0:00:10 > 0:00:13The world famous Cavern Club, the place where the Beatles were
0:00:13 > 0:00:15discovered, was opened 60 years ago.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17The Beatles would not have been what they were without that club.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21It is just a magical place.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24It has been closed, reopened, demolished, moved
0:00:24 > 0:00:25and rebuilt.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27But today, it's still going strong, an underground shrine
0:00:27 > 0:00:31to popular music.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33It's legendary venue.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35It was the most famous club in the world.
0:00:35 > 0:00:43As long as music is played, the Cavern will be here.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45I am going on my very own magical mystery
0:00:45 > 0:00:47tour and discovering the true story behind
0:00:47 > 0:00:48the most famous club in the world.
0:00:49 > 0:00:50Welcome to the Cavern!
0:00:50 > 0:00:51Hi there, all you cave dwellers.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53This is Bob Wooler and welcome to the
0:00:53 > 0:00:59Cavern Cellar.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10# See the girl with the diamond ring
0:01:10 > 0:01:15# She knows how to shake that thing, yeah yeah.
0:01:15 > 0:01:21# What I say, but what I say...#.
0:01:23 > 0:01:33Look straight ahead and what you would
0:01:33 > 0:01:35have seen here is the famous Cavern Arch Stage.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38That's the image you get, isn't it, from all flickering
0:01:38 > 0:01:40black-and-white images?
0:01:40 > 0:01:42This is the Cavern today, an exact replica of
0:01:42 > 0:01:46the cellar where the Beatles were discovered in the 1960s.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48When the original was demolished in 1973, it
0:01:48 > 0:01:52seemed that the Cavern was gone forever.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55But here, on the same site, the past lives on, side-by-side with
0:01:55 > 0:01:59the present and the future.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01We are going into here.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05This is like a secret room, it's like Mr Benn.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07This is the Cavern Live Lounge Stage.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09If's our biggest stage.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11Is this where Adele played?
0:02:11 > 0:02:15It is, yeah.
0:02:15 > 0:02:16This stage itself has its own history.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Importantly, it is where Paul played in 1999.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21# I'll never dance with another, since I saw her
0:02:21 > 0:02:26# standing there #.
0:02:26 > 0:02:32The various incarnations of the venue and all
0:02:32 > 0:02:42the signage here have led to a lot of confusion about where the
0:02:42 > 0:02:44original cellar was, even here in Liverpool.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Hopefully, we will clear all that up in the next half hour.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49The story of the Cavern is a weird and
0:02:49 > 0:02:52wonderful one and one which began 60 years ago, in January 1957.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Like many good story, it started over a
0:02:54 > 0:03:03few beers in the pub.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Alan Sytner was the son of a Liverpool doctor.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08A fairly wealthy young man, with a passion for jazz.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11One day, in 1956, he was having a drink with mates.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13We used to meet up at the Grapes in Matthew Street.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16And he said, do you know, I was in Paris and there is a
0:03:16 > 0:03:19jazz club there and it opened early in the evening, so people came
0:03:19 > 0:03:21straight from work.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23He said, we should have a place like that.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24We could even open at lunchtime.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27He said he had to find a place like a
0:03:27 > 0:03:28basement or something.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30We came out of the Grapes and walked up Matthew
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Street and there was four of us there and I don't know who it was,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37but one of us and said, hey, Alan, what about that place there?
0:03:37 > 0:03:39And there was a sign for a basement, for
0:03:39 > 0:03:40sale or let.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43Anyway, the next day, we met up again at lunchtime and he
0:03:43 > 0:03:44said, I've got that place.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47I've bought it.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Peter was a keen musician who would end up playing at the
0:03:50 > 0:03:55Cavern with his band The Dolphins, so he was happy to volunteer when
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Sytner asked for some muscle.
0:03:57 > 0:03:58It was actually three rooms.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00And there was one big room.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04So these walls had to come down.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06He said, I will get the sledgehammers and we'll get a barrel
0:04:06 > 0:04:10of ale and we will go down one night to knock the walls down.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Which we did.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And I was just thinking afterwards, I mean, the whole thing
0:04:15 > 0:04:19could have come down on top of us!
