Inside the Cavern
10 Mathew Street
The Imfamous "Cavern"
From the Phil Thompson Collection
Within the confines of the stone walls of an old wharehouse basement the Beatles
had the opportunity to realize their wildest dreams. It is here that the musical script that they
wrote in Hamburg, Germany would be refined and tested out in a supportive but no nonsense environment.
The fans who came to see them during their first noon-hour sets not only tolerated the Beatle's
use of these times as band practice but would cheer all the louder as their performances deviated
further and further from the status quo. Here in an atmosphere that resembled the stench and quarried texture
of an old English castle, the Beatles would gain the confidence they would need to perform to massive
audiences around the world. These days were important, not only for developing self-esteem but for determining
the type of sound that appealed to the peer group that would provide the demand for their music.
While Hamburg provided the Beatles with the necessary technical skills to play, the Cavern would be the venue
that enabled them to shape their craft. According to available records (see Pawlowski, 1989) the Beatles played 274 gigs at the Cavern from February 21, 1961 to August 3, 1963.
After 152 lunchtime performances the Beatles last noon show was on February 3, 1963. While all of the group benefited from the enthusiasm and camradarie of this club generated by
wall to wall sweaty and hormonally challenged young adults, perhaps Lennon benefited the most.
He had begun to realize the dreams of being a rock and roll star but he also found, perhaps for the first time,
a place where he belonged. George Harrison commented "We probably loved the Cavern best of anything.
We never lost our identification with the crowd and we never rehearsed anything. We were playing to our own fans who were like us."
| Cavern Update: alt.guitar.rickenbacker Dec 3, 1999 |
I'm based in Liverpool and I've lived here all my life. In fact, I've played
at the cavern club in its current location.
The Cavern Club is based in Mathew Street in Liverpool and is indeed,
opposite the original club which was demolished in about 1974 to create a
car park. However, the club was subterranean, a series of semi-circular
section "Tunnels" which ran under the paved street area. Some of these have
been opened up again and joined to the "caves" underneath the current
location. Hence, at least part of the original cavern is used by the new
club.
The new site was opened in 1976 to co-incide with the punk explosion here in
the UK and was named "Eric's Club". I played in a godawful punk band during
this period and we had the residency here playing support to the Pistols,
Damned, Clash, Banshees, Ramones etc. etc.
The club closed again in 1984 (or thereabouts) and was reopened in about
1990 renamed Cavern, and with a fabulous life size statue of a quiffed and
leather jacketed teenage Lennon outside, leaning in a doorway. The brickwork
to the facade is also unique. Each brick is engraved with the name of every
band that have played there and yes, claim to fame, the name of my godawful
punk band is there too (between Elvis Costello and the Stranglers).
Mathew Street has become something of a mecca for Beatles fans (so has Penny
lane which is about 200 yards from my house). Mathew St. now has an Abbey
Road pub, a Lennon Bar, a nightclub called Macca's, etc, etc. The place is
usually full of people in line to have their photograph taken with John's
Statue. There's also a shopping mall called Cavern Walks which has a very
good statue of the entire band in its atrium.
Just around the corner in Stanley Street is a bronze bench upon which is
seated a statue of a bag lady. This is Eleanor Rigby, and the seats are
dedicated to "all the Lonely People".
Come visit - you'll like it.
David Galbraith. |
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