Give My Regards to Broad Street
Give My Regards to Broad Street is the fifth studio album by Paul McCartney, as well as the soundtrack album to his 1984 film of the same name. The album reached number 1 on the UK chart; the lead single, "No More Lonely Nights", was Golden Globe Award nominated. It was to be his final album to be released under Columbia Records, his US label for over 5 years; the majority of the album –, sequenced in the order of the songs' appearance in the film – features re-interpretations of many of Paul McCartney's past classics of The Beatles and Wings: "Good Day Sunshine", "Yesterday", "Here and Everywhere", "Silly Love Songs", "For No One", "Eleanor Rigby" and "The Long and Winding Road". There were interpretations of songs from McCartney's more recent albums. Besides "No More Lonely Nights", the only previously-unheard tracks were "Not Such a Bad Boy", "No Values" and a symphonic extension of "Eleanor Rigby" entitled "Eleanor's Dream"; the scope of the album was so immense that when it saw release that October, its vinyl issue had specially edited versions of its songs.
The cassette and the CD edition preserved the tracks' full lengths, while the CD went one further by including a bonus 1940s-styled piece called "Goodnight Princess". A notable switch from past album song credits is the crediting of song writing to "McCartney-Lennon" as opposed to the usual "Lennon-McCartney" on all other albums. Preceded by "No More Lonely Nights", a worldwide top 10 hit featuring guitar work by David Gilmour, Give My Regards to Broad Street entered the UK charts at number 1 while going gold with a number 21 peak in the United States, it would mark the end of McCartney's brief alliance with Columbia Records in the US, which had started with the final Wings album Back to the Egg in 1979. McCartney would re-sign with EMI worldwide with his Columbia output reverting to his new – and original – label in the US, Capitol Records. With the film's premiere in November, McCartney's Rupert Bear recording, "We All Stand Together", started back in 1980 and credited to'Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus', was released and became a hit single in the UK, reaching number 3.
The accompanying animated film was shown in cinemas preceding the main "Give My Regards to Broad Street" feature. The soundtrack's original release was on Columbia Records in 1984 in North America, it was remastered in 1993 and reissued on CD as part of'The Paul McCartney Collection' series with two extended dance mixes of "No More Lonely Nights" as bonus tracks. All songs by Paul McCartney, except where noted. 1993 bonus tracks Due to the length of the recording, the 1984 LP omits "So Bad" and "Goodnight Princess", edits out about six minutes of "Eleanor's Dream", sections of "Good Day Sunshine", "Wanderlust" and "No More Lonely Nights". On the LP cover a remark alerts the listener: This record is longer than usual but due to the available playing time on a vinyl disc some editing of the sound track has been necessary to retain full volume and dynamic range. Longer versions exist on cassette and compact disc. Track lengths on album notes do not include spoken sections between songs and so do not match CD timings.
On the list above these sections are included at the beginning of each track, as on the 1984 release, while on the remastered 1993 CD they are included at the end of the tracks. Paul McCartney – vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, electric harpsichord, bass guitar Eric Stewart – vocals, guitar Steve Lukather, Chris Spedding, Dave Edmunds — guitar vocals Linda McCartney – keyboards, vocals David Gilmour, Eric Ford – guitar Pat Halling, Laurie Lewis, Raymond Keenlyside, Tony Gilbert – violin Derek Grossmith – clarinet, alto saxophone Eddie Mordue – clarinet, tenor saxophone Vic Ash – tenor saxophone Ronnie Hughs, Bobby Haughey – trumpet on "Ballroom Dancing" Chris Smith – trombone on "Ballroom Dancing" Brass Ensemble - Philip Jones Brass Ensemble - Group Leader Philip Jones - Lead Trumpeter - Jimmy Watson Dick Morrissey – saxophone Jeff Bryant – French horn Jerry Hey, Lawrence Williams, Thomas Pergerson, Tommy Whittle – Horns on "Silly Love Songs/Reprise George Martin – piano Gerry Butler – piano Trevor Barstow – electric piano Anne Dudley – synthesizer Russ Stableford – acoustic bass Herbie Flowers, Louis Johnson, John Paul Jones – bass guitar Jeff Porcaro, Dave Mattacks, Ringo Starr, Stuart Elliott, John Dean – drums Jody Linscott – percussion Give My Regards to Broad Street on IMDb
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral known as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is part of the Liverpool City Region, it is bounded to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey, to the north by the Irish Sea. The rectangular peninsula is about 15 miles long and 7 miles wide. Wirral was wholly within Cheshire. However, since the passing of the Local Government Act 1972, only the southern third has been in Cheshire, with the rest in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in the modern county of Merseyside. Wirral contains both affluent and deprived areas, with affluent areas in the west and north coast of the peninsula, deprived areas concentrated in the east, around the built-up district of Birkenhead; the name Wirral means "myrtle corner", from the Old English wir, a myrtle tree, heal, an angle, corner or slope. It is supposed that the land was once overgrown with bog myrtle, a plant no longer found in the area, but plentiful around Formby, to which Wirral would once have had a similar habitat.
