Liverpool Express - 'Dreamin'' (1978)

And now for something comletely different. Liverpool Express are a faintly remembered band from... you can guess, and dealt in light breezy, power pop along the lines of Badfinger, Pilot and most of all, Sir 'thumbs-up-a-lot' himself - Macca.

So, OK a Beatles rip-off maybe, but definitely not without their own charms. The main reason i am posting this is for the title track, 'Dreamin' which is the first single i ever remember hearing. It belonged to an aunt of mine and I absolutely loved it, played it to death when i was around 8 and STILL think it's a gorgeous little tune. The rest of the album is good too but 'Dreamin' is definitely the highlight for me.

The band was formed in 1975 by main man Billy Kinsley and a few footie mates. His former band, The Merseybeats, had a long illustrious pop history supporting The Beatles in The Cavern during the early 60's and then going on to have a few sizable hits - remember Bowie's 'Sorrow'? - that's them. Unfortunately the era of Beatles-obsessed pop craftsmen was well gone by 1978 when this, their second album, was released and although LEX had a good degree of commercial success at the time, their impression in pop's rich tapestry was minimal.

However as their website shows - they are not forgotten and still have fans all over the world. Which is nice.

Anyone who likes a well-crafted pop song a la Aimee Mann, Nick Lowe or Dave Edmunds should enjoy this.

ps - i couldn't find an acceptable scan of the album cover so what you see above is an EP cover which is more or less identical to the original album cover.