Inside landmark Liverpool venue where The Beatles first played

The Jacaranda played a key role in the creation of the Mersey phenomenon that took the world by storm in the sixties. Now, the venue has been awarded a prestigious plaque to honour its status as the place where The Beatles first played.

Graham Stanley, Managing Director at The Jacaranda, told LiverpoolWorld: "They played here about 16 times. Fifteen of them as The Silver Beetles and then one as The Beatles the day before they went to Hamburg."

Opened in 1957 by Allan Williams, The Jacaranda offered a stage for up-and-coming artists. Regular customers included John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe, George Harrison and Paul McCartney.

This World Origin Site plaque is a Government-registered certification mark. A World Origin Site is somewhere completely unique. It marks the place, people and moment when something truly ground-breaking was invented, discovered or first used.

Mark Wilkie, Founder of World Origin Site, said: "It's still a music venue, it's still an active music venue, and it's bringing on new bands, giving them somewhere to focus and somewhere to be seen."

Local art students, including Stuart Sutcliffe and John Lennon, painted murals on the cellar walls in payment for a rehearsal space. As the band's first manager, Allan secured the defining first tour of Hamburg in 1960

Founder of Music Venue Trust Mark Davyd told LiverpoolWorld: "Being recognised as the first place The Beatles played as 'The Beatles' - that's super important because it's sending a message to this new government, and it's sending a message to the music industry - places like this really matter."

For more than sixty years, this has been the stage on which generations of young artists have tried to make the grade, earning the venue status in Liverpool's rich music history.

Beatles tourism is one of the key drivers into the city. More than 60 million people visit our region every year. The visitor economy alone contributes over £4.9 billion annually to local businesses.