The name was given to the Hundred of Wirral around the 8th century. The earliest evidence of human occupation of Wirral dates from the Mesolithic period, around 7000 BC. Excavations at Greasby have uncovered flint tools, signs of stake holes and a hearth used by a hunter-gatherer community. Other evidence from about the same period has been found at Irby and New Brighton. Neolithic stone axes and pottery have been found in Oxton and Meols. At Meols and New Brighton there is evidence of continuing occupation through to the Bronze Age, around 1000 BC, funerary urns of the period have been found at West Kirby and Hilbre. Before the time of the Romans, Wirral was inhabited by the Cornovii. Artefacts discovered in Meols suggest it was an important port from at least 500 BC. Traders came from Gaul and the Mediterranean localities to seek minerals from North Wales and Cheshire. There are remains of a small Iron Age fort at Burton. Around 70 AD, the Romans founded Chester. Evidence of their occupation on Wirral has been found, including the remains of a road near Mollington and Willaston.
This road may have continued to the port at Meols, which may have been used as a base for attacking the north Wales coast. Storeton Quarry may have been used by Romans for materials for sculpture. Remains of possible Roman roads have been found at Greasby and at Bidston. By the end of the Roman period, pirates were a menace to traders in the Irish Sea, soldiers may have been garrisoned at Meols to combat this threat. Although Roman rule ended with the departure of the last Roman troops in 410 coins and other material found at Meols show that it continued to operate as a trading port. Evidence of Celtic Christianity from the 5th or 6th centuries is shown in the circular shape of churchyards at Bromborough and elsewhere, in the dedication of the parish church at Wallasey to a 4th-century bishop, Hilary of Poitiers; the Celtic names of Liscard and Landican both suggest an ancient British origin. The name of Wallasey, meaning "Welsh island", is evidence of British settlement; the Welsh name, both ancient and modern, for Wirral is Cilgwri.
In Welsh mythology, the ouzel of Cilgwri was one of the most ancient creatures in the world. The Anglo-Saxons under Æthelfrith, king of Northumbria, laid waste to Chester around 616. Æthelfrith withdrew, leaving the area west and south of the Mersey to become part of Mercia, Anglo-Saxon settlers took over Wirral except the northern tip. Many of Wirral's villages, such as Willaston and Sutton, were established and named at this time. Towards the end of the 9th century, the Norsemen or Vikings began raiding the area, they settled along the Dee side of the peninsula, along the sea coast, giving their villages names such as Kirby and Meols. They introduced their own local government system with a parliament at Thingwall; the pseudo-historical Fragmentary Annals of Ireland appears to record the Norse settlement of the Wirral peninsula in its account of the immigration of Ingimundr near Chester. This Irish source places this settlement in the aftermath of the Vikings' expulsion from Dublin in 902, an unsuccessful attempt to settle on Anglesey soon afterwards.
Following these setbacks, Ingimundr is stated to have settled near Chester with the consent of Æthelflæd, co-ruler of Mercia. The boundary of the Norse colony is believed to have passed south of Neston and Raby, along Dibbinsdale. Evidence of the Norse presence in Wirral can still be seen from place name evidence – such as the common -by – suffixes and names such as Tranmere, which comes from trani melr; the finding of two hogback tombstones corroborates this. Recent Y-DNA research has revealed the genetic trail left by male Vikings in Wirral relatively high rates of the haplogroup R1a, associated in Britain with Norse ancestry. Bromborough in Wirral is one of the possible sites of an epic battle in 937, the Battle of Brunanburh, which confirmed England as an Anglo-Saxon kingdom; this is the first battle where England united to fight the combined forces of the Norsemen and the Scots, thus historians consider it the birthplace of England. The battle site covered a large area of Wirral. Egil's Saga, a story which tells of the battle, may have referred to Wirral as Wen Heath, Vínheíþr in Icelandic.
