The Cavern Club
The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England.
"The Cavern" redirects here. For other uses, see The Cavern (disambiguation).Location
Mathew Street, Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Alan Sytner, Bob Wooler, Ray McFall, Tommy Smith, Bill Heckle, Dave Jones
Music venue
Rock ‘n’ roll, Merseybeat, Rock
16 January 1957, reopened 26 April 1984 and 11 July 1991
28 May 1973, and 3 December 1989
The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely associated with Merseybeat and regularly played host to The Beatles in their early years.[1]
The Cavern Club closed in 1973 and was filled in during construction work on the Merseyrail underground rail loop. It reopened in 1984.
History of the Cavern Club[edit]
Early history[edit]
Alan Sytner, having been inspired by the jazz district in Paris where there were a number of clubs in cellars, returned to Liverpool and strove to open a club similar to the Le Caveau de la Huchette jazz club. He eventually found a fruit warehouse where people were leasing the cellar, which had been used as an air raid shelter in World War II. Tropical fruit used to be stored there and during warm months the scent from the ripening fruit was absorbed into the sandstone brickwork. When the club was packed with dancing and smoking teenagers, the heat produced resulted in the bricks sweating and the sweet fruit odour was absorbed into their clothing. After leaving, fans at bus stops could be identified as having visited the club by the pleasant 'Cavern Perfume' on their clothes.
The club opened on 16 January 1957 and the first act to perform there was the Merseysippi Jazz Band.[1] Local commercial artist Tony Booth created the poster artwork for the opening night. He later became the original poster artist for the Beatles.
What started as a jazz club eventually became a hangout for skiffle groups. Whilst playing golf with Sytner's father, Dr. Joseph Sytner, Nigel Walley – who had left school at 15 to become an apprentice golf professional at the Lee Park Golf Club – asked Dr. Sytner if his son could book The Quarrymen at The Cavern, which was one of three jazz clubs he managed. Dr. Sytner suggested that the band should play at the golf club first, so as to assess their talent.[2] Sytner phoned Walley a week later and offered the band an interlude spot playing skiffle between the performances of two jazz bands on Wednesday, 7 August 1957.[3]
Before the performance, the Quarrymen argued amongst themselves about the set list, as rock 'n roll songs were definitely not allowed at the club but skiffle was tolerated. After opening with a skiffle song, John Lennon called for the others to start playing an Elvis Presley song, "Don't Be Cruel". Rod Davis warned Lennon that the audience would "eat you alive", but Lennon ignored this and started playing the song himself, forcing the others to join in. Halfway through, Sytner pushed his way through the audience and handed Lennon a note which read, "Cut out the bloody rock 'n roll".[4] Paul McCartney's first appearance at The Cavern was with The Quarrymen on 24 January 1958.[5] George Harrison first played at The Cavern during a lunchtime session on 9 February 1961.[1]
Sytner sold The Cavern Club to Ray McFall in 1959 and moved to London.[1] Blues bands and beat groups began to appear at the club on a regular basis in the early 1960s. The first Beat Night was held on 25 May 1960 and featured a performance by Rory Storm and the Hurricanes (which included Ringo Starr as drummer). By early 1961, Bob Wooler had become the full-time compère and organiser of the lunchtime sessions.[6]
The club hosted its first performance by the Beatles on Thursday, 9 February 1961. Brian Epstein, the Beatles manager who secured the group's first recording contract, first saw the group perform at the club on 9 November 1961. Inspired by the group, Epstein made moves to take over their management.[7]