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Launch night was set for January the 16th, 1957.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Sytner had promised a VIP to open Liverpool's
0:04:24 > 0:04:32newest venue.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35I was putting the chairs out and all publicity said that the Earl
0:04:35 > 0:04:39of Wharncliffe was going to come and officially open it.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Anyway, I said when is the Earl coming?
0:04:42 > 0:04:44He said, well, he in't, I just used his name.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48He opened a piece of paper and he said, I have to tell you, folks,
0:04:48 > 0:04:56that's because of bereavement, the Earl will not be with
0:04:56 > 0:04:58us this evening.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I am sure you will all join with me in sending our condolences.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06That was typical Alan.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10The headliners that evening were the Merseysippi Jazz Band.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13But the bill also included some lads from the
0:05:13 > 0:05:20Wirral, who called themselves the Coney Island Skiffle Group.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22We went down very well, naturally.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24I think we were reasonably good, but
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I think another reason was that they had been sitting
0:05:26 > 0:05:29there in New Orleans, listening to jazz, which was
0:05:29 > 0:05:31great, when all of a sudden, they had something different on.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Somebody singing songs that they knew, songs
0:05:33 > 0:05:36you could join in with.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45And it was very hot in there.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48It was so hot that when it first started, we went
0:05:48 > 0:05:51into the dressing room, I actually fainted.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Somebody had to carry me outside to get some fresh air.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56So my only claim to fame was the first
0:05:56 > 0:06:01person to have fainted in the Cavern.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Sytner clearly realised that jazz wasn't the
0:06:03 > 0:06:08only music in town.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09He introduced the Liverpool Skiffle Championships.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12We would have 20 skiffle groups in one evening,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14each going on and on about one number each.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16The amazing thing was, each skiffle
0:06:16 > 0:06:21group had its own following.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23The skiffle bands were tolerated, but in
0:06:23 > 0:06:25reality, they were a kind of Trojan Horse
0:06:25 > 0:06:26for a new type of music that
0:06:26 > 0:06:29would change everything.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32One skiffle band were just about ready to
0:06:32 > 0:06:38make that change.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41The Quarrymen were led by a confident young chap called
0:06:41 > 0:06:43John Lennon.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46At the Cavern, he wanted to do things his way.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49John had a couple of rock 'n' roll numbers and
0:06:49 > 0:06:54somebody passed a piece of paper and over the he said, oh, we have a
0:06:54 > 0:06:56request from the audience.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59They opened it and said, do not do any more
0:06:59 > 0:07:03rock 'n' roll, signed, the management.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06So apparently, we were not the only band that got that kind of note
0:07:06 > 0:07:07given to us.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Rock 'n' roll was coming.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11It's like King Canute trying to hold back the waves.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13It wasn't going to happen.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15Eventually, there was more and more rock 'n' roll and
0:07:15 > 0:07:17eventually, as you know, it became pretty much
0:07:17 > 0:07:18a rock 'n' roll place.
0:07:18 > 0:07:24Like most bands, the Quarrymen had a regular change of personnel.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26For the last performance at the Cavern,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28the line-up was John, Paul, George and...
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Colin.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33The more we played rock 'n' roll, the more people got
0:07:33 > 0:07:34up and left.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35John was quite beside himself.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38He kept turning round to me and say, they're all leaving!
0:07:38 > 0:07:39Can't believe this,
0:07:39 > 0:07:40they are all leaving.
