The Liverbirds were an English all-female rock band formed in Liverpool in 1963 by vocalist and guitarist Valerie Gell, bassist and vocalist Mary McGlory and drummer Sylvia Saunders, with guitarist and vocalist Pamela Birch joining soon after. Emerging from the Merseybeat scene, they performed at Hamburg's Star-Club, where they were billed as "the female Beatles" and became one of its top attractions. John Lennon told the group that "girls" were unable to play guitars, an assertion that motivated them and that they proved wrong. Their singles included "Shop Around" (1964 or 1965) and "Diddley Daddy", a cover that reached number 5 on the German charts, followed by "Peanut Butter" in 1965 and "Loop de Loop" in 1966. The group issued two albums on the Star-Club label, Star-Club Show 4 (1965) and More of the Liverbirds (1966), and a compilation, From Merseyside to Hamburg: The Complete Star-Club Recordings (2010). After a tour of Japan, the Liverbirds disbanded in 1968, briefly reuniting in 1998, and in 2026 released the new tracks "1964" and "Beautiful Love" with American musicians Lisa Troyer and Dawn Yoder. In 2024, Sylvia Saunders and Mary McGlory published their autobiography The Liverbirds: Our life in Britain's first female rock 'n' roll band.
