CASBAH COFFEE CLUB; BETTER THAN THE CAVERN

Even if you’re only vaguely into the Beatles and you’ve found yourself in Liverpool England with a few hours to spare, you’ve probably ended up in the Cavern Club. Ultimately, it’s one of those tourist tick a box destinations destined to induce yawns at the family slide show. Sadly, the original club, where the Beatles played was demolished for a ventilation shaft for the Liverpool underground railway, many moons ago. The current iteration of the Cavern is allegedly made up of the bricks from the original building and plays host to a myriad of artists of varying abilities, most of whom make a living from covering Beatles tunes. When I was last there a bit over three years ago, they had imposed a cover charge on access to the building even when there was no live music. I preferred to stand outside and get my photo taken beside a statue of the scouse goddess of song, Cilla Black.

The Scouse goddess of song, Cilla Black and an unidentified fan outside the Cavern in Liverpool

In the more precise history of the Beatles, the Cavern Club isn’t really the place where Beatlemania started. To get to the true roots of the band you need to take the number 12 or 13 bus out to West Derby Village and check out the Casbah Coffee Club. 

The Best family residence at 8 Hayman’s Green, Liverpool. 

Even if this place had no connection to the Beatles, the background story of its ownership is enough to warrant listing as a building of some historical significance.

The stage at the Casbah Coffee Club. Pete Best painted the spider and its web. The ceiling was the work of John Lennon.

Back in 1954, a local woman, (she was actually born in India, but was pretty much a local by 1954) Mona (Mo) Best, put all her worldly belongings on a horse in the Epsom Derby which was ridden by a then unknown jockey with the name of Lester Piggott. The nag came in at odds of 33-1 and it allowed Ms Best to buy a fairly princely looking house, standing on an acre of land on the outskirts of Liverpool that had previously been home to the local Conservative Party. I can’t imagine there were too many Tories in Liverpool in 1954, which is probably why the house was on the market. 

By the late 1950s, Liverpool had become something of a magnet for jazz and skiffle musos and their fans and the Cavern Club was the epicentre of that scene. Rock and roll might have been the big new sound in the USA, but Liverpool wasn’t picking up on the vibe just yet. 

Fortunately for Liverpool, and the world, Mo Best saw a gap in the market and decided to turn the coal cellar in her house into the heart of the Liverpool rock and roll scene. The Best family was, for want of a better word, a little bohemian, so it was hardly surprising that Mo would become the mother of Merseybeat. Mind you, Mo had standards; to get into the Casbah Club, on top of the entry fee for a gig, you had to pay an annual fee which set you back half a crown. The idea of membership was to ‘keep out the rough elements’ and you can imagine there were plenty of rough characters in Liverpool in 1959. 

No booze at the club and no under 16s. Mo Best ran a tight ship at the Casbah Coffee Club.

For opening night, on 29th August 1959, Mo booked the Les Stewart Quartet,a local blues and skiffle outfit featuring a scouse lad by the name of George Harrison on guitar. As part of the deal, Mo asked the band to help decorate the new club, but Les Stewart saw himself as a muso rather than a painter and decorator. George Harrison and one of the other band members, Ken Brown helped out Mo. As a consequence, Brown missed a rehearsal and Stewart decided his Quartet was no more. This meant there was no band for opening night,so Harrison contacted a couple of other local musos, John Lennon and Paul McCartney and on 29th August 1959, a rebirthed and drummerless Quarrymen (with Ken Brown to make up the numbers) played the first gig at the Casbah Coffee Club. From this point on you could say the rest is history. 

More of Pete Best’s handiwork. He had a thing about spiders.

A year later, at the Indra Club in Hamburg, the band played for the first time as the Beatles. The 1960 Hamburg lineup was Lennon, McCartney and Harrison with Pete Best, son of Mo, on drums and Stu Sutcliffe playing bass. 

