Liverpool's true history began as a borough by the name of Livpul, founded by charter of King John Lackland. Despite modest beginnings, Liverpool would eventually swell to second city in Britain with riches brought by trade coming to its docks from across the Atlantic.

In recent years, that trade to its docks has trickled to near nothing, along with Liverpool's good fortune. Cut off from trans-Atlantic trade and ravaged by the Nazi blitz, a perpetual sense of gloom has fallen over the city, along with the German boot. Now what wealth remains flows not to the city, but to well-dressed, smiling men from Frankfurt.

Yet Liverpool's longing for across the sea is not yet dead. In run down pubs, in aging clubs, young men pick up their instruments and play defiance against the gloom of the city, emulating American bands from across the Atlantic. For all that Liverpool has lost in chains, defiance endures.