The Beatles (partially found Cavern Club performance recordings of British rock band; early 1960s): Difference between revisions

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The Beatles were a British rock group that formed in Liverpool, England, and were active from their formation in 1960 to their dissolution in 1970.<ref>[https://www.biography.com/people/paul-mccartney-9390850 Biography page of Paul McCartney] 30 Nov '18</ref> The band's lineup went through several changes before the classic lineup of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr was established. They have since been recognized as one of the greatest acts in the music industry and sold over 1 billion records worldwide by 2014, more than any other artist.<ref>[http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2014/2/the-beatles-50th-anniversary-of-us-tv-debut-top-ten-fab-four-records-55231 Guinness World Records page on records held by the band] Retrieved 25 Mar '18</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' ranked them #1 on their list of "100 Greatest Artists."<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/the-beatles-20110420 ''Rolling Stone'' list of the greatest artists] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> Richie Unterberger of AllMusic stated that The Beatles "introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century."<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-beatles-mn0000754032/biography AllMusic artist biography] 27 Mar '18</ref> Prior to becoming an international success, the band was mostly known locally for their performances at The Cavern Club from 1961 to 1963.
The Beatles were a British rock group that formed in Liverpool, England, and were active from their formation in 1960 to their breakup in 1970.<ref>[https://www.biography.com/people/paul-mccartney-9390850 Biography page of Paul McCartney] 30 Nov '18</ref> The band's lineup went through several changes before the classic lineup of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr was established. They have since been recognized as one of the greatest acts in the music industry and sold over 1 billion records worldwide by 2014, more than any other artist.<ref>[http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2014/2/the-beatles-50th-anniversary-of-us-tv-debut-top-ten-fab-four-records-55231 Guinness World Records page on records held by the band] Retrieved 25 Mar '18</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' ranked them #1 on their list of "100 Greatest Artists."<ref>[https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/the-beatles-20110420 ''Rolling Stone'' list of the greatest artists] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> Richie Unterberger of AllMusic stated that The Beatles "introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century."<ref>[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-beatles-mn0000754032/biography AllMusic artist biography] 27 Mar '18</ref> Prior to becoming an international success, the band was mostly known locally for their performances at The Cavern Club from 1961 to 1963.


==The Cavern Club==
==The Cavern Club==
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The Cavern club was originally opened by Alan Sytner on January 16th, 1957, as a jazz club;<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20140413212802/http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2007/01/12/cavern_birthday_feature.shtml BBC article on The Cavern's 50th anniversary] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> the club would later allow genres such as blues and skiffle in addition to others, as well as become more rock-centered in the mid-1960s<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-38925260 BBC article on The Cavern] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> In addition to The Beatles, musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry, Elton John, Adele, and many others performed at The Cavern, in addition to groups such as Queen, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, and The Kinks.<ref>[https://www.cavernclub.org/resident-bands/the-cavern-a-musical-history/ Cavern Club website page mentioning musicians who have played at the club in the past] Retrieved 26 Mar '18</ref>  
The Cavern club was originally opened by Alan Sytner on January 16th, 1957, as a jazz club;<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20140413212802/http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/articles/2007/01/12/cavern_birthday_feature.shtml BBC article on The Cavern's 50th anniversary] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> the club would later allow genres such as blues and skiffle in addition to others, as well as become more rock-centered in the mid-1960s<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-38925260 BBC article on The Cavern] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> In addition to The Beatles, musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry, Elton John, Adele, and many others performed at The Cavern, in addition to groups such as Queen, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, and The Kinks.<ref>[https://www.cavernclub.org/resident-bands/the-cavern-a-musical-history/ Cavern Club website page mentioning musicians who have played at the club in the past] Retrieved 26 Mar '18</ref>  


The original club was demolished in 1974 to allow for the construction of a railway ventilation duct; the ventilation duct never underwent construction and the area was used as a parking lot instead. The club was reconstructed near the original location in 1984 using bricks from the original site as well as the original blueprints.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2429799/Beatles-sale-The-Cavern-Club-legendary-Liverpool-venue-Fab-Four-goes-market-1million.html Daily Mail article on The Cavern going up for sale] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref>
The original club was demolished in 1974 for the construction of a railway ventilation duct. The ventilation duct never underwent construction, so the area was used as a parking lot. The club was reconstructed near the original location in 1984 using bricks from the original site and original blueprints.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2429799/Beatles-sale-The-Cavern-Club-legendary-Liverpool-venue-Fab-Four-goes-market-1million.html Daily Mail article on The Cavern going up for sale] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref>


