What are your
fi rst memories
of The Cavern?
“A friend
dragged me
along to see a
Cliff Richard-
type guy called
Dale Roberts.
I didn’t know
what to expect,
as all I knew
was that it was
a smelly,
dingy jazz cellar. As we went to leave, there were
just pillars, archways and people everywhere – the
smells were certainly interesting! It was raining
sweat from the ceiling. As it was too packed to
leave, we turned to watch the next leather-clad
band, who sounded like nothing else; pure, raw
rock’n’roll – The Beatles.”Alongside The Beatles, The Merseybeats
appeared at The Cavern more than any other
band. How important was the venue itself to
The Merseybeats’ success?
“Absolutely instrumental, we honed our craft
there. Playing alongside The Beatles more than
any other band certainly kept us on our toes! We
got signed there after an A&R man didn’t like the
four bands he’d come to see in the evening – but
he’d watched our lunchtime session earlier. He
off ered us a contract there and then. We were
only still there because Bob Wooler had let the
other bands use our gear! Two weeks later,
we’ve got a record out. So yeah, The Cavern
was extremely important.”Did The Cavern shape the Mersey sound,
or was it just an outlet for bands to
express themselves?
“It shaped the sound without a doubt. The
acoustics were so well suited for the Mersey ‘beat
group’ sound, the archways meant there were less
parallel walls and more ways for the sound to
break up. So there was no echo really, the bassists
and drummers could really lock in with each other
and get a groove going.”Do you think The Cavern’s importance has
been overstated at the expense of other venues
in the city?
“The Beatles played everywhere, as we all did, but
The Cavern and its acoustics did help create thebiggest band ever. No-one sounded as good
anywhere else. That’s why it’s the Liverpool bands’
spiritual home.”Which other bands did you enjoy watching
at The Cavern?
“There were so many. If I had to choose, it would be
The Big Three and The Beatles.”Is there one Merseybeats gig at The Cavern that
particularly stands out?
“The occasion where we attempted a non-stop,
record-breaking 12-hour gig at the club. It was
1965 and we hadn’t played there since 1963. The
Merseybeats’ management team of Kit Lambert
and Chris Stamp thought that it would get major
publicity. We didn’t arrive until 2am, as we had an
earlier show 200 miles away! We did about eight
hours, without repeating a song, but our drummer,
John Banks, fell off his stool and could not be woken.
We got in the newspapers, so the plan worked –
but most of the photos were of John asleep in the
back of the car!”Did you really split from Brian Epstein following
a dispute over suits?
“Yeah, Brian did say once he’d got The Beatles
established he would concentrate on doing the same
for us. However, The Beatles kept getting suits, then
more suits; and when we asked he would always say,
‘Not yet!’. So we lost patience and left – and it is
something that we have always regretted.”How important was Liverpool’s status as
a port town in the development of the Mersey
sound? Many local bands made the most of the
opportunity to grab US import records and
steal a march on their rivals with little-known
cover versions...
“That is exactly what happened and that’s why
Liverpool stole a march. We’d go to NEMS to hear all
the new obscure US imports. We’d pick out which
ones we wanted to do and get them straight into
our Cavern sets.”Was there camaraderie or a competitive edge
between the Liverpool bands?
“All the bands got on, albeit with a healthy competitive
edge. We were only tight with The Beatles, though, as
we were too young to play the licensed venues which
made up the rest of the scene. But the sheer amount of
bands appearing at the time gave it a huge sense of
camaraderie. Thrilling times – and they all started at
The Cavern.”Q&A – TONY CRANE
OF THE MERSEYBEATS
Interview: Steve Harnell
The^ Beatles^ with^ Pete^ Best^
still^ behind^ the^ kit^ prior^ to^ his^
sacking^ on^16 August^1962time, so we bought leather pants,”
recalled Harrison. “We looked like four
Gene Vincents.”
ODOROUS COCKTAIL
The Beatles relished the relaxed nature
of the lunchtime sessions. “We’d get
up and go down to The Cavern and
play from noon till about two,” recalled
Harrison in Anthology. “It was very
casual. We’d have our tea and sandwiches
and cigarettes onstage, sing a couple of
tunes and tell a few jokes.”
By now, a strong rapport had
developed between the band and the
Cavern audience. “If you were lucky
enough to get to the front row, which
was only about a foot away from the
stage, you could pass requests up,” recalls
Debbie Greenberg, “So you were very
close to them and they had humorous
banter. Paul and John used to bounce off
each other all the time with quips. And
they used to interact with the audience
as well.”
While The Cavern was alcohol free,
McFall did provide refreshments. For
a shilling, members could spend two
hours watching The Beatles, and for
The Beatles At The Cavern