0:07:40 > 0:07:41John needn't have worried.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43They were not leaving, they were dancing.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Everybody was jiving in the side aisles.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47You couldn't jive next to the chairs,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49so they're doing it in the aisles.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51We couldn't see that, because it was too dark.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53The whole place was jiving, it was fantastic.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57That was John, Paul, George and myself.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59By 1960, there was a new man in charge
0:07:59 > 0:08:03of the Cavern.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Ray McFall discovered rock 'n' roll by accident.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08The first time rock 'n' roll came to the Cavern was
0:08:08 > 0:08:14at Liverpool Jazz Festival in January 1960.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17And they had booked Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, thinking
0:08:17 > 0:08:23they were skiffle band, and they HAD been a skiffle band, but Rory
0:08:23 > 0:08:27thought, let's do rock 'n' roll and he jumped on the piano and sang
0:08:27 > 0:08:33Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36When Ray McFall realised what was happening, he said, we better
0:08:36 > 0:08:41have some of that at the Cavern.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43The floodgates opened and then, Ray McFall had his genius idea.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46A lunchtime session.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49The first bands he invited were the boys who used to
0:08:49 > 0:08:54be in the Quarrymen, now calling themselves the Beatles.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56And another band called Jerry the Pacemakers.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59I said, OK.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01He said with Paul McCartney, alternate days.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03We tried it the following week, alternate days,
0:09:03 > 0:09:11us and them, and never looked back.
0:09:11 > 0:09:12They used to be packed.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15All the girls would come from the offices and
0:09:15 > 0:09:18the lads at lunchtime.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21We would queue up in Matthew Street, waiting to get in, and you
0:09:21 > 0:09:24could hear the throb, throb, throb of the beat inside.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26There was a small doorway to the Cavern and 18
0:09:26 > 0:09:30stone steps to go down.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34There would be a guy sitting at a wooden table
0:09:35 > 0:09:36taking the money as you went in.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39And you would pay your shilling to get
0:09:39 > 0:09:43in and then you would be part of the excitement.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Because it was a cellar club, there was this
0:09:46 > 0:09:47strange aroma.
0:09:47 > 0:09:48Horrible smell.
0:09:48 > 0:09:49Very distinctive.
0:09:49 > 0:09:50Body odour.
0:09:50 > 0:09:51Condensation.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Dettol!
0:09:53 > 0:09:57It was a dungeon, really.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00It was a smelly place, because there were no drains,
0:10:00 > 0:10:01no main drains, just a cesspit
0:10:01 > 0:10:03underneath the toilets.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05The cleaners used to top it up with disinfectant
0:10:05 > 0:10:07everyday.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09And the condensation running down the walls, everybody
0:10:09 > 0:10:12would be perspiring, because it was so hot in there.
0:10:12 > 0:10:13It was like a steam bath.
0:10:13 > 0:10:21But that's what made the Cavern.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25The Cavern was run by two people who could not have been less
0:10:25 > 0:10:26rock 'n' roll, really.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Ray McFall looked like an accountant and he was
0:10:28 > 0:10:29a businessman.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32And so he left the booking of the groups with
0:10:32 > 0:10:33Bob Wooler.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Bob Wooler was really interested in people like Frank
0:10:35 > 0:10:37Sinatra and Dean Martin, that type of thing,
0:10:37 > 0:10:38but he quickly attuned to
0:10:38 > 0:10:46the rock 'n' roll sound and he loved working with these people.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49This is the only footage of the Beatles
0:10:49 > 0:10:55playing at the Cavern.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Drummer Pete Best had just been replaced by
0:11:06 > 0:11:07Ringo Starr.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09The Fab Four were about to become a global phenomenon.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12They were special.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16They had something you could not put your finger on.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20They were apart from all the other groups
0:11:20 > 0:11:23and all the other groups were very good, but they had something else.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25They were different.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28And it was infectious.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29It changed my life.
0:11:29 > 0:11:30Absolutely changed my life.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33I knew, the minute I saw the Beatles playing
0:11:33 > 0:11:35in the cavern, that's what I wanted to become,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37a professional musician.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39And three days later, I left school and became
0:11:39 > 0:11:44a professional musician, which I still am!
