Sneak of the Week: The Liverpool Echo, “Sally Works Nights”

In 1973, The Beatles had only been out of business for three years, but their Merseybeat heyday already seemed a world away. The Liverpool Echo took that situation and ran with it.

The creative team of Martin Briley and Brian Engel had worked together in fancifully named ‘60s British psychedelic band Mandrake Paddle Steamer, a great but ill-starred outfit that only released one single during their career. (An album of excellent unreleased material surfaced decades later). In ‘73, when glam and prog ruled the UK rock roost, Briley and Engel elected to swim against the tide by tapping into their love of a more innocent era in British rock.

With their considerable musical prowess and the assistance of top-tier British session cats like drummer Clem Cattini (present on everything from Johnny Kidd & The Pirates’ “Shakin’ All Over” to The Tornados’ “Telstar”) and bassist Herbie Flowers (who appeared on solo records by every Beatle but John), they put together the Liverpool Echo. More an album project than an organic band, it was built to bring back the halcyon days of bands like The Dave Clark Five, Gerry & The Pacemakers, and of course, the Fab Four, specifically homing in on the sound of the early to mid-’60s pre-psychedelic Beat boom.

What they came up with could technically be termed a “pastiche.” But they brought so much verve and craftsmanship that the best of the tunes on the Liverpool Echo’s lone album could have easily given the genuine article a run for their money. There doesn’t appear to have ever been a single released from the album, but if there were, it’s hard to imagine it being anything other than the ridiculously catchy “Sally Works Nights.”

The modified “Be My Baby” drum intro, the endearingly spindly piano hook, the undeniably Beatley harmony on the chorus, the blissful melodic leap of the bridge—it all adds up to a tune so infectious it ought to be listed with the CDC and so period-perfect it could pass any blindfold test. And the lyrical twist at the end (no spoilers) really plops the cherry on top of this pop confection.

The rest of the songs on the album, which was originally released only in the UK on the smallish Spark label, are no slouches either. But the record didn’t exactly burn Briley and Engel’s names into the annals of music history. The two journeymen went on to plenty of other projects, though. Briley played bass with Ian Hunter and others, released several solo albums, and had a 1983 hit with the great “Salt in My Tears,” and Engel worked with a long list of acts including Limey, Loudspeakers, The New Seekers, and others.

Shockingly, nobody seems to have ever covered the song (so far). But it has appeared on a number of compilations, amping up its profile a bit, so you never know. Regardless, the Liverpool Echo album has been reissued a couple of times and is pretty easily accessible, so you needn’t be a stranger to it.

-Jim Allen

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