The Cavern Club: step inside Liverpool’s most iconic music venue where the Beatles played

The Mathew Street venue has welcomed world-famous musicians from The Beatles to Adele.
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Mathew Street in Liverpool is home to an array of venues that play live music every day of the week. But the most iconic has to be The Cavern Club. It celebrated its 60th year in 2017 and although widely known for launching The Beatles’ career, it’s played host to many other great artists over the years.

A route to success

Jon Keats, director of music and events at The Cavern, said: "The Cavern Club originally opened up in 1957 as a jazz venue, which a lot of people don't realise. Eventually, they let this new music in which was skiffle, which turned into rock 'n' roll, which turned into Merseybeat.

Jon Keats, director of music and events at The Cavern.Jon Keats, director of music and events at The Cavern.
Jon Keats, director of music and events at The Cavern.
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“The 292 times the Beatles played here, that's the crux of it, really. Without those appearances by the Beatles, would we still be talking about The Cavern? probably not. They put The Cavern and Liverpool on the map.

“Every other big artist after the Beatles wanted to play The Cavern; the likes of The (Rolling) Stones, The Kinks, The Who, Elton John, Rod Stewart, a lot of these artists played here before they had their own success."

The original club was closed in 1973

British Rail enforced the closure of the original Cavern Club in 1973 to allow building work on a new underground railway system to commence. The warehouses above were demolished while the cellar itself was filled with rubble. In 1984, The Cavern returned just a few yards away from its original location, attracting visitors, audiences and bands from across the world.

Inside The Cavern Club.Inside The Cavern Club.
Inside The Cavern Club.

Through seven decades, before, during and after The Beatles, this legendary cellar has survived setbacks and closures to become the most famous music club in the world.

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Not only is it the ultimate place of pilgrimage for fans of the Fab Four, but it’s also an iconic live music venue with its own story to tell.

A musical pilgrimage

Jon said: "[Last year] we've had the likes of James Morrison, Pete Doherty from The Libertines and Paolo Nutini. Adele launched her 21 album here in January 2010, which is incredible. All of the artists they still want to play The Cavern today.

“It is very much a musical pilgrimage for music fans and Beatles fans all over the world, and it's great that we are now opening the doors and letting the world come back again. The world is opening up again, and The Cavern is rockin'."

Watch the video at the top of this page for our full feature on The Beatles and The Cavern Club.

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