En vivo: Cavern Club, Liverpool (tarde)

The Beatles’ 69th evening show at the Cavern Club took place on this date. It was a “Beatles Welcome Home Show” following their third Hamburg residency, which spanned seven weeks at the Star-Club in April and May. The homecoming show smashed the attendance record at the Cavern, with 900 fans cramped in the cellar venue to watch The Beatles perform. They topped a bill which also featured The Red River Jazzmen, Vic and the Spidermen, The Four Jays, and Ken Dallas and the Silhouettes.It was such a success that The Beatles’ following 12 concerts all took place exclusively at the Cavern, after club owner Ray McFall hastily booked them for return appearances.I thought they might have been tired after the travelling and their strenuous sessions in Hamburg, but not a bit of it. This was one of their finest performances.Bob Wooler, Cavern Club DJThe Cavern, Spencer LeighOverall this was their 171st appearance at the Cavern, including their lunchtime shows. The precise number of The Beatles’ performances at the venue is not known, although they played at least 155 lunchtime and 125 evening shows there between 9 February 1961 and 3 August 1963.