===The Beatles' Presence===
===The Beatles' Presence===
The Cavern debut performance of John Lennon's pre-Beatles band The Quarrymen is said to have been sometime before August 1957 by former member Rod Davis; the group made various other appearances.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-14406088 BBC article including Rod Davis's account of the alleged August 7th date] Retrieved 25 Mar '18</ref>  
The Cavern debut performance of John Lennon's pre-Beatles band The Quarrymen was sometime before August 1957, according to former member Rod Davis. They made several performances playing skiffle.<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-14406088 BBC article on Rod Davis's account of the alleged August 7th date] Retrieved 25 Mar '18</ref>  


The Beatles first performed at The Cavern on February 9th, 1961.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/the-beatles-were-paid-only-5-for-their-first-gig-at-cavern-club/ Telegraph article on the group's first appearance] Retrieved 25 Mar '18</ref> The band played a minimum of 155 lunchtime shows and 125 evening shows.<ref name="BB2"/> Brian Epstein would visit The Cavern after reading about them in ''Mersey Beat'' magazine. After seeing the group play, he believed that the group held great potential and would later become their manager.<ref>[https://www.beatlesbible.com/1961/11/09/live-cavern-club-liverpool-76-brian-epstein-meets-beatles/ Beatles Bible page on Brian's first meeting with the group] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> Brian later fired Pete Best from the band due to producer George Martin being unhappy with Pete's drumming after the group's failed EMI audition; local drummer Ringo Starr would serve as his replacement.<ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-fire-pete-best/ UltimateClassicRock page on Pete's dismissal] Retrieved 26 Mar '18</ref>  
The Beatles first performed at The Cavern on February 9th, 1961.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/the-beatles-were-paid-only-5-for-their-first-gig-at-cavern-club/ Telegraph article on the group's first appearance] Retrieved 25 Mar '18</ref> The band played a minimum of 155 lunchtime shows and 125 evening shows.<ref name="BB2"/> Brian Epstein would visit The Cavern after reading about them in ''Mersey Beat'' magazine. After seeing the group play, he believed that they had great potential and would later become their manager.<ref>[https://www.beatlesbible.com/1961/11/09/live-cavern-club-liverpool-76-brian-epstein-meets-beatles/ Beatles Bible page on Brian's first meeting with the group] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> Brian later fired Pete Best from the band because producer George Martin was unhappy with Pete's drumming after a failed EMI audition. Local drummer Ringo Starr would replace Pete.<ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-fire-pete-best/ UltimateClassicRock page on Pete's dismissal] Retrieved 26 Mar '18</ref>  


The Band gave their final performance on August 4th, 1963, during the group's rise to stardom.<ref name="BB2">[https://www.beatlesbible.com/1963/08/03/live-cavern-club-liverpool-280-final-show/ Beatles Bible page on the group's final performance at the club] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> During their time performing at The Cavern, '''several recordings are known to have been made'''.
The Band gave their final performance on August 4th, 1963, during the group's rise to stardom.<ref name="BB2">[https://www.beatlesbible.com/1963/08/03/live-cavern-club-liverpool-280-final-show/ Beatles Bible page on the group's final performance at the club] Retrieved 27 Mar '18</ref> During their time performing at The Cavern, '''several recordings are known to have been made'''.
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The auction was won by Paul McCartney by a bid of ₤2,310. Very few details are known of the tape. Mark Lewisohn stated in the special edition of ''Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years: Volume 1'' that he had heard the tapes prior to sale and that the audio quality "was so atrocious it was hard to make out which songs were being played.”<ref name="book"/>
The auction was won by Paul McCartney by a bid of ₤2,310. Very few details are known of the tape. Mark Lewisohn stated in the special edition of ''Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years: Volume 1'' that he had heard the tapes prior to sale and that the audio quality "was so atrocious it was hard to make out which songs were being played.”<ref name="book"/>


The set list of the tape was advertised as follows:
The setlist of the tape was advertised as follows:
* Words of Love
* Words of Love
* What's Your Name
* What's Your Name
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===Rehearsal Recordings (Partially Found)===
===Rehearsal Recordings (Partially Found)===
The band is known to have recorded themselves rehearsing several times; it is likely that such recordings were made in the enthusiasm of utilizing them to hone their performances.
The band is known to have recorded themselves rehearsing several times, it's likely the recordings were made to reflect on to improve their performances.