0:11:44 > 0:11:47By that time, all the bands wanted to play the Cavern,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50because we realised that this was the place with the best
0:11:50 > 0:11:52music in Liverpool.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56It was like three bands playing on the lunchtime sessions,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59there was the Beatles, the Big Three and Gerry and the Pacemakers.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Three great bands.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08The Big Three were huge favourites are the Cavern and even
0:12:08 > 0:12:11had a song which celebrated the club's own dance.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Everybody that was a regular, a Cavernite, knew
0:12:13 > 0:12:14how to do the Cavern Stomp.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Instead of holding your hands up to jive,
0:12:18 > 0:12:22you would hold them lower and your shoulders hunched
0:12:22 > 0:12:26and you would swing and sway like this you take
0:12:26 > 0:12:29your hands right up and then you both whirled
0:12:29 > 0:12:30round and came back again to do
0:12:30 > 0:12:31it all over again.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34There was no alcohol served at the Cavern and the
0:12:34 > 0:12:38girl who worked on the snack bar and in the cloakroom often got on stage
0:12:38 > 0:12:39to sing with Gerry and the others.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43The rest of the Cilla Black story is history.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46She just walked in, said, can I sing?
0:12:46 > 0:12:48Yeah, come on, get on.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51This is our cellar.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53And that was it.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55She just got up and did it.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57And a star was born.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58# Do you love me?
0:12:58 > 0:13:01# You love me?#.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Two men immersed in Cavern culture are now presenters on
0:13:04 > 0:13:05Radio Merseyside.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Billy Butler was in a band called the Tuxedos and
0:13:07 > 0:13:09spent years as a DJ in the club.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10Frankie Connor played in the Hideaways,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12a band who played there
0:13:12 > 0:13:16over 300 times.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19It was the girls and the music, that's what it was.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21No booze, of course, though we were drinking
0:13:21 > 0:13:23anyway, but it was about
0:13:23 > 0:13:27music and about the girls.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31That was what it was about.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33He was a great talisman, if you like, for the
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Cavern, Bob Wooler, wasn't he?
0:13:36 > 0:13:38He was really in the fabric of the place.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40He had a great vision, did Bob, as well.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42When you look at some of the groups who appeared
0:13:42 > 0:13:45here, you know, it took a vision to book some of them.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47They booked lots of out-of-town bands, you know?
0:13:47 > 0:13:49He really did have his finger
0:13:49 > 0:13:50on what was happening, Bob.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51Bob was the Cavern.
0:13:51 > 0:13:52He was the Cavern.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54He was also a natural in front
0:13:54 > 0:13:55of the camera.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57It's really just a cellar, here in Matthew St.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59A tunnel of brick in a cramped and twisted
0:14:00 > 0:14:00part of town.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03But from this basement, the Mersey Beat boiled over and covered
0:14:03 > 0:14:04two hemispheres.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06And it's still turned up high, as we shall
0:14:06 > 0:14:08see in just a moment.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10The success of the Beatles meant that the Cavern
0:14:10 > 0:14:11was THE place to play.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Bands in the UK and America all queued
0:14:13 > 0:14:14up to appear.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17The Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the young Rod Stewart and an
0:14:17 > 0:14:19even younger Stevie Wonder, all performed on the Cavern stage.
0:14:19 > 0:14:27Oh, and this lot weren't bad either.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Its international reputation was illustrated in 1965, when a French
0:14:35 > 0:14:37TV show broadcast live from the Cavern.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42Gene Vincent, Sandie Shaw and Manfred Mann were among those
0:14:42 > 0:14:45introduced by a bilingual Petula Clark.
0:14:45 > 0:14:46SHE INTRODUCES IN FRENCH
0:14:46 > 0:14:54Gerry And The Pacemakers!
0:14:54 > 0:14:56# Life goes on day after day.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00Despite this global recognition, not all was well in the office.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03And in February '66, things reached a head.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05It was always precarious at the Cavern.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07It was always precarious.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10When we got our brown envelope at the end of the week
0:15:10 > 0:15:13with the money in, we were never sure whether we would get it.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17I turned up at the session on Sunday night and Ray said this will be
0:15:17 > 0:15:19the last session at the Cavern.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21We are closing after this, the bailiffs are coming in tomorrow.
0:15:21 > 0:15:22We were stunned.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25That was it.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29While the session was in progress, after midnight, they started taking
0:15:29 > 0:15:32tables and chairs and putting them up the stairs so people
0:15:32 > 0:15:36couldn't get in.
