Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
When anybody with the authority of Mike McGear McCartney, celebrated photographer, part of the great Liverpool band The Scaffold and ambassador of many things to do with the city, comes back home and offers the chance to hear him give a talk on his life, it is not just a night out, it is a chance to live through history.
The Epstein Theatre has had moments which has really captured the historic abundance that seems to come out of every street in the area, the play Epstein being a notable addition to the fantastic theatre that has come out of Liverpool in the last ten years, and it was perhaps fitting that 50 years since Mike McCartney first came on stage at what was then the Crane Theatre in Hanover Street as part of The Scaffold, that he returned and showed the expectant and honestly thrilled crowd what exactly made the man who stood before them.
From his early days as school, the legacy of World War Two that saw the city of Liverpool mostly destroyed but the spirit of the people remain unbroken and onto the young pop star with a brother in the biggest band on the planet and through to perhaps one of the crowning glories of his life, having the recently opened Museum of Liverpool dedicate a special event to him and his prestigious photography, this was Mike McCartney giving a piece of him back to the city that nurtured his talent.
What came across in the evening’s talk and some unseen memorabilia and personal keepsakes was the utter joy the man has had, the fun and respect he has maintained and his stories were ones to cherish. Listening to a person discuss their life can be at times a little disconcerting as what you may know of them doesn’t always come across. However in Mike McCartney, the smile, it has to be said the handsome looks that never have never left after 50 years and the sheer skill he employs in singing and to be fair, astonishing photography, is all you really need to know, it is all that is framed and captured.
The audience inside The Epstein were also treated to some forgotten footage of The Scaffold, the cheeriness of John Gorman, the poet Roger McGough and of course Mike McCartney and a couple of moments in which the silky voice reminded crowds of what went before.
History was being seen through the lens of a man who was at the start denied the chance to be an artist but who never gave up and who now espouses to many what modern techniques of capturing art can mean. With a title of Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll (I Wish) the evening was more like I photographed, I sang and made people happy (I Did). A night in which to remember being at forever!
Ian D. Hall