thunders succumbed to the Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle of drugs and burnout, all losing their lives in tragic circumstances. However, front man David Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain were persuaded to form a new line up of the band which performed in Liverpool as recently as 2006.

During the 1950s and 1960s over 20,000 seamen sailed out of Liverpool working in the merchant navy or on the liners. Many of these young men ,who became known as the 'Cunard Yanks' took the opportunity to bring back to Liverpool with them the fashions and music that they found in post war New York and other American ports. This was to have a lasting influence on the youth of 1950s Merseyside and many of its budding musicians.

Phil Spector was the mad genius producer behind many of the 1960's greatest Pop records. His legendary 'Wall of Sound' recording techniques revolutionised the art of studio recording creating classics like The Ronettes, The Crystals, Darlene Love, The Righteous Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner. He produced the Beatles' Let It Be album and in 1970s and 80s produced many of John Lennon's New York recordings and worked with George Harrison . His history of mental illness culminated in his recent arrest for the shooting dead of B movie actress Lana Clarkson . Regardless of this his importance and legacy in Pop music is undeniable.

Blondie, and front woman Debbie Harry, became one of the greatest Punk bands in New York in the 1970s holding residency at the iconic CGBG club in New York City's Bowery district. in the late '70s and early '80s the band successfully merged elements of early Punk Rock, New York Disco, Hip-Hop and New Wave to become a top chart ranking crossover band. Debbie Harry alone is one of the true Rock Goddesses inspiring the likes of Madonna and a whole slew of lesser Harry copies who took her outrageous sense of fashion and Rock n' Roll attitude into their own acts.

But there is only one true Queen - Debbie Harry outshines them all - 'X-Offender', 'Rip Her to Shreds', 'Sunday Girl', 'Atomic' and 'Picture This' are some of the coolest Punk, Pop, New Wave recordings ever made.

Together with Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie was at the centre of the emergence of modern jazz in the early 1940s, at Minton's Jazz Club on West 118th Street, Harlem, New York, which became known as the birthplace of Be-Bop. Founded in 1938, Minton's thrived for three decades until its decline in the late '60s, eventually closing in 1974. The newly remodelled club reopened in 2006, where jazz fans can once again see awesome jam sessions.

The Liverpool Academy of Arts

From New York to Liverpool - Simon Pritchard