On this day in 1963, The Beatles played their final show at the Cavern Club

The Cavern Club in Liverpool was where The Beatles really became the band we all know today, and it helped launch them into superstardom. The band first appeared at the venue in 1957 under the name The Quarrymen and on the 21st February 1961 appeared for the first time under their new name of The Beatles, featuring the line-up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best. This first show brought in a total 5 pounds ($14) for the band.

The original lineup was seen by Brian Epstein at the club in November 1961, who was blown away by the performance and soon offered to be the band’s manager, a position he would retain until his death in 1967.  Though it was agreed upon by all members of the band, Epstein would be the one to fire  Pete Best from the group, informing him that he was being replaced with Ringo Starr in August 1962. This decision initially enraged Beatles fans, but they soon came around to Starr, realising he was also an exceptional drummer who suited the band well.

The Beatles would go on to play an incredible 292 performances at the club between 1961 and 1963, and would get the opportunity to meet and perform alongside great artists like Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Hollies, Billy J. Kramer and the Coasters and Little Richard.  In early 1963, The Beatles would have a string of hits including Love Me Do, Please Please Me, From Me to You and She Loves You which rapidly grew the size of their audience, and they soon realised they were going to have to move on from the smaller Cavern Club. 

Just a month after the recording of She Loves You, The Beatles made their final appearance at the Cavern Club. Doorman Paddy Delaney recalls crowds acting wild  before the band even arrived, and as they made their way into the building a group of girls had ripped off the sleeve of Lennon’s mohair jacket, which Delaney grabbed to stop it being taken as a souvenir. As the band performed, the power went out, leading to Lennon and McCartney playing an acoustic version of When I’m Sixty-Four, which wouldn’t be released until 1967, before a displeased Lennon left the  stage. For this show, the band were paid 300 pounds ($840), a considerable amount of money for the time. According to the club’s compère Bob Wooler, once the show was finished Epstein promised they would return to the venue, though they never did.

The Cavern Club would continue operating until 1965 when it closed due to bankruptcy. It then changed hands several times, before being demolished and used as a carpark. In 1984, a replica of the club would be built on “seventy-five per cent of the original site,” reportedly using 15,000 bricks saved from the original building. Later, in 1997 a statue of John Lennon was unveiled outside the club, and in 1999, Paul McCartney appeared to promote his new album “Run Devil Run” marking the last time any of The Beatles would appear at the venue.