Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots

[peter tiffen]

Dear Beatles fans,
I have an self-titled album by a Liverpool Merseybeat group from 1963 called
Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots.
I found it among a stack of old vinyl at a
second hand shop one day.
I have always wondered whether Paul McCartney got
the inspiration for the name of the Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
album from this group particularly because the lead singer of the group,
Billy Pepper, is also billed on the album as being a person called Billy
Shepherd _ very close to the fictional Billy Shears (shepherds use shears to
shear sheep right? Sounds like something John Lennon might have come up
with) on the classic Beatles album.
I have never been able to find out
anything about the group or Billy Shepherd _ I suspect the record was made
to cash in at the time on the popularity of the Mersey sound _ and I have
always read that McCartney just
made the Sgt Pepper name up.
Can anyone Beatles experts shed some light?

[jimmya...@gmail.com]

http://www.billyshears.com/

[Stephen X. Carter]

1999! What timeloop has this been trapped in??

Anyway... I seem to recall that Paul picked up on the name from the soft
drink - Dr. Pepper's. Important to know is that (at that time
certainly), Dr. Pepper's was not really known in the UK, so the name
would have had a novelty value and would have been noticed by Paul
because of that.

--
steve.hat.stephencarter.not.com.but.net
Nothing is Beatle Proof!!
Mr Kite posters and more at http://www.zazzle.com/mr_kite*
Mr Kite posters and more at http://www.zazzle.co.uk/mr_kite*

[alan_...@yahoo.com]

On Sunday, August 29, 1999 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-4, peter tiffen wrote:
> Dear Beatles fans,
> I have an self-titled album by a Liverpool Merseybeat group from 1963 called
> Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots.
> I found it among a stack of old vinyl at a
> second hand shop one day.
> I have always wondered whether Paul McCartney got
> the inspiration for the name of the Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
> album from this group particularly because the lead singer of the group,
> Billy Pepper, is also billed on the album as being a person called Billy
> Shepherd _ very close to the fictional Billy Shears (shepherds use shears to
> shear sheep right? Sounds like something John Lennon might have come up
> with) on the classic Beatles album.
> I have never been able to find out
> anything about the group or Billy Shepherd _ I suspect the record was made
> to cash in at the time on the popularity of the Mersey sound _ and I have
> always read that McCartney just
> made the Sgt Pepper name up.
> Can anyone Beatles experts shed some light?

William (billy) shepard supposedly looked alot like paul, and took a job as pauls standin on tours, etc. watch this vid, it goes into it quite a bit, there does seem to be some kind of connection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4JOI1w40ec