The truth about the birth of rock ’n’ roll will be revealed in a talk in Calstock Arts by Elizabeth Sharkey, author of bestseller Why Britain Rocked: How Rock Became Roll and Took Over the World.
Celebrated music writer and lifelong music lover Elizabeth, is on tour from London to share her understanding of how rock ’n’ roll came to these shores and made London swing.
In conversation with Dr Richard Mills, an expert on The Beatles, Elizabeth will explain that the explosion of 1960s Swinging London did not come out of nowhere - but its history goes way back into the nineteenth century, and the port city of Liverpool.
Her talk will be interspersed with music by local musicians Emma Oliver-Trend, Rosie Fierek and Matt Taylor, “so there will be live music to illustrate what I am talking about. I’ll be reading sections of the book and I’ll be interviewed by Dr Richard Mills,” says Elizabeth.
She says: “I talk about the birth of Liverpool and the atmosphere The Beatles would have absorbed growing up. Again, it is going back into the nineteenth century. What I find interesting is there is a symmetry between Liverpool in the mid 19th century and New York in the early 20th century. Irving Berlin grew up on the lower east side in New York. They had similar deprivation and poverty but amazing music.”
Elizabeth herself grew up in the 1980s in Lincolnshire and then moved to London aged 18, quite literally to seek her fortune. “I grew up on a farm and always wanted to go to London. That is where I found my way.”
She started working at famous department store Simpsons of Piccadilly, of TV’s Are you Being Served? fame then went into acting, appearing on TV, in film and becoming known as a leading voiceover artist.
She came to music writing through her deep love of all its forms and has interviewed many greats.
Writing her book, published in 2022, has been her true calling.
“I grew up listening to everything but the foundation of my music comes from my father, who was a massive jazz fan,” she says “I’m a child of the 1980s so I grew up listening to The Smiths and John Peel but I love it all and as long as it has a good tune, that is all that matters to me.”
Elizabeth Sharkey - Why Britain Rocked! is at Calstock Arts on Thursday, November 28. Doors open at 7pm, performance is at 8pm. Tickets £10 in advance, £12 on the door, £10 Friends of Calstock Arts. Find out more at calstockarts.org.