Roger McGough is one of the UK's most celebrated and distinctive poets. He is the author of more than fifty books and has written numerous scripts, including the script for the Beatles' film Yellow Submarine. He is an international ambassador for poetry and in 1997 was awarded an OBE.

Adrian Henri, 1932-2000, had a career that spanned everything from artist and poet to teacher, rock and roll performer, playwright and librettist. He lectured in art at both Manchester and Liverpool Colleges of Art. He was president of the Merseyside Arts Association and Liverpool Academy of the Arts in the 1970s and was an honorary professor of the city's John Moores University. His numerous publications include Wish You Were Here and Not Fade Away.

Brian Patten is one of the most accessible and popular poets working today. His collections include Grinning Jack (Selected Poems), Love Poems, Storm Damage and Armada. In 2002, Brian Patten accepted The Cholmondeley Award for services to poetry. Together with Roger McGough and the late Adrian Henri, he was honoured with The Freedom of the City of Liverpool.

'"The Mersey Sound" is an attempt to introduce contemporary poetry to the general reader by publishing representative work by each of three modern poets in a single volume, in each case the selection has been made to illustrate the poet's characteristics in style and form'. With this modest brief, "The Mersey Sound" was conceived and first published in 1967. An anthology which features Roger McGough's work, alongside that of Brian Patten and Adrian Henri (The Liverpool Poets), it went on to sell over half a million copies and to become the bestselling poetry anthology of all time.