ABSTRACT
In 2003, Liverpool, the city of birth successfully won the privilege to become the European Capital of Culture for 2008. Liverpool dealt with some incredibly difficult cultural and economic challenges throughout the last half of the twentieth century, but it could be argued that some of these problems were of its own making. One excited Liverpudlian, Dawn Mensah informed the BBC that prior to La Machine's arrival she found it difficult to relate to the goings on in her own city. Some popular music writers appear unable to explain the synchronic historical significance of diverse popular music soundtracks because by narrowing their focus they rely upon that old adage of 'causes and consequences'. As a consequence of formalistic narratives, other popular music histories concerning the city of Liverpool and its people have suffered from partial obscurity. The varying and variable popular music scenes that existed in twentieth-century Liverpool reveal a great deal.