0:15:36 > 0:15:42And it remained that way until 12 o'clock the next day.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44We played for hours.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46The show was removed and in came the bailiffs.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49It doesn't matter.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51I'm still not sure how they got in, the police.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54But they did.
0:15:59 > 0:16:05We had a protest march through town, we all had home-made banners
0:16:05 > 0:16:09and we all sang I am sad.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18The protesters got their way.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Within five months, the Cavern had new owners.
0:16:20 > 0:16:25One of them was local businessmen Alf Geoghegan.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28Dad came to me and said, I have the chance of buying
0:16:28 > 0:16:31the Cavern, what do you think?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Well, you offer a child a key to a sweet shop,
0:16:33 > 0:16:38it is not going to say no!
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Once again, there was a VIP opening only this time
0:16:40 > 0:16:44the VIP actually came.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46A new look super look extended Cavern was being
0:16:46 > 0:16:50opened by the Premier.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53It was all change at the Cavern.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55New types of bands were booked, it had a drinks licence
0:16:55 > 0:16:58for the first time and finally proper toilets, ventilation
0:16:58 > 0:17:02and a fire escape!
0:17:02 > 0:17:04In 1968, it also had a surprise visitor.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09So, Debbie had her picture taken with Paul McCartney.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12He said, I have got my new girlfriend in the car outside
0:17:12 > 0:17:15and I would like to bring her back and show her where it all began.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20And it was girlfriend Linda who took the picture.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28In 1970, Alf Geoghegan decided to sell up.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33One of the new owners was former wrestler and body-builder Roy Adams.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36He extended it, he made the ground floor into northern soul disco
0:17:36 > 0:17:39which was the thing.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41So, downstairs was the original Cavern and northern soul
0:17:41 > 0:17:45so it was effectively two nightclubs which was great.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49For Roy, it was perfect.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Neither the northern soul nor the heavy rock in the cellar
0:17:53 > 0:17:59downstairs appealed to the one man who had seen and heard it all.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Paddy Delaney had been the Cavern's dorrman since 1959 but by 1971,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05he was pining for the good old days of Mersey beats.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10The old atmosphere seemed so magical at the time, electric.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12Everything was happening, people coming and going,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14you don't see it now.
0:18:14 > 0:18:19It is like a graveyard at the moment.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22But my firm belief is at the resurrection happen again.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27But those dreams turned out to be pie in the sky.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Liverpool was changing.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34A new underground rail system was being built,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37British Rail decided the best place for a ventilation shaft
0:18:37 > 0:18:38was Matthew street.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43So, they slapped a compulsory purchase order on the Cavern.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46My dad had no idea there was a compulsory purchase order on it.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48So, he was really shocked.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53He lobbied everyone, the local MP, the council,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56British Rail and said all this and they just went, no, the truck
0:18:56 > 0:18:59was rolling so no stopping it.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03That was it.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06I don't think the right people to save the Cavern were running
0:19:06 > 0:19:07the council at the time.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10The people running the council were of my parents age group
0:19:10 > 0:19:14so the Cavern didn't mean very much to them.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16It was just another club, why shouldn't it go, it doesn't matter.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21Nobody saw the historical importance of it.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24So, on the 5th of June 1973, the wrecking ball swung into action
0:19:24 > 0:19:33and the Cavern was demolished.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Roy Adams opened a new venue on the other side of Mathew street
0:19:39 > 0:19:41and took the Cavern name with him.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43They said he could have saved the Cavern.
