Metal on Merseyside

“Liverpool is a city officially branded as the birthplace of the Beatles and recognised as the ‘World Capital of Pop’ by the Guinness Book of Records. Hassan brings a fresh perspective on the city’s musical life and history by providing the first in-depth investigation into its ‘hidden’ hard rock and metal scene. Drawing on first-hand interviews and observation, the book examines the experiences of the promoters, musicians and fans who identify with the scene, their collaboration on the preparation and promotion of gigs, and the rise and fall of the venues involved. In doing so, it reveals the resilience of a scene that has endured since the late 1960s, and challenges city-branding initiatives based on narrow images of music heritage. Written in an engaging and accessible style, the book will appeal not only to students and researchers working across a range of disciplines, but also to a wider readership interested in music, place and cultural heritage.”

–Sara Cohen, University of Liverpool, UK

This is the first book to examine the partially hidden history of metal music scenes within the city of Liverpool and the surrounding region of Merseyside in the North-West of England. It reveals that while Liverpool has historically been portrayed as a certain kind of ‘music city,’ metal has been marginalized within its music heritage narratives. This marginality was not inevitable. The book illustrates how it is not merely the product of historical representation but the result of forces of urban change and regional shifts in the economy of live music. Nor is this marginality inconsequential. Drawing on ethnographic research, Nedim Hassan demonstrates that it has influenced how the region’s metal scenes are perceived and how people feel towards them.

Metal on Merseyside reveals how various people involved with such scenes work within often challenging circumstances to sustain the production of metal music and events. He also reveals the tensions that arise as scene members’ desires for an ideal metal community collide with forces of change. Metal on Merseyside is, therefore, a fascinating barometer for the contradictions apparent when people engage in creative labour to produce music that they love.
Nedim Hassan is Senior Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, UK.​