* John Lennon advised them to give up: girls with guitars would never work out. The competition from male groups on Merseyside was immense, but the Liverbirds set out to prove Lennon wrong, although they had to pack up their instruments and head for the Beatles' old stomping ground of Hamburg to do it.

* They became the UK's top all-girl band of the 1960s, although this CD marks the first-ever issue of their recordings in this country. It was a different story in Germany, where they achieved national fame, releasing two albums and a few singles on the Star-Club label between 1964 and 1966.

* Although they hailed from Liverpool, they were not your typical Merseybeat combo. Instead they shared more of a musical affinity with the R&B-influenced bands of the London area, favouring material from the Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry songbooks.

* And unlike some other British bands of their time, they didn't rely on session musicians. What they might have lacked in musical proficiency, they more than made up for in teenage enthusiasm, resulting in a garage quality to their records often lacking in those of their UK contemporaries.

* Here on one full-to-bursting CD are the Liverbirds' complete recordings, most of which are making their debut in any format outside Germany.