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Allerton, Liverpool
Allerton is a suburb of Liverpool, England. In Lancashire, it is located 3 miles southeast of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Mossley Hill, Hunt's Cross and Garston. Allerton has a number of large houses in the prestigious Calderstones Park area, with 1930s semi-detached housing around the shopping area of Allerton Road. Allerton is paired with nearby Hunts Cross to form the Hunts Cross city council ward; the population of this ward at the 2011 census was 14,853. In the Domesday Book it appears as Alretune meaning'the alder enclosure', derived from the Old English alr'alder' and tún'enclosure or village'. Allerton was made an urban district by the Local Government Act 1894, added to the county borough of Liverpool on 9 November 1913. In the past ten years many new bars and restaurants have opened on Allerton Road, Mossley Hill and it is a popular place for pubgoers. New Heys Calderstones School Allerton Cemetery Allerton Hall Allerton Park Golf Club Allerton Tower Park Calderstones Park Clarke Gardens The Parish Church of All Hallows Allerton is served by two railway stations: Liverpool South Parkway on the border of Allerton and Garston, West Allerton on Booker Avenue.
Both stations offer services to Liverpool city centre and Manchester, but Liverpool South Parkway has services to Southport and Hunts Cross and the fast service to Birmingham. The former Allerton railway station has been replaced with Liverpool South Parkway, although the old platforms are in use at the new station; the nearest major bus stop is at Liverpool South Parkway, with the 86 service to the city centre and bus shuttles to Liverpool John Lennon Airport. There are several bus stops around Aigburth with links to various districts throughout the city and the city centre. Peter Adamson Saint John Almond Bill Kenwright Dejan Lovren Sadio Mané Paul McCartney John Power John Arne Riise William Roscoe Daniel Agger Hollie Cavanagh Mark Weaffer Allerton Road features in the Beatles' song, "Penny Lane". The'shelter in the middle of the roundabout', the barber shop and the bank mentioned in the song are all located on Smithdown Place, Mossley Hill, at the junction of Allerton Road, Penny Lane and Smithdown Road.
The suburb of Allerton features in the first episode of BBC Drama Spooks, where a bomb exploded outside the home of a family planning doctor. The attack was organised by a group of pro-life campaigners. Liverpool District Placenames, Henry Harrison, 1898 Liverpool Street Gallery - Liverpool 18 Allerton in the Domesday Book
McCartney (album)
McCartney is the debut solo album by English rock musician Paul McCartney. It was issued on Apple Records in April 1970 after McCartney had resisted attempts by his Beatles bandmates to have the release delayed to allow for Apple's scheduled titles, notably the band's Let It Be album. McCartney recorded his album during a period of depression and confusion, following John Lennon's private announcement in September 1969 that he was leaving the Beatles, the conflict over its release further estranged McCartney from his bandmates. A press release in the form of a self-interview, supplied with UK promotional copies of McCartney, led to the announcement of the group's break-up on 10 April 1970. McCartney recorded the album in secrecy using basic home-recording equipment set up at his house in St John's Wood. Mixing and some recording took place at professional studios in London, which McCartney booked under an alias to maintain anonymity. Apart from occasional contributions by his wife, Linda, he performed the entire album by himself, playing every instrument via overdubbing on four-track tape.
In its preference for loosely arranged performance over polished production, McCartney eschewed the sophistication of the Beatles' work with George Martin in favour of a back-to-basics style that suggested McCartney's original concept for the Beatles' Let It Be project in 1969. On release, the album received an unfavourable response from the majority of music critics as a result of McCartney's role in ending the Beatles' career. Many reviewers criticised the inclusion of half-finished songs and McCartney's reliance on instrumental pieces, although the love song "Maybe I'm Amazed" was singled out for praise. Commercially, McCartney benefited from the publicity surrounding the break-up. In June 2011, the album was reissued as part of the Paul McCartney Archive Collection. Following John Lennon's announcement in a band meeting on 20 September 1969 that he wanted a "divorce" from the Beatles, Paul McCartney withdrew to his farm in Campbeltown, Scotland. Author Robert Rodriguez describes his frame of mind as: "brokenhearted and dispirited at the loss of the only job he had known".
