Liverpool voted top musical city

The home of the Beatles, Echo And The Bunnymen and The Coral was today named Britain’s top musical city.

Liverpool struck a chord in a poll of music fans to find the hotspot of harmony, edging Manchester into second place.

Paul Jackson of Virgin Radio – which organised the poll – said Liverpool had “a rich history of creative music that spans from the 1960s to the present day”.

The Fab Four have been the city’s best known musical export but there have been a stream of acts to emerge from Merseyside.

The late Seventies punk scene, centred on renowned Liverpool club Eric’s spawned acts such as The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and Wah!.

Further success came with OMD, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and The Las. It is undergoing another musical explosion with acts such as The Crescent and Mercury Prize nominees The Coral who are from nearby Hoylake.

Manchester’s musical exports are led by Oasis, but other top names have included New Order, The Smiths, The Fall, The Stone Roses and less well-known but influential bands such as The Chameleons.

Despite south Wales’s reputation as a breeding ground for talent in the last few years, with chart acts such as Catatonia, Super Furry Animals and Stereophonics, none of its towns merited a mention in the top ten.

Nor did Leeds – a musical hotbed in the Eighties which spawned the Sisters Of Mercy, The Mission and Chumbawamaba – although nearby Bradford, where The Cult and New Model Army formed, is ranked number eight.

Jackson, Virgin’s programme director, added: “It was a close run thing between Manchester and Liverpool and this is bound to spark debate up and down the country.

“Everyone will have their own opinion but The Beatles edged it for Liverpool this time.”

The Top Ten Cities:

1. Liverpool.

2. Manchester.

3. London.

4. Birmingham.

5. Glasgow.

6. Oxford.

7. Hull.

8. Bradford.

9. Belfast.

10. Edinburgh.