Vintage Rock Presents - The Beatles - UK (2021-02 & 2021-03)

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

EVE

NIN
G^ ST

AND

ARD

/HU

LTO
N^ A
RCH

IVE
/GE
TTY
IMA

GES

KE

YST
ONE

/GE
TTY
IMA

GES

M
ARK

AN
D^ CO

LLE
EN^ H

AYW

ARD

/RE

DFE
RN