Merseybeat exhibit opens in city

A bed sheet from John Lennon's "Bed-in for peace" is featured

A new exhibition marking 60 years of Merseyside's contribution to popular music has opened in Liverpool.

The Beat Goes On showcases generations of artists who have influenced the area's musical identity, from The Beatles to The Zutons.

Memorabilia on show includes a bed sheet from John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Bed-in for peace" demonstration in Montreal in 1969.

The exhibition is being held at the World Museum until 1 November.

Museum bosses said the exhibition would highlight how artists from the city have influenced generations of musicians.

There are thousands of other bands to come out of Liverpool David Fleming, Director, National Museums Liverpool

Organisers are keen to show the diverse range of musical talent from the city and surrounding area and are keen to stress it is not just about The Beatles.

David Fleming, director of National Museums Liverpool, told BBC Radio Five Live: "There are thousands of other bands to come out of Liverpool.

"What we wanted to do was explain why this was happening.

"You know it's not just an accident, you can go to many other cities in Britain and not find the same kind of creativity, so we wanted to explain why it happened in Liverpool.

"We start after the second world war - you could go further back really but we start then.

"And I think the first Liverpool number one, pop hit, was actually, 'How much is that doggy in the window?'."

A Lita Roza dress is among the exhibits

A dress made for Lita Roza, who was Britain's first woman artist to have a UK number one hit when that song topped the charts, is also among the exhibits.

In 2008, an Arts Council survey named Liverpool as the UK's most musical city and the show charts its musical history from 1945 until the present day.

And artists from the region have had so many Number One hits that in 2001 the Guinness Book of Records named Liverpool the world "City of Pop".

The exhibition is among the hundreds of shows, concerts and events taking place across the city as part of Capital of Culture year.