I'm the director of Liverpool's most iconic music venue and hosted Adele before she blew up

The director of Liverpool’s iconic Cavern Club and Cavern Pub has opened up about running one of the most legendary music venues in the world.

In the latest episode of Three Landlords Walk Into a Bar, Jon Keats discussed what it really takes to keep the Liverpool institution thriving and the importance of grassroots live music venues.

Speaking with celebrity publicans and co-hosts Jodie Kidd and Merlin Griffiths, Jon shared incredible stories from the Cavern’s past and present - from an intimate Adele gig before she blew up and seeing Henry Winkler aka the Fonz.

Revealing the moment he got a call from a radio station if he’d host Adele, Jon said: “She launched 21 at the Cavern - just 120 people in the room. She did four tracks from 21 and three from 19, with just a piano and a guitar. We’d never heard the songs obviously, but you just knew. She was lovely as well, she really was lovely.’’

He recalled the first time he saw “my childhood hero” the Fonz at the Cavern, before he became a regular. “He was renting an apartment just around the corner from the Cavern. He’d come in quite a lot - usually for a half,” Jon explained.

He also reflected on the legacy of The Beatles and how the city’s music heritage continues to draw visitors from around the world, noting: “You talk about the Cavern and you’ve got to talk about the Beatles. We wouldn’t be here without them. But the Cavern story isn’t just about the Beatles. As owners, as custodians of it - it’s our job to tell the whole story of it.”

A passionate advocate for change, Jon is working with the Music Venue Trust to push for government support and protection for live music venues. He said: “We're losing so many of these grass roots music venues.

“There's less and less places for people to learn the trade. There's so many more buskers on the street as there’s less and less opportunities for new bands because new music - it doesn't put money in the till."