What Happened to The Cavern Club — The Famous Club Where The Beatles Became Stars
In the early days of The Beatles, the band performed many gigs at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. The band eventually became superstars and moved on to larger venues, and the Cavern Club struggled to recoup the same success it had when the band performed there.
Brian Epstein discovered the Beatles at the Cavern Club in 1961
The Beatles first performed at the Cavern Club as The Quarrymen in 1957. However, this was before Paul McCartney, and George Harrison joined the band. In 1960, the band officially changed their name to The Beatles and began making waves in the U.K. In 1961, after recently returning from a residency in Hamburg, Germany, The Beatles, with Pete Best on drums, played a show at the Cavern Club.
In the crowd was Brian Epstein, who became the band’s manager after being impressed by their performance that evening. In an interview with the London Beatles Fanclub magazine, Alistair Taylor, Epstein’s former personal assistant, recalls seeing The Beatles perform with Epstein on Nov. 9, 1961.
“We went in suits like I’m wearing today, and there were these four ghastly youths up on stage, wearing black leather jeans, black jackets, smoking and drinking, and so loud,” Taylor said. “Brian and I sat at the back, we only heard about four or five numbers, and they were just so charismatic and so exciting. What really struck us was the final number, which Paul announced they had written. It was ‘Hello Little Girl’.”
The Cavern Club went bankrupt after the fab four’s final performance
The Beatles performed at The Cavern Club 22 times, with some performances including guests, such as Little Richard. Their last appearance took place on August 3, 1963 — six months before their first trip to the United States. The Cavern Club then ran for two more years before being closed in 1965 due to bankruptcy.
The club’s fans were outraged by the closure and barricaded themselves inside. Following its closure, the club changed ownership several times before being demolished in 1973 to allow the construction of an underground railway ventilation duct. However, it was never built, and the space was later used as a car park.
The club reopened in 1984
In 1984, a replica of The Cavern Club reopened near the original location and was built with 15,000 bricks recovered from the original site. There were plans to re-open the club in its original form, but plans were scrapped after it was deemed structurally impossible.
McCartney has performed at the new cavern club twice. The first was in 1999, shortly after releasing his album, Run Devil Run. The second was in 2018, when McCartney performed a secret gig. It was meant to be 45 minutes but ended after two hours. Since then, the club has hosted several popular performers, including Oasis, Jessie J, and Adele. The club continues to be a home for food, drinks, and exciting live music, while also paying tribute to the band who made the club a legendary venue.