While the announcement was not made official for business reasons, McCartney's period in seclusion with his family coincided with widespread rumours in America that he had died – an escalation of the three-year-old "Paul Is Dead" rumour. The rumour was broken only by journalists from BBC Radio and Life magazine tracking him down at his farm, High Park. McCartney's months in Scotland created an estrangement between him and his bandmates, further to the division caused by their appointment of Allen Klein as business manager in May that year. McCartney cited Klein's appointment as the first "irreconcilable difference" within the Beatles, since he continued to favour New York lawyers Lee Eastman and John Eastman – father and brother of his wife Linda. For McCartney, the period following Lennon's departure was marked by a bout of severe depression, during which, in his own estimation, he came close to suffering a nervous breakdown. In his book Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney, Howard Sounes writes of the McCartneys' exile at High Park: "This was grim for Linda.
She had a seven-year-old and a baby to look after, with a husband, depressed and drunk. She told friends it was one of the most difficult times in her life, while Paul reflected that he might have become a rock'n' roll casualty at this point in his career." With Linda's encouragement, McCartney began to consider a future outside the Beatles, by writing or finishing songs for his first solo album, McCartney. McCartney and his family returned to London shortly before Christmas 1969, he started work on the album at his home in Cavendish Avenue, St John's Wood; the recordings were carried out on a delivered Studer four-track tape recorder, without a mixing desk, therefore without VU displays as a guide for recording levels. In the commentary he supplied with the album, McCartney described his home-recording set-up as "Studer, one mike, nerve". McCartney first taped a 45-second portion of a song he had written in Campbeltown, "The Lovely Linda"; as with much of the album, McCartney sang the composition accompanied by acoustic guitar before filling the remaining tracks on the Studer with a second guitar part and percussive accompaniment.
Although this performance of "The Lovely Linda" was only intended as a test of the new equipment, it would be included on the official release, as the opening track, complete with the sound of McCartney giggling at the end of the recording. Reflecting the sequencing on the album, the second and third songs McCartney taped were "That Would Be Something" written in Scotland, the instrumental "Valentine Day"; the latter was one of three selections on McCartney that its creator "ad-libbed on the spot", he claimed, along with the rock-oriented "Momma Miss America" and "Oo You". On 3 January 1970, he interrupted work on McCartney to participate in the Beatles' final recording session, when he, George Harrison and Ringo Starr recorded the Harrison composition "I Me Mine" at Abbey Road Studios; the next day, the three musicians revisited McCartney's "Let It Be", a song recorded by the band in January 1969 for their Get Back film project, still awaiting release a year later. On 12 February, McCartney took his Studer tapes to Morgan Studios, in the north-west London suburb of Willesden, in order to copy all the four-track recordings onto eight-track tape, to allow for further overdubbing.
Keen to maintain
Paul Wickens
Paul "Wix" Wickens is an English musician and record producer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Wickens has worked with artists including Paul McCartney, Nik Kershaw, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bon Jovi, Edie Brickell and many others. Wickens has been a member of McCartney's touring band since 1989. In the early 1980s Wickens was a member of Woodhead Monroe, a band that issued two singles distributed by Stiff, "Mumbo Jumbo" and "Identify." Wickens began touring with Paul McCartney in 1989. As of he has appeared on many of McCartney's albums and DVDs, has become the musical director for many of McCartney's tours, he continues to tour with McCartney, of the four musicians in McCartney's touring band, he has worked with McCartney the longest by a considerable margin. Wickens played on albums by Tommy Shaw of the American rock band Styx, the Damned, Tim Finn, Paul Carrack, Nik Kershaw, Jim Diamond, Boy George, David Gilmour, was the co-producer of the first Savage Progress album, he was the keyboardist and programmer for Edie Brickell & New Bohemians album, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars –, where he first met Chris Whitten.
