“We never ever got as famous as The Beatles. But we started as friends, and we ended as friends.” - Sylvia Saunders, drummer of the Liverbirds

For the first time EVER on the Dolls Pod, we’re featuring a group! We’re telling the stories of Pam Birch, Val Gell, Mary McGlory, and Sylvia Saunders. Together, they’re more than Britain’s first all-female rock band…although that part is pretty cool! They’re four independent, self-actualized young women breaking music’s glass ceiling - and having a whole lot of fun doing it. This episode is for any girl in a band, or any girl who’s ever wanted to be in a band 🐦‍⬛ “It’s Liverbirds, Not Liverbirds” is available now wherever you stream your podcasts!

We’d like to thank Mark Berman (@fullyinvolvedmark on TikTok) for tipping Abby off to Mary and Sylvia’s memoir

Materials used for this episode:

Mary McGlory and Sylvia Saunders, “The Other Fab Four: The Remarkable True Story of the Liverbirds, Britain’s First Female Rock Band” (2024)

“‘Girls don’t play guitars!’ The Liverbirds Story” BBC Outlook, 4/17/2024

“We Made Rock History. Here’s Why You Don’t Know Us.” “Almost Famous” by Op-Docs, The New York Times (dir. Ben Proudfoot, 12/18/2019)

(episode starts at 6:13)

Songs in this episode:

“Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” Theme Song

The Kaye Sisters - Paper Roses (1960)

Cliff Richard - Move It (1958)

The Searchers - Apache (1962)

The Beatles - Please Please Me (1962)

The Rolling Stones - I Wanna Be Your Man (1963)

The Kinks - You Really Got Me (1964)

The Kinks - All Day and All of the Night (1964)

The Liverbirds - Roadrunner (1965)

The Liverbirds - Johnny B Goode (1965)

The Liverbirds - Peanut Butter (Live on Beat Club, 9/25/1965)

The Liverbirds - For Your Love (1966)

Jimi Hendrix - Wild Thing (Live at Monterey Pop, 6/18/1967)

The Liverbirds - Cavern Stomp (2025)

Follow @thedollspod on Instagram to see photos and clips from this episode!