Liverpool’s Cunard Yanks

Liverpool’s Cunard Yanks is a one-hour documentary, shot on location in New York and Liverpool, which follows four ex-Merchant Seamen who return to New York to reveal a hidden history of how Liverpool seamen steered pop culture into uncharted waters.

Cunard Yanks were merchant seaman from Liverpool, working as cooks, stewards and waiters on the Cunard Line, sailing from Liverpool to New York, in the late 1940s and 1950s.

In the 1950s the Cunard Line sailed fortnightly from Liverpool to New York. Above deck the rich and famous idle away their time. Our story, however, lies below decks with the chefs, pantry-men, bottle washers, stewards and waiters –Liverpool’s Cunard Yanks - pioneers of fashion, style and music - responsible for a music revolution which influenced the Liverpool sound and the Beatles. 

The Beatles were a crucial influence on popular music and culture. But the Liverpool sound had been carried by the tidal patterns of transatlantic cross-cultural exchange - flowing into major port cities such as Liverpool and Hamburg.

The Beatles acknowledge the role of the sea in influencing their musical tastes – as Ringo said, ‘It was all about the sea’.   As a child John Lennon heard records - never heard before - because of the sailors and George Harrison’s father, Harold, brought records and gramophone players back from New York and played guitar on the ships.
The Cunard Yanks reveal how they brought back and circulated records not yet released in Britain. How they were singing and entertaining on both sides of the Atlantic. How they brought back and copied American fashions and were using the latest cameras and movie cameras long before they were available to working class people. How they moved from playing acoustic guitars to electric guitars even before
skiffle had appeared in the UK. And how, in 1957, a Cunard Yank, bought in New York, a black Gretsch guitar, which he later sold to George Harrison.

Incorporating original 8mm colour film, from the late 1950s, shot in Liverpool and New York - by the Cunard Yanks, Liverpool’s Cunard Yanks is a fascinating homage to these early pioneers and the influence they had upon music, fashion and culture in Liverpool and the UK.

Narrator: Paul Gambaccini

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To view samples of Cunyard Yanks click the links below.

Click here to view the trailer

QuickTime is needed to view the samples. If you need to install QuickTime. Click on the URL below to reach Apple's free download website:

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A documentary shot in Liverpool and Avignon, revealing the life stories of:  Raymond Lempereur, chef to Lord Sefton for 24 years, his wife Elda and the Molyneux family – the Lords of Sefton. It is a tale of two nations, two cities, two families and two classes shaped by the revolution, war, food, fire and fate.

‘’I doubt anyone would believe this story if it was a work of fiction. It has huge significance in terms of local, national and international history and touches on one of the city’s real cultural gems – Croxteth Hall…Stories such as Raymond’s are hugely important because people’s stories are the most engaging and educational.’’

Sir Bob Scott, Chairman of the Liverpool Culture Company

To view samples of Cunyard Yanks click the links below.

Click here to view a sample of Croxteth Hall part 1
Click here to view a sample of Croxteth Hall part 2

QuickTime is needed to view the samples. If you need to install QuickTime. Click on the URL below to reach Apple's free download website:

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download

Funded by:

• Arts & Business
• Geraud Markets Liverpool Ltd
• Liverpool’s Neighbourhood Renewal Fund

Supported by:

• Liverpool Culture Company
• Liverpool City Council

Chomsky:  Noam Chomsky, one of the leading intellectuals of our age, came to Liverpool and Manchester in July 2004.  Here on disc is the footage from the lectures he gave on Hegemony and Survival: America’s quest for global dominance, plus additional bonus footage of interviews with Noam Chomsky as he travels from Oxford to Liverpool and Manchester.