Wickens was instrumental in making the BANDAGED album the success it was, in aid of BBC Children in Need. He attended Brentwood School, Essex where he became a friend of fellow student, the writer Douglas Adams, performed at his memorial service in 2001. Wickens composed the music for the sequel radio productions of Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy broadcast in 2003–2004. Wickens recorded a version of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", has been known for The The's minor UK hit "This Is the Day", from their album Soul Mining. Paul Wickens on IMDb Paul Wickens at Discogs
Jim and Mary McCartney
James McCartney and Mary Patricia McCartney were the parents of musician and artist Paul McCartney of the Beatles and Wings, of the photographer and musician Mike McCartney, who worked with the comedy rock trio the Scaffold. Like many families in Liverpool, the McCartney and Mohin families are of Irish descent. Jim worked for most of his life in the cotton trade, as well as playing in ragtime and jazz bands in Liverpool, while Mary was a trained nurse and midwife; the McCartney family lived in council houses during Mary's life, but Paul bought his father a house called Rembrandt, in Heswall, Cheshire. Jim encouraged his two sons to take up music by buying instruments for them to learn, as well as improving their education. Mary was Paul's inspiration for the song, "Let It Be". After Mary's death, Jim married Angela Williams and adopted her daughter Ruth from a previous marriage. Jim's great-grandfather, James McCartney, was born in Ireland, but it was unknown where Jim's grandfather, James McCartney II, was born.
New evidence found in Scottish archives suggests that James McCartney moved with his family from Ireland to Galloway, around 1859, before moving south and settling in Liverpool. James II married Elizabeth Williams in Liverpool, in 1864; the pair were both under-age when they were wed, but found a place to live together in Scotland Road. Jim's father, Joseph McCartney was a tobacco-cutter by trade when he married Florence "Florrie" Clegg in the Christ Church, Liverpool, on 17 May 1896. Joe never drank alcohol, went to bed at 10 o'clock every night, the only swear word he used was "Jaysus". Florrie was known as "Granny Mac" in the neighbourhood and was consulted when families had problems. Mary's father was born in Tullynamalrow, County Monaghan, Ireland, in 1880, as Owen Mohan, but permanently changed his name to Mohin when he was at school to avoid confusion with many other pupils with the same surname. After moving to Liverpool, he worked as a coalman, married Mary Theresa Danher from Toxteth Park, at St. Charles Roman Catholic Church, on 24 April 1905.
Jim was born as James McCartney at 8 Fishguard Street, Everton and was the third eldest of seven children. The McCartney children were John, James, Millie and Joe, his parents and Florrie McCartney moved shortly after Jim's birth to 3 Solva Street in Everton, a run-down terraced house about three-quarters of a mile from the Liverpool city centre, where Jim attended the Steers Street Primary School off Everton Road. After leaving school at 14, Jim found work for six shillings a week as a cotton "sample boy", at A. Hanney & Co.. Jim's job entailed running up and down Old Hall Street with large bundles of cotton that had to be delivered to cotton brokers or merchants in various salesrooms, he worked ten-hour days, five days a week, although he received a bonus at Christmas, double his annual salary. When World War II started Jim was too old to be called up for active service, as well as having been disqualified on medical grounds after falling from a wall and smashing his left eardrum when 10 years old.
After the cotton exchange closed for the duration of the war, Jim worked as an inspector at Napier's engineering works, which made shell cases that were filled with explosives. He volunteered to be a fireman at night and watched Liverpool burning from his rooftop observer's position. Between 1940 and 1942, Liverpool endured 68 air-raids, which killed or injured more than 4,500 of the population and destroyed more than 10,000 homes. After the war he worked as an inspector for Liverpool Corporation's Cleansing Department before returning to the cotton trade in 1946. Jim avidly read the Liverpool Echo or Express, liked solving crosswords and instigated discussions about varied subjects, his attitude to life was based upon self-respect, fairness and a strong work ethic. His political views were far from left-wing, as he insisted that there was nothing anyone could do about the situation the working classes were in at the time, nothing would change.62-year-old Jim was earning £10 a week in 1964, but Paul suggested that his father should retire, bought "Rembrandt".
He bought his father a horse called "Drake's Drum", a couple of years the horse won the race preceding the Grand National. Jim died of bronchial pneumonia on 18 March 1976, weeks before the death of his son’s bandmate’s father Alfred Lennon, his second wife, Angela McCartney, said that his last words were "I'll be with Mary soon." Jim died two days before a Wings European tour. Jim was cremated at Landican Cemetery, near Heswall, Merseyside on 22 March 1976. Mary Patricia Mohin was born at 2 Third Avenue, Liverpool; when she was 11 her mother died in childbirth. After two years Mary's father met and married his second wife, while on a trip to Monaghan, in Ireland. Rose arrived in Liverpool with two children from a previous marriage, but Mary, who had until been looking after the Mohin family, realised that Rose did not care much for domesticity or her new husband's children. After a year she chose to live with her aunts. In 1923, at the age of 14 years, Mary started work as a nurse trainee at the Smithdown Road Hospital, t
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city in North West England, with an estimated population of 491,500 within the Liverpool City Council local authority in 2017. Its metropolitan area is the fifth-largest in the UK, with a population of 2.24 million in 2011. The local authority is Liverpool City Council, the most populous local government district in the metropolitan county of Merseyside and the largest in the Liverpool City Region. Liverpool is on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, lay within the ancient hundred of West Derby in the south west of the county of Lancashire, it became a borough in 1207 and a city in 1880. In 1889, it became a county borough independent of Lancashire, its growth as a major port was paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with handling general cargo, raw materials such as coal and cotton, the city merchants were involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In the 19th century, it was a major port of departure for Irish and English emigrants to North America.
