Hessy’s Music Store
62 Stanley Street, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Frank Hessy and his business partner Jim Gretty ran an instrument shop in the City Centre, where most of the local musicians bought their gear.
There were other, bigger stores, Like Rushworth’s and Crane’s, but little old Hessy’s remained the local favourite. Also, Hessy’s extended The Beatles credit, and this is where, in 1957 John Lennon bought his first guitar for £17. It was also partly because Frank made them so welcome, let them noodle around on his stock items, and they were like one big happy family.
Frank founded a little magazine called Frank Comments, and all of the young up-and-coming struggling artists would avidly pounce on every issue, to see if they got a mention. This publication was written by the local music aficionado Bill Harry, a student at Liverpool Art College, who of course, went on to found the famous Mersey Beat Magazine.
Bill also authored a magnificent book called The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia, which, to this day, remains, along with the amazing publications of Mark Lewisohn, a reliable source of reference on what was happening in Liverpool’s music scene at that time.
It was published in 1992, and many dog-eared copies of it are still on the bookshelves of music lovers and students everywhere. Myself included.
Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/WgnUJr8mUwuRUinf7