When the band returned to Liverpool, after they were deported from Hamburg, Mo had them back at the Casbah. In fact, their return gig at the Casbah in December 1960 was their first English performance using the name, The Beatles. By the middle of 1962, the Beatles had played over 40 gigs at the venue with queues of pre Beatlemania fans often stretching down the street. Needless to say this situation didn’t endear the Casbah Club or Mo Best to the neighbours.

The Cavern owners like to have you believe that all the Merseyside legends had their start at the Matthew Street venue. Cilla Black, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, the Searchers and Gerry & the Pacemakers all played at the Casbah, before they appeared at the Cavern. Mo’s exclusive club in suburban Liverpool really was the birthplace of the Merseyside sound.

On 24 June 1962,the Casbah closed with the Beatles as the last group to perform. Mo was finding operating the venue just a little too stressful. She was pregnant and had recently lost her mother to cancer. A few weeks after closing the venue, Pete Best was dismissed from the Beatles, which is another story altogether.

I won’t get bogged down any more in the history of the venue or, for that matter the controversy about Pete Best’s role in the band, there’s plenty on that elsewhere. 

So why should you come to this place? I’ve visited lots of historical sites in my time and I would place the Casbah Coffee Club right near the top. I did a solo tour which is not cheap at 40 pounds, but my guide was Roag Best jr, who is kind of a nephew of Pete Best. I say ‘kind of’ because the Best family is a little complicated, so do your own research if you want to find out more. If you’re really lucky, you might even get Pete Best himself or his half brother, Roag sr. The property is still owned by the Best family, which makes it all the more fascinating. Roag jr was quite happy to share his personal connections and recollections of the house and the family, although there’s clearly a line in the sand when it comes to talking about the reasons for Pete’s exit from the Beatles. The official word is that it had nothing to do with his prowess or lack thereof as a drummer.

Remarkably, the cellar itself looks exactly as it would have 65 years ago. There was even an old lawn mower tucked away in one corner, so it has a genuinely lived in look. And, unlike most serious heritage listed buildings, there’s no hard nosed security guard loaded with steroids, ready to bark instructions if you break the house rules and no alarms blaring in your ear if you walk over a laser patrolled line. Casbah is pretty much a free range museum and if the thought of the Beatles playing here all those years ago, doesn’t get you excited, the Casbah art work might just float your boat. It’s never going to win a Turner prize, but it does have serious cred. The star ceiling was painted by John Lennon, and the rainbow ceiling was the work of Paul. Cynthia Powell, John’s girlfriend, created the silhouette of John which has well and truly stood the test of time. The paint job that indirectly led to the Beatles playing together for the first time is right before your eyes. Wanting to preserve his legend in posterity, John carved his name into the Casbah ceiling on no less than two occasions.

The stars on the ceiling were probably a Lennon, McCartney and Harrison collaboration. The silhouette on the wall was the work of Cynthia, John’s girlfriend.

Paul McCartney painted the rainbow on the ceiling.

John modestly announces his return from Hamburg with the help of a knife

The Best family now offer some of the rooms in the house as AirBnB offerings. There’s rooms devoted to Paul, John, George, Stu and Pete, but no Ringo room. I guess he wasn’t in the band when they played at the Casbah, but as I said the Ringo issue seems to be a touchy subject. Mind you, Pete Best might have been replaced by Ringo as drummer before fame and fortune came their way, but the Best family have still done well out of their connection with the Fab Four. 

Address: 8 Hayman’s Green, Liverpool. 

Booking Required: No ticket sales at the door. All tours are guided and must be booked in advance through the Official Pete Best Casbah Tour Page. In peak season you’ll probably need to book weeks or even months in advance. 

Location & Transport: Casbah Coffee Club is about 5km outside Liverpool city centre. Take Bus 12 or 13 from Queens Square Bus Station directly to West Derby Village. From there it’s a short walk to the Casbah Coffee House. BTW real Gonzo travellers would never get a taxi or uber here, it’s too easy!