Liverpool was home to both the Cunard and White Star Line, was the port of registry of the ocean liner RMS Titanic, the RMS Lusitania, RMS Queen Mary and RMS Olympic. The popularity of the Beatles and other music groups from the Merseybeat era contributes to Liverpool's status as a tourist destination. Liverpool is the home of two Premier League football clubs and Everton, matches between the two being known as the Merseyside derby; the Grand National horse race takes place annually at Aintree Racecourse on the outskirts of the city. The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007. In 2008, it was nominated as the annual European Capital of Culture together with Norway. Several areas of the city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 2004; the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City includes the Pier Head, Albert Dock, William Brown Street. Liverpool's status as a port city has attracted a diverse population, drawn from a wide range of peoples and religions from Ireland and Wales.
The city is home to the oldest Black African community in the country and the oldest Chinese community in Europe. Natives and residents of the city of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians, colloquially as "Scousers", a reference to "scouse", a form of stew; the word "Scouse" has become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect. The name comes from the Old English lifer, meaning thick or muddy water, pōl, meaning a pool or creek, is first recorded around 1190 as Liuerpul. According to the Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, "The original reference was to a pool or tidal creek now filled up into which two streams drained"; the adjective Liverpudlian is first recorded in 1833. Other origins of the name have been suggested, including "elverpool", a reference to the large number of eels in the Mersey; the name appeared in 1190 as "Liuerpul", the place appearing as Leyrpole, in a legal record of 1418, may refer to Liverpool. Another such suggestion is derivation from Welsh llyvr pwl meaning "expanse or confluence at the pool".
King John's letters patent of 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool. By the middle of the 16th century, the population was still around 500; the original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by King John near the same time it was granted a royal charter, making it a borough. The original seven streets were laid out in an H shape: Bank Street, Castle Street, Chapel Street, Dale Street, Juggler Street, Moor Street and Whiteacre Street. In the 17th century there was slow progress in population growth. Battles for control of the town were waged during the English Civil War, including an eighteen-day siege in 1644. In 1699 Liverpool was made a parish by Act of Parliament, that same year its first slave ship, Liverpool Merchant, set sail for Africa. Since Roman times, the nearby city of Chester on the River Dee had been the region's principal port on the Irish Sea. However, as the Dee began to silt up, maritime trade from Chester became difficult and shifted towards Liverpool on the neighbouring River Mersey.
As trade from the West Indies, including sugar, surpassed that of Ireland and Europe, as the River Dee continued to silt up, Liverpool began to grow with increasing rapidity. The first commercial wet dock was built in Liverpool in 1715. Substantial profits from the slave trade and tobacco helped the town to prosper and grow, although several prominent local men, including William Rathbone, William Roscoe and Edward Rushton, were at the forefront of the abolitionist movement. By the start of the 19th century, a large volume of trade was passing through Liverpool, the construction of major buildings reflected this wealth. In 1830, Liverpool and Manchester became the first cities to have an intercity rail link, through the Liverpool and Manchester Railway; the population continued to rise especially during the 1840s when Irish migrants began arriving by the hundreds of thousands as a result of the Great Famine. In her poem "Liverpool", which celebrates the city's worldwide commerce, Letitia Elizabeth Landon refers to the Macgregor Laird expedition to the Niger River, at that time in progress.
Great Britain was a major market for cotton imported from the Deep South of the United States, which fed the textile industry in the country. Given the crucial place of both cotton and slavery in the city's economy, during the American Civil War Liverpool was, in the words of historian Sven Beckert, "the most pro-Confederate place in the world outside the Confederacy itself." For periods during the 19th century, the wealth of Liverpool