The band is documented to have recorded themselves rehearsing on January 22nd, 1962; no other details are known.<ref name="book"/>
The band is documented to have recorded themselves rehearsing on January 22nd, 1962, no other details are known.<ref name="book"/>


A rehearsal, logically recorded sometime between October and December 1962, has circulated on bootlegs. The circulating audio captures one take of "I Saw Her Standing There," two takes of "One After 909," and two takes of "Catswalk."<ref name="book"/><ref>Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul. pp. 129</ref>
A rehearsal, recorded sometime between October and December 1962, has circulated on bootlegs. The circulating audio features one take of "I Saw Her Standing There," two takes of "One After 909," and two takes of "Catswalk."<ref name="book"/><ref>Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul. pp. 129</ref>
Due to the combined length of the tracks being relatively short in reason, it's debatable that they were part of a longer recording.
Because the combined length of the tracks is relatively short for such a recording (12 minutes), it's debatable that they were part of a longer recording.
{{Video|perrow  =1
{{Video|perrow  =1
   |service1    =youtube
   |service1    =youtube

Revision as of 00:17, 14 March 2019

The beatles at the Cavern.jpg

The band performing with original drummer Pete Best.

Status: Partially Found

The Beatles were a British rock group that formed in Liverpool, England, and were active from their formation in 1960 to their breakup in 1970.[1] The band's lineup went through several changes before the classic lineup of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr was established. They have since been recognized as one of the greatest acts in the music industry and sold over 1 billion records worldwide by 2014, more than any other artist.[2] Rolling Stone ranked them #1 on their list of "100 Greatest Artists."[3] Richie Unterberger of AllMusic stated that The Beatles "introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century."[4] Prior to becoming an international success, the band was mostly known locally for their performances at The Cavern Club from 1961 to 1963.

The Cavern Club

The outside of The Cavern

The Cavern club was originally opened by Alan Sytner on January 16th, 1957, as a jazz club;[5] the club would later allow genres such as blues and skiffle in addition to others, as well as become more rock-centered in the mid-1960s[6] In addition to The Beatles, musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry, Elton John, Adele, and many others performed at The Cavern, in addition to groups such as Queen, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, and The Kinks.[7]

The original club was demolished in 1974 for the construction of a railway ventilation duct. The ventilation duct never underwent construction, so the area was used as a parking lot. The club was reconstructed near the original location in 1984 using bricks from the original site and original blueprints.[8]

The Beatles' Presence

The Cavern debut performance of John Lennon's pre-Beatles band The Quarrymen was sometime before August 1957, according to former member Rod Davis. They made several performances playing skiffle.[9]

The Beatles first performed at The Cavern on February 9th, 1961.[10] The band played a minimum of 155 lunchtime shows and 125 evening shows.[11] Brian Epstein would visit The Cavern after reading about them in Mersey Beat magazine. After seeing the group play, he believed that they had great potential and would later become their manager.[12] Brian later fired Pete Best from the band because producer George Martin was unhappy with Pete's drumming after a failed EMI audition. Local drummer Ringo Starr would replace Pete.[13]

The Band gave their final performance on August 4th, 1963, during the group's rise to stardom.[11] During their time performing at The Cavern, several recordings are known to have been made.

Known Recordings

Brian Epstein Recording (Lost)[14]

Brian Epstein

Tony Barrow, future press manager of the band, was the writer of a review column in a London newspaper during 1961, when Brian Epstein made an inquiry of if he could write about the group. Barrow stipulated he couldn't write about the group until they had released a record. Brian later presented Gordon with an acetate of the band performing live at The Cavern, which he claimed was to be a part of an upcoming TV documentary about The Cavern.

In Apple to the Core, Barrow recalled that the recording was plagued by background noise and was of generally poor quality. Barrow also stated that he arranged with Brian Epstein that he would attempt to secure a Decca audition for the band via "the strength of the recording."

Preparing for 2001 interview, Barrow stated that "It was impossible to distinguish any music or the vocalist," and all that could be heard other than the crowd members' response was a suppressed rhythmic beat.

