THE UNIQUE SOUND OF BOOTLE

There has been a lot of fuss about Bootle lately as it is putting itself forward to be considered for the new Town of Culture award. For me it’s an absolute no brainer as in my, completely biased view, Bootle is uniquely brilliant.

There has been a lot of fuss about Bootle lately as it is putting itself forward to be considered for the new Town of Culture award. For me it’s an absolute no brainer as in my, completely biased view, Bootle is uniquely brilliant. There is a famous saying along the lines of ‘See Bootle and Die’ with the idea being that once you have experienced the profound beauty of Bootle and its people then you can die content. Obviously this is purely my opinion and you are entitled to disagree but if you do then well you are just plain wrong.

In terms of music and culture Bootle can boast a long and glorious music history. esDeekid is one of the biggest success stories of the last 12 months and although his background is a little mysterious all the evidence suggests that he is another Bootle lad making good. Musicians like Billy J Kramer, Chris and Tony Griffith’s (The Real People) and Carl Hunter (The Farm) are all Bootle boys who have played a significant role in Liverpool music history. John Murphy is a lad who went to the same school in Bootle as me and is now one of the most in demand film composers in Hollywood. (can we put a link to podcast I did with him in – its on youtube).

Outside of the actual musicians from the area Bootle’s profile for music has risen again in recent years with the development of Salt and Tar venue which has hosted some huge names over last few years. Indeed the magnificent Red Rum Club are so closely associated with Bootle that they even have a huge mural dedicated to them on a wall next to the venue and have shot videos in the area. This year the Salt and Tar festival is moving to the field behind one of my favourite local pubs, the Lock and Quay, which has quietly been supporting local music for years now. All this is great for raising the profile of the town and as a local I have to say I never would have thought we would have the honour of hosting Sir Tom Jones on what used to be a piece of unused land between the canal and the old Strand Post Office. Sir Tom had an absolute ball and rumours are that he enjoyed it so much he is looking to settle down in Bootle.

There’s a range of great recording studios large and small across the whole of the city region many with national and international reputations and I am pleased to say that Bootle is also well blessed in this crucial part of the music ecology.

Scrapyard is one of these studios and it is a great community interest organisation with close connections to the local community. As well as providing a recording and rehearsal facility they also run an amazing range of workshops and projects in music and visual arts, including Gals Who Gig, songwriting, and a guitar club. It is a great organisation run by people who love to provide opportunities for the local community. www.scrapyardstudios.co.uk

Then there is a studio called Soundhouse, which is a bit of a hidden gem whose profile has risen lately. Technically the studio is on the Litherland/Bootle border but Litherland doesn’t conjure up the same glamour as Bootle does it so I am just saying it is firmly based in Bootle. It’s a studio that has been purpose built, and nestles amongst the shops and houses in Sefton street, its unassuming exterior hiding a remarkable 45 year history. ((Although if you want to stick with Litherland as the location then it is worth saying that the studio is close to Litherland Town Hall, famous as being the venue that The Beatles played in December 1960 as a Welcome Home show with their new tougher look and sound after returning from their first stint in Hamburg).

Soundhouse can also boast a recent number one album as The K’s recorded their Pretty on the Internet record there which hit the top spot in the UK album charts in August 2025.

This rising reputation has succeeded in attracting international producers and engineers who happily travel to Bootle to make use of the studio. 2019 Eurovision winner Duncan Lawrence, Mike Hedges (U2, The Cure) and Grammy winners Robby Nelson, Jim Lowe (Stereophonics, Beyoncé); and the Grammy-nominated Dave Pemberton (The Prodigy, Bloc Party) have all trod the same path attracted by the bright lights of Bootle and the studio too of course.

These big name producers are travelling to Soundhouse because of its hybrid mix of old school analogue and the latest digital technology. In fact while I was writing this piece Sean informed me that he had received a call from Paul (P Dub) Walton a local lad who Sean had originally worked with in the studio in the 1980s. Paul wanted to come back to remix some master tapes of major artists, taking advantage of the fully functional 24 track 2 inch tape machine the studio has. This is proper old kit and took me back to my first time in the studio a long, long, time ago.

The one constant in the history of the studio is founder/owner Sean Hunt. Sean is a local lad whose passion for music led him to build and keep improving his studio since 1980. Even while he was studying at school and at University Sean was always playing in bands most nights of the week and he used the money he was making to begin to build his own studio. Initially the plan was for the studio to be used just by Sean for his own music making projects but as a working musician he was constantly meeting other musicians and conversations led to recording sessions with country music artists of the day including The Hillsiders and Kenny Johnson. Even the legend that is Ken Dod recorded his Christmas single there.

Sean began a career in education but continued to oversee recording sessions in the studio during weekends and holidays before eventually moving to operating the studio full time. In 2019/20 Shaun met producer/engineer Russ Cottier who shared Sean’s love of making recordings with the best of analogue and digital. This partnership has seen the studio reach new heights, culminating in The K’s Number One album and a number of records by artists from across the North West like Better Joy and Paul Nazole.

Of course we are really fortunate in the City Region. We have some amazing live music venues and we also have an incredible range of studios. A number of these studios have well deserved national and international reputations: some with long histories such as the Motor Museum, and others are still relatively new but already making a massive impact, like Kempston Street. (can we add links to both of these?)

These studios are an essential part of the city’s music ecology and most of them, like Soundhouse, are run by people who are passionate about music who want to help artists to make the best recording they can.

Bootle, its sound la.

Written by Kev McManus