Celebrating its 67th birthday, the world famous Cavern Club first opened its doors on Wednesday 16 January 1957. The legendary venue is known as the place where The Beatles’ musical identity was forged. It also has a rich history pre-Fab Four and continues to be at the forefront of live music.
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00:00 Matthew Street in Liverpool is home to an array of venues that play live music every day of the week.
00:07 But the most iconic has to be the Cavern Club.
00:10 Widely known for launching the Beatles career, it's played host to many other great artists over the years.
00:16 The Cavern Club opened in a warehouse cellar at 10 Matthew Street on Wednesday 16th January 1957.
00:24 Named after a Parisian night spot, it started off life as a jazz venue.
00:29 600 people crammed inside and hundreds more queued in Matthew Street hoping to get into the club.
00:36 Unfortunately, creative success was not matched by profit.
00:39 If the club was going to last, it needed firmer foundations.
00:42 By the end of the 50s, competition from more business-minded organisations would soon challenge the club's rapid rise to popularity.
00:50 Liverpool's first jazz festival was hosted by the Cavern Club in 1960 and included many of the great names in British jazz.
00:57 Though jazz performances did remain popular until mid-1963, a new musical mood was already gathering force across Britain, especially here in the North West.
01:08 Eventually, they let this new music in, skiffle, which turned into rock and roll, which then became the Mersey Beat sound.
01:17 On the 9th February 1961, the Beatles first performed at the Cavern Club.
01:21 John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best.
01:26 The Beatles soon established themselves as the Cavern Club's signature act.
01:32 It became the place where their musical identity was forged and many of their fans maintained the band was at its best during those lunchtime gigs,
01:42 learning their craft through exchanges with the audience only inches away.
01:47 The Fab Four would go on to play here 292 times.
01:50 Not only did they put the Cavern and Liverpool on the map, but every other big artist after wants to play here.
01:57 The likes of the Rolling Stones, the Kinks and Elton John played here before they had their own success.
02:05 British Rail enforced the closure of the original Cavern Club in 1973 to allow building work on a new underground railway system.
02:12 The warehouse above were demolished while the cellar itself filled in with rubble.
02:17 In 1984, the Cavern returned just a few yards away from its original location,
02:22 attracting visitors, audiences and bands from across the world.
02:26 As well as being a major tourist attraction, it's still a relevant live music venue in its own right.
02:31 It's a bucket list item for new and established musicians to play here.
02:35 Adele launched her 21 album in 2010 here and many artists make it their mission to perform here too.
02:43 Through seven decades before, during and after the Beatles, this legendary cellar survived setbacks and closures
02:49 to become the most famous music club in the world.
02:53 Not only is it the ultimate place of pilgrimage for fans of the Fab Four,
02:57 but it's also an iconic live music venue with its own story to tell.
03:03 (whooshing)