HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAVERN CLUB!
So, with three gigs at The Cavern in one week, did we get fed up of the place? After meeting the likes of Mike McCartney and Wings’ drummer Steve Holley and being filmed by the BBC playing “Some Other Guy” of course we aren’t sick of the place! Oh, and Pete and Phil also enjoyed the free bar between 1pm and 2am (spare a thought for poor Kev, who was driving).
The main day – Tuesday 16th – consisted of an opening set by The Merseysippi Jazz Band, who were the first to play the venue 50 years ago, followed by 13 hours of live acts on both stages. The quality was high as ever, but there was a surprisingly few number of “Merseybeat” bands; rest assured, though, the torch was held aloft by us and our mates The Shakers, who were in fantastic form as ever.
Other highlights included The Kappa Band - what a showman; The Gary Murphy Band, all-round good musicians; Ripper, a mixture of two Beatles tribute bands Ringer and Tripper, featuring a spot by Wings’ drummer Steve Holley; and The Grace, another excellent young band. Shame of the day was that The Prellies couldn’t make it owing to illness (we swore not to tell what Trev Prellie had wrong with him, but it gave us a larf!)
Faces from the past who were glimpsed in the best of cellars were the aforementioned Mike McCartney, Steve Holly, Beryl Marsden (what a voice!) Billy Hatton and Joey Bower of the original Fourmost, Tony
The main day – Tuesday 16th – consisted of an opening set by The Merseysippi Jazz Band, who were the first to play the venue 50 years ago, followed by 13 hours of live acts on both stages. The quality was high as ever, but there was a surprisingly few number of “Merseybeat” bands; rest assured, though, the torch was held aloft by us and our mates The Shakers, who were in fantastic form as ever.
Other highlights included The Kappa Band -
Click on thumbnails for full size picture
Bramwell, NEMS and Apple employee, Sam Leach, promoter of numerous Beatles shows, Joe Flannery, Tommy Hughes (the Blue Genes), Geoff Nugent (The Undertakers), Nicky Crouch (The Mojos, Faron’s Flamingoes), Eric London (The Remo Four, Faron’s Flamingoes), Lee Curtis (and the All Stars), Karl Terry (and the Cruisers), Earl Preston (and the TTs) Faron (Faron’s Flamingoes), Ian McNabb (The Icicle Works), Freda Kelly (Beatles Fan Club secretary in the ‘60s), and Julia Baird, John Lennon’s half-sister.
Julia came up to us after the show and enthused so much about us that we thought somebody (Geoff Nugent) had got her to wind us up. However, apparently she really did love us!
Anyway, enough name dropping, we thought we’d share a few photos of the event with you just to prove that we are windswept and interesting Showbiz personalities!
Anyway, enough name dropping, we thought we’d share a few photos of the event with you just to prove that we are windswept and interesting Showbiz personalities!
Photo courtesy Wes Paul
