|
The
History of Mayfield Records
|
Mayfield Records was formed by Joe Flannery in Liverpool in 1981 as an
offshoot of his agency Carlton-Brooke Enterprises. At that time Joe had
been in partnership with Clive Epstein, brother of Beatles manager the
late Brian Epstein, since the late 1970s (ostensibly to manage Liverpool
band Motion Pictures). Previous to this, during the 1960s, Joe had been
directly involved in the emergence of the Beatles in 1962. Indeed, for
over a year, the Carlton-Brooke agency ran in tandem with NEMS
Enterprises with Joe handling the bulk of the Beatles’ gigs away from
Liverpool. Joe and Brian had been close friends since childhood, and Joe
became a close personal friend and confidante of the young Beatles. When
the sacked Beatles drummer Pete Best refused Epstein’s offer of
joining another of Epstein’s stable, Joe placed Best in his
brother’s group Lee Curtis & the All Stars. |
|
 |
|
A
Beatles contract from the early years |
|
|
 |
|
Joe and Frankie
Vaughn |
|
The popularity in West Germany of Lee Curtis & the All Stars in 1963,
necessitated a move there and, between 1963 and 1967, Joe Flannery was
directly involved in the management of the Star Club in Hamburg and its
assorted franchises across Germany. Joe booked most of the artists who
appeared at this world-famous club (including, amongst many others, the
Animals, the Pretty Things, the Rattles, the Hep Stars, the Action,
Spooky Tooth and the great Jimi Hendrix). Joe also promoted his own
roster of artists which, by this time, included singer Beryl Marsden and
the female R&B band, the Liverbirds. He returned to Liverpool in
1967, disillusioned with the rock scene in Germany and distressed at the
death of his old friend, Brian Epstein. |
|
Joe’s partnership with Clive Epstein was ill-fated - according to Joe, Clive
was rather fixated with attempting to recreate his brother’s success
in the music industry - and it had already dissolved well before the
latter’s untimely death in 1988. Carlton-Brooke continued throughout
the 1980s and 1990s, however, (for example, Joe worked with Hall and
Oates in New York in the mid-80s and put together boy band Ecos, now B.B.
Mack, in the late 1990s)and Mayfield continued to release the odd
(in some cases very odd!) recordings until the late ‘80s. |
|
 |
|
Joe and Paul |
|
These records are now very rare and, although not directly related
to any output by the Beatles, are highly collectable owing to Joe’s
close (and continuing) relationship with the former Beatles and the
Epstein family. |
In more recent times, the label was somewhat becalmed as a result of
Joe’s gradual move into semi-retirement (he now handles only one
artist or group at one time - his current project being the exciting
Liverpool-based band Cirkus). During the summer of 2000, however, Joe
Flannery’s biographer, Mike Brocken (one of the few people in the
world to hold both an MA and PhD in Popular Music Studies) was granted
permission by the man himself to use Mayfield as the imprint for his new
Merseyside reissues label project; Joe remains as Hon. President and
consultant thus creating a unique and authentic continuum between the
era being represented and the actual reissues.
|
|
Work is now afoot to release some of the most rare Merseyside-based beat,
R&B, rock, folk, country and dance band music of the past 60 years
or so. But Mayfield will be doing so in a very different way. Each CD
will be hand-crafted and personalized in such a way as to make every
copy not only an entertaining historical document, but also a unique
artifact in its own right. Sleeves will be designed by Steve Hardstaff,
a renowned artist who not only worked on Peter Blake’s
‘Sgt.Pepper’ project as a young art student, but was also closely
involved in the great Eric’s club of the 1970s; he, too, has a
specialist blues reissues label of his own - Pigmeat Records (see below
for discography) which can be obtained via Mayfield Records. |
|
|
 |
|
Joe with Cilla
Black at her book signing |
|
Each Mayfield CD will also be individually numbered and, where
possible, signed! Sleeve notes will be extensive with (correct!)
information being provided by Mayfield’s own in-house data base.
This data base contains thousands of song titles, songwriters and
record companies. In addition, it is hoped that the Chester Record
Collector’s Co-operative will also be involved in cross-referencing
- and all at a price to the customer of only £9.99 per CD. Truly a
label by record collectors for record collectors! |
|
