Wes Paul
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Wester Paul Gerrard (Wes Paul) was born on 28 March 1943 and grew up in Lodge Lane, Liverpool. Between 13 November 2005 and 2 September 2007 he was the stage manager and compere of Sounds of the Sixties Cavern Showcase which ran every Sunday at The Cavern Club, Liverpool. The organisation was started by Kingsize Taylor, his wife Marga and Wes Paul, who took on the extra roles of booking the bands and managing the website. Every week five bands, or more, appeared performing music primarily from the 50s and 60s. These acts ranged from young bands just starting out to original Merseybeat groups such as The Undertakers and The Mojos.
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[edit] Early years
Attended Tiber Street Infant School in Lodge Lane, Liverpool, before going to Princes Park Secondary Modern School in Sefton Park Road. He left school at 15 to work as an apprentice block maker at John Holmes Blockmakers in Liver Street in the city centre. Wes had an early interest in music and in 1955 purchased his first guitar for £5 at Gerry Allan's record shop in Lodge Lane. In that year he formed a skiffle group (Whiskey Skiffle) with some friends and played on the street corners for money. At the age of 14 he formed a band called Westy's Wise Jives - the band had this emblazened on the backs of their leather jackets - they played at school assemblies and local events - their influences being Hank Williams and Elvis Presley. Wes Paul made up for his lack of guitar skills by becoming the lead singer.
At the age of 16 Wes signed up for the Merchant Navy and spent ten weeks on the Vindicatrix, the latter part of this time as Bos'un (Boatswain). After returning, July 1959, to Liverpool he signed on as deck boy on the Sylvania and sailed across the Western Ocean to Quebec. On 30 September 1959 he sailed on a Blue Funnel Line ship called the Lycaon as Junior Ordinary Seaman and sailed to the Kiel Canal stopping a week in St. Pauli, Hamburg, a city which was to play a major role in the formation of the famous Merseybeat sound a few years later and the home of the Indra, the Star-Club, the Kaiserkeller and the Top Ten.
[edit] Education
Gerrard graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science Honours degree, in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he was also awarded a post-graduate certificate in project management. Research towards further honours has thus far included the medical profession in Liverpool and the poor in Victorian London (Henry Mayhew, Charles Booth, Beatrice Webb) as well as extensive research in family history and demographics.
[edit] Links
http://cavernshowcase.com - Cavern Showcase
http://wespaulband.caldercats.com - The Wes Paul Band
http://caldercats.com - Calder Cats
http://wespaul.com - Official Website
http://kingsizetaylor.com - Kingsize Taylor
[edit] References
[1] Information about the ships Wes Paul sailed in.
[2] Biography of Wes Paul on CalderCats.com
[3] Information about Cavern Showcase. Kingsize Taylor.com
[4] MySpace Cavern Showcase.
[5] Cavern Showcase gig list. Compere: Wes Paul.
[6] Dominoes 50th Anniversary. Compere: Wes Paul.
[7] Images from 50th Anniversary of the Cavern Club. Compere, Stage Manager, Photographer: Wes Paul.
[8] Biography of Wes Paul on LiverpoolHome.com
