The Temple Street Warehouse
Scouser Life In District 2
by Peter R. McCormack



Iron Door Club highlighted in gray
"A Busy Temple Street"
Iron Door Sign Highlighted in Gray



Scousers Meet At 13 Temple


Although a spacious warehouse, entering the Iron Door could hardly be described as a breath of fresh air. While an exciting place to spend an evening listing to gutsy guitar solos and vivacious vociferations, the reports from fans and musicians alike reveals a basement dwelling that did not meet air quality standards even in the 1960s. Chris Huston recalled

"I can still smell it now, steamed hot dogs and sweat."


The club had bouncers for very good reason as Huston confirmed

"The Iron Door Club could be a dangerous place."


As an example of the risk violence in clubs of this nature Huston related that while performing at the Orrell Park Ballroom a man was stabbed in the back in front of The Undertakers. As quick as the opening chord to A Hard Day's Night Chris quipped,

"Yes they were just dying to see us."


Chris Huston explained that there was

"a different physical layout in the Iron Door giving it the appearance of more open space for dancing et cetera. It was a very good gig to play and like the Cavern, people were packed in like sardines, especially on weekends. Unfortunately, one thing it didn't seem to have was the 'raw excitement' of the Cavern. The PA system was identical to that of the Cavern, both of them having been supplied by Brian Kelly, who's systems were used at most venues around Merseyside. The typical system in the early days consisted of two 12" speakers, in open back enclosures (one each side of the stage) powered by a commercial grade 35 -50 watt power amplifier and four Reslo ribbon microphones. Both the Cavern and the OPB (Orrell Park Ballroom) upgraded their speaker enclosures, later on, to 2 x 12" speakers per cabinet."


Chris Huston's Iron Door Membership Card

Huston's 1963 Iron Door Card


While the cue lines were less significant, compared to the Cavern, Some fans maintained that it was a lot more difficult to gain admission to the Iron Door as the Bouncers were much tougher. The management of the Iron Door certainly put the word out that the club did not welcome those persons who were of a pugalistic nature. According to Evan and Jones publication "In The Footsteps of The Beatles", some advertisements read

"no Weirdies, Beatniks or Teddy Boys admitted."


The presence of large crowds in concert with poor ventilation resulted in considerable moisture forming on the floor of the Iron Door. The excessive moisture resulted in some groups receiving electrical shocks while they played. In his "Beatles Encyclopedia" Bill Harry writes

"There was so much condensation dripping down the walls that the Beatles had to stand on their amplifier covers to avoid being electrocuted because they had Amercian made equipment which was wired differently. Paul said 'The heat was shocking.'". The club had a capacity of approximately 1000 patrons."


Geoffrey Hogarth maintained, however,

"when Freddy Star opened there I opened up the first floor of the five storey warehouse as well and 3,000 people were there. In those days they didn't pay partiular attention to the number of people you could have in a club. You did have to have a fire escape."


Based on comments from Sam Leach and Geoffrey Hogarth it would seem that the number of patrons that could be comfortably served was pushed to the limit on many occasions.

Wooden beam and support at the Iron Door

Warehouse Construction


Prem Willis-Pitts offers much insight with regard to the excitement associated with performances at the Iron Door. In his most revealing book, "Liverpool The 5th Beatle", he describes how all present were taken over by the Beatles' performance of the classic "What'd I Say" with Paul McCartney singing lead while hanging from the rafters. He writes

"On the word 'say', the entire band swings back into action like the clap of amplified doom. Girls scream, men roar; the entire crowd goes berserk as the cellar walls shudder under the impact of the rhythm. Still hanging upside down, Paul jerks as if he is being electrocuted; screaming his heart and lungs out in an insane, inspired motion."



Rickenbacker Forum
" On Stage At The Iron Door"
Stage showing warehouse rafters overhead
Photo © 2000 Prem Willis-Pitts



Submitted on March 27, 2001 - Revised October 14, 2008
© 2001-2008 Peter McCormack. All rights reserved.


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