Audience Member Recording (Lost)

On August 29, 1985, an 18-track recording of the band performing live (made by an audience member) in Mid-1962 was put up for auction at Sotheby's.[15] The auction was won by Paul McCartney by a bid of ₤2,310. Very few details are known of the tape. Mark Lewisohn stated in the special edition of Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years: Volume 1 that he had heard the tapes prior to sale and that the audio quality "was so atrocious it was hard to make out which songs were being played.”[14]

The setlist of the tape was advertised as follows:

  • Words of Love
  • What's Your Name
  • Roll Over Beethoven
  • Ask Me Why
  • The Hippy Hippy Shake
  • Til There Was You
  • Hey! Baby
  • If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody
  • Please Mister Postman
  • Sharing You
  • Your Feet's Too Big
  • Dizzy Miss Lizzy
  • I Forgot to Remember to Forget
  • Matchbox
  • I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate
  • Memphis, Tennessee
  • Young Blood
  • Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)

Granada TV Recordings (Partially Found)

On August 22nd, 1962, after receiving many letters about the group, Granada TV recorded the band performing 2 takes of Leiber and Stoller's "Some Other Guy" and 4 minutes of extra footage for cutaway shots.[14] The footage was recorded in black and white and suffered prominent grain. Because only one microphone was used to record the audio was poor.[16] All footage has seen use in various documentaries and appeared on bootlegs.

Compilation of aforementioned material

2 weeks after the shoot, sound technician Gordon Barrow was sent to record higher quality audio to sync to the original footage. Gordon recorded an hour's worth of audio during his time at the club.[17] The program to feature the recordings was canceled due to legal issues with other artists appearing.[16] The footage wasn't broadcast until the band became a national success.[18]

Gordon made 5 acetates of the group's performances of "Some Other Guy" and "Kansas City" at the request of Brian Epstein, whom meant to use them for promotional purposes.[16] Gordon auctioned one of the copies at Christie's in 1993 for £16,000 to Apple Corps, the record label founded by the band.[17] The performances of "Kansas City" and "Some Other Guy" both saw use in Anthology and have appeared on bootlegs.[17] The hour-long recording was ordered to be destroyed.[14] The original source recording for Gordon's acetates was found in a desk in 2015.[16]

The recovered audio from Gordon's recording.

Rehearsal Recordings (Partially Found)

The band is known to have recorded themselves rehearsing several times, it's likely the recordings were made to reflect on to improve their performances.

The band is documented to have recorded themselves rehearsing on January 22nd, 1962, no other details are known.[14]

A rehearsal, recorded sometime between October and December 1962, has circulated on bootlegs. The circulating audio features one take of "I Saw Her Standing There," two takes of "One After 909," and two takes of "Catswalk."[14][19] Because the combined length of the tracks is relatively short for such a recording (12 minutes), it's debatable that they were part of a longer recording.

Compilation of the known audio from this rehearsal.

The January 1963 photo

Mike McCartney, Brother of Paul McCartney, stated in his autobiography The Macs: Mike McCartney's Family Album that he had recorded the band rehearsing on multiple occasions and still possessed one of the recordings he had made; additionally, he claimed that nobody other than himself had heard the recording. The argument that the recording isn't the source of the aforementioned bootlegs is debatable.[14]

A photograph of the band taken during a rehearsal in January 1963 shows a portable tape recorder at the bottom, leaving it likely that this rehearsal, as well as others that occurred around the time, were recorded.

References

  1. Biography page of Paul McCartney 30 Nov '18
  2. Guinness World Records page on records held by the band Retrieved 25 Mar '18
  3. Rolling Stone list of the greatest artists Retrieved 27 Mar '18
  4. AllMusic artist biography 27 Mar '18
  5. BBC article on The Cavern's 50th anniversary Retrieved 27 Mar '18
  6. BBC article on The Cavern Retrieved 27 Mar '18
  7. Cavern Club website page mentioning musicians who have played at the club in the past Retrieved 26 Mar '18
  8. Daily Mail article on The Cavern going up for sale Retrieved 27 Mar '18
  9. BBC article on Rod Davis's account of the alleged August 7th date Retrieved 25 Mar '18
  10. Telegraph article on the group's first appearance Retrieved 25 Mar '18
  11. 11.0 11.1 Beatles Bible page on the group's final performance at the club Retrieved 27 Mar '18
  12. Beatles Bible page on Brian's first meeting with the group Retrieved 27 Mar '18
  13. UltimateClassicRock page on Pete's dismissal Retrieved 26 Mar '18
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 Unterberger, Richie (2014). The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film [Revised & Expanded Ebook Edition]
  15. The Daily Beatle post on unreleased material Retrieved 22 Mar '18
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Cavern Club website page on the discovery of the tape Retrieved 24 Mar '18
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Beatles Bible page on the date Retrieved 27 Mar '18
  18. Beatles Bible page on The song Retrieved 27 Mar '18
  19. Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul. pp. 129