Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Geoff, I was wondering how many times approx. did the Beatles play the Iron Door with Pete Best? Did they play there after Ringo took over the drumming? Thanks.

cp

Hi Steve,
Thank you for the posting,Ringo played only once as the Beatles drummer at the Farewell Party at the Storville(aka Iron Door)March 15th 1962.
At this time as you are most probable aware, Brian Epstein had become their new manager,prior to this booking on March 15th,we used to pay the Beatles £7-10 shillings,on the last outing at the club their fee shot up to £40.
Pete Best played at the Iron Door approx Seven times.
Peter McCormack has covered this subject in some detail on the Iron Door site,under Silver Beetles.
Talking of Beatles drummers on their first show at the Iron Door Sunday afternoon May 15th 1960
appearing as the Silver Beetles their regular drummer didn't turn up,Johnny Hutchinson the drummer for Cass & The Casanova's(Later The Big Three)depetised.

Geoff;
Thanks so much for the quick response and all of your historical information. It is all well received. Many thanks again.

Steve

Steve thanks again for your interest,after your last posting it made me think if I had responded with the correct information,I trawled once again through all the advertisements placed with the Liverpool Echo and found a little gem of an advert that some how had slipped through the net.
It is for an appearance of the Beatles on the 17th March 1961 at the club.
ROCK & CHA-CHA BALL.
I will pull the advert and try and post it to see what you think Steve.

ROCK & CHA-CHA- NIGHT

Steve,as you can see from the advertisement this had the makings of a very unusual musical night.
I'm sure it was a first for all the rock musicians booked for the night.
In fact we had some good positive responses from people who attended.It was a very good mixed audience just the thing the Iron Door was striving to achieve.

Geoff;
Thanks for the info. This is really a wonderful piece of history. I loved seeing it with the Beatles along with another favorite of mine, Gerry and the Pacemakers. Thanks again.
Steve

Well put Steve. Geoff is providing us with previously undocumented information regarding the history of the Iron Door Club.

This show was what the Iron Door was all about. Bill Bailey (incidentally was his real name) looked like a character out of uncle Tom's cabin.
Bill worked during the day for the Liverpool Council, he swept the roads of Toxteth. The steel band used to play at the Jacarander, they were also residents in Toxteth.

It was great to give them the opportunity to play downtown in front of a large audience.
The Iron Door could accommodate more people than most clubs in Liverpool, therefore, we were in a unique position to book top line artist's and stood a good chance of at least breaking even or even a small profit. We did not take advantage of this, and carried on with our policy of giving local groups a chance.

In a article by David Charters, the main feature writer for the Daily Post, who was interviewing Prem Willis Pitts, Prem likened the Iron Door with Minton's in New York where jazz musicians could come and jam free from the constraints of a big orchestra.

"It was exactly like that at the Iron Door, all the bands used to go there. Some would stay all night. Some lived there." Liverpool The 5th Beatle by P.Willis-Pitts.

Prem should know he was one of them.

Sounds like a St. Patrick's Day party to end them all! Wow.

Mark,thanks for your `comments,it was an unusual event to say the least.
Until I spotted the advert I had all but forgotten about the event,once I saw the advert the whole show came flooding back to me.

Geoff: You have been holding out on us again. Ha Ha. Thanks for this memory, complete with the historic document as well.