Saturday August 29th 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool. The entertainment that night was provided by John, Paul, George and.....Ken (?), 4 teenage musicians armed with cheap, battered acoustic guitars, and one mic between them.
There are many sites on offer to visiting Beatles pilgrims in Liverpool; Penny Lane, Menlove Avenue, Strawberry Fields, Albert Dock, however the Cavern club on Matthew Street, is perhaps the most iconic of them all. The former jazz club, located on a less than glamorous street in the middle of a less than glamorous city, became world famous during the 1960's as the springboard of a global phenomenon; The Beatles. After the Beatles vacated the building for the last time in 1963 the Cavern played host to a wealth of internationally famous acts such as The Kink's, The Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker and The Hollies before its appeal and importance finally faded as the decade drew to a close.
The venue tourists have been visiting since 1984 is of course a faithful reproduction of the original, demolished in 1973 to facilitate the expansion of Mersey Rail. Today, Matthew Street, and its many 'Beatles' themed bars and attractions, The Cavern included, is somewhat tawdry, and projects a predictable, jaded and inveterate invitation towards the Beatles tourist looking to experience where it all began. However despite the fact that it was at the Cavern that Brian Epstein first clapped eyes on John, Paul, George and Pete in 1961, and acknowledging that with 292 appearances turned in between 1961 and 1963, the Cavern was certainly the Beatles 'home ground'...but it was not where it all began.
A short hop-skip to the coal cellar of a large Victorian house will place you in the actual venue which witnessed many of the seminal moments in the early formation of The Beatles. Number 8 Hayman's Green, West Derby, Liverpool was the family home of Mona Best, mother of Pete, the drummer replaced by Ringo Starr on the eve of the band's success, and owner of one of Liverpool's first dedicated popular music venues. Mona conceived the idea for a teen coffee bar and venue after watching a news-round special on TV documenting the success of a similar club in London's SOHO; '2i's'.
The 'Les Stewart Quartet' featuring a 16 year old George Harrison on guitar were originally booked for the opening night, but a quarrel within the band led to a split just days before the gig, prompting Harrison to suggest calling in two friends of his who were 'not doing anything'; enter a 19 year old John Lennon and 17 year old Paul McCartney. However more than merely providing the entertainment for the impending opening, the Quarrymen chipped in and helped paint the room before the opening night, and apparently took turns serving behind the coffee bar, which claims to have been the first of its kind in Liverpool with an espresso machine.
Thus, on Saturday August 29th 1959, John, Paul, George and Ken (Brown) took the tiny stage in the cellar and 'opened' the venue, without a drummer or a single amplifier between them. The band served a Saturday night residency until October 10th when they fell out with Mona for her insistence on paying a sick Ken Brown who had missed a performance (Brown was incidentally the same member who had been the reason for the Les Stewart Quartet Split which led to the Quarrymen landing the gig in the first place). Subsequently, Lennon, McCartney & Harrison would not rock the Casbah again until their return from Hamburg in December 1960, this time with Mona Best's son Pete on drums. This return performance was the band's first in their home town under a new name; 'The Beatles'. The posters for the gig were hand drawn by a trainee accountant friend of Pete's, one Neill Aspinall, the man who would serve time as the Beatles van driver and roadie throughout their career, and under whose guidance the Beatles own company blossomed from rotten Apple to Golden orb, transforming the name 'Beatles' from band to brand. Aspinall also adds a colourful side to the story; he fathered a child with Mona Best in 1962, and although he was distraught over Pete's dismissal from the band that same year, he chose to go all the way with the Beatles.
The Quarrymen; Lennon/McCartney/Harrison and a number of other rotating musicians had played together before, in church hall's and various functions, so you might ask, what was so special about this performance and this venue? The short explanation is that the Quarrymen entered the Casbah as a skiffle group; an acoustic outfit playing a blend of country, hillbilly and rockabilly music, but it was in the Casbah that they acquired bass and drums, becoming a 5 piece rock combo and moving towards the more familiar Beatles lineup we know today. The basement was where two 'fifth Beatles' were recruited. It was here that Lennon persuaded Stuart Sutcliffe to spend the money he had recently made from selling a painting on a Höfner President 500/5 model bass guitar, and it was also in the Casbah that Pete Best auditioned to back the Beatles on drums on the eve of their first trip to Hamburg (acquiring a steady drummer was a prerequisite to the band landing a residency on the seedy Reeperbahn).
So, you could say that the Beatles were assembled at the Casbah Coffee club. Fitting then that they not only performed as the opening act in 1959, but that they also headlined the clubs last night on 24 June 1962, allegedly to a crowd of 1500, the venue had a capacity for 300. McCartney recently stated -"I think it’s a good idea to let people know about The Casbah. They know about The Cavern, they know about some of those things, but The Casbah was the place where all that started. We helped paint it and stuff. We looked upon it as our personal club".
Apparently in 1967, Lennon contacted Mona Best and asked if he could borrow her Father's war medals for a photo shoot, the story goes that despite still being upset at the dismissal of her son from the band five years previous, she agreed, and these are what Lennon wore on the cover of the 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' album sleeve.
The Casbah never reopened its doors again as a venue, and Mona Best passed away in 1988. The venue has recently been reopened as a museum, now under the protection of the national trust, the same body that manages the former childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The website claims that the same decorations painted by John and Paul are untouched and can be viewed along with many other objects of interest in mint condition. More intimate, poignant, and tangible than a trip down Matthew Street one might suggest.
To find out about tours of the Casbah Club, visit
http://www.casbahcoffeeclub.com/
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