0:19:43 > 0:19:50There was no truth in that at all.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53If he opened the new Cavern opposite and it would've been cheaper to keep
0:19:53 > 0:19:55the original and have it as it is.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Rather than take the chance of opening over the road.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01When it went over the road, it was to be the same music scene,
0:20:01 > 0:20:02more of the same, really.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03But it wasn't the same.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04It just wasn't.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07The new Cavern simply didn't work and was eventually split into two
0:20:07 > 0:20:10clubs with new names.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12One of them became Eric's itself a legendary venue
0:20:12 > 0:20:13for a different generation.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18The original Cavern sign hung up on the wall here for years
0:20:18 > 0:20:21which is why so many people thought this was the site
0:20:21 > 0:20:25of the original Cavern.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Across the road, they never built the ventilation shaft.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Instead, it became a car park.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34The Cavern story was over, so people thought.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39In 1980, everything changed.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Both sides of the Atlantic, to the murder of the former
0:20:41 > 0:20:42Beatle, John Lennon.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45He was shot dead outside his home in New York.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48One of the people deeply affected by John Lennon's death was Liverpool
0:20:48 > 0:20:52architect and former Cavern regular David Backhouse.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55The next morning, I got up at eight o'clock and started drawing
0:20:55 > 0:20:59and I drew for 12 hours and at the end of that 12 hours,
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I designed the embryonic Cavern Walks with the Cavern
0:21:02 > 0:21:03in the basement.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07And that is how it started.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12And so Cavern Walks, a designer shopping centre was built
0:21:12 > 0:21:14in Mathew Street on the site of the original Cavern.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18The cellar was dug out and incorporated into the development.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20What would you say to some people who say, it is not
0:21:20 > 0:21:22the original Cavern?
0:21:22 > 0:21:29Well, it isn't.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32It is slightly away from the original one but the size is
0:21:32 > 0:21:34and the bricks are from the original Cavern.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37It is as near as we could possibly get because the foundations,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40when you put the building up 11 floors like this, you have
0:21:40 > 0:21:41to go down a long way.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44We scraped the site and the arches were there.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47So, we know the size of the Cavern is exactly the same
0:21:47 > 0:21:49size as the old one.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53So, in 1984, the Cavern was born again.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55It was rebuilt using many of the same bricks,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58had the same address as the original and the entrance was right
0:21:58 > 0:22:02here on the same spot created by Alf Geoghegan in 1966 but anyone
0:22:02 > 0:22:08who thought the old magic would instantly return was sadly mistaken.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Several owners tried and failed to make a success of the Cavern
0:22:11 > 0:22:15and it even closed again for a while.
0:22:15 > 0:22:23Then, in 1991 a new team took over.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25It wasn't really until Bill and Dave Jones got
0:22:25 > 0:22:30hold of the Cavern that things change dramatically.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32They had been running Cavern city tours, they knew about tourism
0:22:32 > 0:22:36in the area and they realised the Cavern should both be for older
0:22:36 > 0:22:38people who wanted a reminder of what the Cavern's heritage
0:22:38 > 0:22:43was and new people who wanted to hear new music and new bands.
0:22:43 > 0:22:50And there were different audiences.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Today, the Cavern is once again all about live music.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57During the day, the traditional arch stage rings out
0:22:57 > 0:23:01with musical memories.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04My passion was Liverpool, I have always been proud of the city
0:23:04 > 0:23:07I live in and I knew it could be turned around one day
0:23:07 > 0:23:11and the Cavern, the Beatles, the Beatles's industry has been
0:23:11 > 0:23:18a major factor in Liverpool becoming a global destination today.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22It is not just the Cavern, it is part of that destination.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Where have you come from?
0:23:24 > 0:23:25Adelaide, South Australia.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Brazil.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I am from Tennessee in the United States.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Antonio and Francesca from Milan.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37I moved to Liverpool because of the Beatles.
0:23:38 > 0:23:38From Brazil!
0:23:38 > 0:23:45Ha-ha!
0:23:45 > 0:23:48What do you say to people who say it isn't the original Cavern?
0:23:48 > 0:23:50I just cringe.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52We know it is not the original Cavern.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56We don't pretend that it is.
0:23:56 > 0:24:02But where we are sitting now, is where the original Cavern was.
0:24:02 > 0:24:10In hindsight, you could say we ended up with a better venue anyway
0:24:10 > 0:24:13on the same site so rarely did we lose anything.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23One thing the new Cavern did have was more room,
0:24:23 > 0:24:28including this larger stage which was ideal for the bigger acts.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31As the 20th century drew to a close, it was to play host to the biggest
0:24:31 > 0:24:34act of all, one of the Cavern's favourite sons had decided
0:24:34 > 0:24:39it was time to come home.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43This one isn't from the 50s or the 90s.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49# She was just 17!
