Set in Liverpool at the beginning of the nineteen fifties, Matt Dixon is immersed in the world of jazz moonlighting in bands for beer money and to meet girls. Jazz is flourishing but the rising popularity of a new phenomenon – “Merseybeat” – is threatening to knock it off the perch. Soon a boy group, The Beatles, is jam packing frenzied fans into the Cavern, the city’s premier jazz spot. It is a time when musicians are rubbing shoulders with up and coming artists, writers and poets; Adrian Henri, Don McKinlay, Beryl Bainbridge, Brain Patten, Roger McGough; in a bohemian demimonde. Matt becomes involved with two women from very different backgrounds…
Martin Craig-Downer, Emeritus professor UCL, has contributed to over a hundred scientific journal publications and many textbooks. He is a Founding Fellow of the International Academy of Oral Oncology and a Distinguished Scientist Laureate of the International Association for Dental Research. In the early 1960s he worked as a professional jazz musician with Charlie Galbraith’s band. The Tank Room is his first novel.