UserWiki:Pen & Paper (Work in Progresses) (DON'T EDIT!!)

Intermission

This page isn't an article, it's a page where I write upcoming articles that are to be posted legitimately when complete.

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The band during a performance with original drummer Pete Best.

Status: Partially Found

The Beatles - Cavern Club tapes (partially lost recordings of British rock band; early 1960s)

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. 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 musicals in history act and had sold an estimated total of 2.3 billion records worldwide as of 2016. Rolling Stone ranked them #1 on their list of "100 Greatest Artists". Richie Unterberger of AllMusic has stated that The Beatles "introduced more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century". Prior to becoming an international success, the band was mostly known locally for their performances at the Cavern Club from 1961-1963. During their time performing at the cavern, several recordings are known to have been made.

The Cavern Club

The outside of the Cavern

The Cavern club was opened on January 16th, 1957, as a jazz club. As well as The Beatles, musicians such as Elton John, Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, Adele, and many others performed at the Cavern as well as groups such as Queen, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, and The Kinks. The club was demolished in 1974 to allow for the construction of a railway ventilation duct. The club was reconstructed near the original location in 1984 using bricks from the original site as well as the original blueprints.

The Beatles' performances

John Lennon's band prior to The Beatles, The Quarrymen, first performed at the Cavern on 1957 and made various other appearances performing skiffle. The Beatles first performed at the cavern on under the moniker of "The Beatles" on February 9th, 1961, after the club began allowing performances of Rock & Roll songs during lunch hours. Brian Epstein would visit the cavern after a reading about them in Mersey Beat. After visiting the club to see them perform, he believed that the group held great potential; he would later become their manager. Brian later relieved Pete Best from the band due to conflicts between him and the other members. The final performance from the band occurred on ,1963. The band performed at the Cavern a total of 292 times.

Known Recordings

Brian Epstein Recording (lost; late 1961)

Brian Epstein

Former Beatles press officer Tony Barrow has recalled on numerous occasions that sometime in late 1961, Brian Epstein approached him asking if he could write about the band; Barrow was the writer of a review column in a local newspaper at the time. Barrow told Brain that he would be unable to 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 "didn't sound too good". Barrow also recalled that he agreed with Epstein that he would attempt to secure an audition with Decca for the band via "the strength of the recording".

Barrow seemingly contradicted previous his previous comments about the quality of the recording during a preparation for a 2001 interview in saying that "It was impossible to distinguish any music or the vocalist," and that all that could be heard other than the crowd members' response was a beat in the background.

Audience Member Recording (lost; mid-1962)

On August 29, 1985, an 18-track recording of the band performing made by an audience member in Mid-1962 was put up for auction at Sotheby's. The auction was won by Paul McCartney after he placed a bid of ₤2,310. Very few details about the tape are known. 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 tell what songs were playing"

The set list of the tape is known to be 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; 22 Aug and 05 Sept, 1962)

On August 22nd, 1962, after receiving many letters about the group, Granada TV recorded the band performing 2 takes of "Some Other Guy" and 4 minutes of silent footage to be used for cutaway shots. The shoot took place 6 days after original drummer Pete Best was dismissed and replaced by Ringo Starr. The footage was recorded in black and white and has prominent grain. Because only one microphone was used to record, the captured audio was poor. Both the performance footage and silent footage have seen use in numerous documentaries and have appeared on bootlegs.

Compilation of aforementioned material

2 weeks after the shoot, sound technician Gordon Barrow was sent to capture higher quality audio that was to be dubbed over the footage. Gordon recorded an hour's worth of audio during his time at the club. The program which the footage was to be broadcast on was cancelled due to legal issues with other artists set to appear. The footage wouldn't be broadcast until the band had become a national success in Britain. Gordon is known to have created at least 5 acetates containing the performances of "Some Other Guy" and "Kansas City" at the request of Brian Epstein. He kept one of the acetates to himself. He later sold his copy at Christie's in 1993 for £16,000 to Apple Corps, the company founded by the band later in their career. The performances of "Kansas City" and "Some Other Guy" both saw use in the anthology project and have appeared on bootlegs. The hour-long recording was ordered to be destroyed. Another one of Gordon's acetates was found in 20 after being forgotten in a desk

Audio from one of Gordon's acetates.

Rehearsal Recordings (partially found; various dates)

The band is known to have recorded themselves rehearsing several times; it is believed that such recordings were made for referential purposes.

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

Some time between October or December 1962, the band recorded a rehearsal. The rehearsal has appeared 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". Due to the combined length of the tracks, it seems possible 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. He claimed that nobody other than himself had heard the recording. It's possible that the recording he was referring to is of the same rehearsal that has appeared on bootlegs.

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.