0:24:49 > 0:24:53# You know what I mean.
0:24:53 > 0:24:59# And the way she looked, was way beyond compare...
0:24:59 > 0:25:01And another Beatles connection was reinforced in 2004
0:25:01 > 0:25:03when John Lennon's half sister became a part owner
0:25:03 > 0:25:06of the new Cavern.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09How do you think he would feel about his little sister
0:25:09 > 0:25:11being a co-owner of this?
0:25:11 > 0:25:16I think he would think it was hysterical as I do.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21It was a huge risk but I did not see it at the time.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24I was just so, I thought it was a privilege to be
0:25:24 > 0:25:27invited to join in.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31And it has been the best thing I have done.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Bands like Travis, Elbow and the Arctic Monkeys have
0:25:33 > 0:25:35all played here and Adele launched her album 21
0:25:35 > 0:25:39on the Cavern's stage.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Since Adele's appearance, the names have kept coming.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44The Wanted, Jesse J, even Yoko Ono and then one
0:25:44 > 0:25:46of the UK's hottest new talents chose the Cavern
0:25:46 > 0:25:53to play a secret gig.
0:25:53 > 0:25:59It is a legendary venue.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02I think you just need to read a bit of the history to realise
0:26:03 > 0:26:05what an amazing place it is.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08It was great to play acoustic because you can hear that sound
0:26:08 > 0:26:11reflecting back of the venue walls and I'm sure those walls have seen
0:26:11 > 0:26:14a lot of things in its past.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16It is about the atmosphere and the energy the place creates
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and when I had a show there, I had a great time and it is
0:26:20 > 0:26:26something I will always remember.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31The Cavern is holding a 60th birthday party to celebrate the day
0:26:31 > 0:26:35it was opened as a jazz club.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40There is a new statue of Cilla to mark the occasion,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44a full on party in both bars, and '70s star entertaining on main
0:26:44 > 0:26:47stage and even a turn from those quarrymen who did not go
0:26:47 > 0:26:52on to become Beatles.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56It is like no other place, you play big stadiums all over
0:26:56 > 0:26:59the world but coming back to the Cavern is like coming home.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02We would never have dreamt 60 years ago this would become
0:27:02 > 0:27:05such a phenomenal thing.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08It has done.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Even now it is still grabbing you as you come in.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13You cannot go into the Cavern without tapping your foot
0:27:13 > 0:27:14or fingers or something.
0:27:14 > 0:27:19You are in the moment.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23There was a great deal of passion and heart goes into this place.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Absolutely.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28It is almost like we are holding the baby, the Cavern
0:27:28 > 0:27:29belongs to the world.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31It means everything to everyone.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34But at the heart of it is the music.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37It is a major tourist attraction, of course, but importantly
0:27:37 > 0:27:39it is a thriving live music venue.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43That is the key.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46I think without question the Cavern is the most
0:27:46 > 0:27:47famous club in the world.
0:27:47 > 0:27:49You think of any other clubs and they just don't
0:27:49 > 0:27:50match up to the Cavern.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Popular music would not have been the same without the Beatles,
0:27:53 > 0:27:58not without the Cavern and there are not many clubs you can
0:27:58 > 0:28:02say have changed popular music in such a major way.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05It seems to me everyone who has been involved with the Cavern,
0:28:05 > 0:28:07the old or the new club, have formed an emotional
0:28:07 > 0:28:12attachment to it.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14They have done it with real love which is quite extraordinary.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19And whatever happens to the club, it always kept bouncing back.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22As long as there is live music, there will always
0:28:22 > 0:28:28be the Cavern club.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43Looking good, baby!
0:28:43 > 0:28:49Let's see you move.
0:29:16 > 0:29:16MUSIC: Ebony by Young Fathers
0:29:16 > 0:29:17# Young, unassuming Eucalyptus blooming
0:29:18 > 0:29:21Can be wonderful, can be terrifying.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24What did you say?
0:29:24 > 0:29:28It's something that drags you in and crushes you to nothing.