The Beatles At The Cavern
OPPOSITE: The Beatles
rock The Cavern on
22 August 1962
LEFT: A leather-clad
John Lennon and
his Rickenbacker
TOP: Paul McCartney
after switching to bass
ABOVE: George Harrison
models one of the
band’s new suits
RIGHT: Deposed
drummer Pete Best
The exact date of The Quarrymen’s
Cavern debut is unknown, although it seems
likely it was in early August 1957. Sharing
the stage with vocalist and guitarist Lennon
were his childhood friend Pete Shotton on
washboard, guitarist Eric Griffi ths, bassist
Ivan Vaughan and Colin Hanton on drums.
Details of their fi rst Cavern gig are
sketchy, although one factor seems certain.
At some point during the performance, John
Lennon launched into Hound Dog and Blue
Suede Shoes by Elvis Presley, a decision that
prompted Sytner to swiftly rush forward
and pass a note up to the stage.
“John Lennon was passed a note and he
said to the audience, ‘We’ve had a request’,”
recalls Colin Hanton in The Cavern. “He
opened it up and it was Alan Sytner saying,
‘Cut out the bloody rock’n’roll’.”
The Quarrymen would go on to play
a handful of dates at The Cavern. For their
performance on 24 January 1958, they were
billed as The Quarry Men Skiffl e Group
and featured a promising new recruit called
Paul McCartney on guitar. On 6 February, at
McCartney’s recommendation, a 14-year-old
called George Harrison was invited to
join, a decision prompted by McCartney
making a complete hash of a guitar solo in
featuring a gifted young drummer called
Ringo Starr. In early 1961, McFall appointed
Bob Wooler as full-time compere and DJ,
and Wooler devised the lunchtime live
music sessions.
Rhythm and blues was the bedrock of the
sound being created by the new so-called
Merseybeat bands, and it’s well documented
that Liverpool musicians often had access
to rhythm and blues records brought back
from the US by elder brothers or uncles who
were in the merchant navy. “We would
Arthur Smith’s 1946 song Guitar Boogie, at
a show in autumn 1957.
“I could play it easily in rehearsal so they
elected that I should do it as my solo,” he
said in the Anthology documentary. “Things
were going fi ne, but when the moment
came in the performance I got sticky fi ngers;
I thought, ‘What am I doing here?’ I was just
too frightened... I couldn’t do it. That’s why
George was brought in.”
A STARR IS BORN
By the dawn of the 60s,
The Cavern was under
new ownership after
Alan Sytner sold the
club to Ray McFall for
£2,750. Under McFall’s
stewardship, blues
bands and beat groups
began to be booked.
The fi rst beat night
was held on 25 May
1960 and featured
a performance by
Rory Storm And The
Hurricanes, arguably
the biggest draw
in Liverpool and
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