Back in 1961, not long before becoming famous, The Beatles played at the Cavern Club, located in Liverpool. Rare photos of the event have been discovered, and they even feature the original drummer of the band, Pete Best. The photos we’re about to reveal are from a year before the release of their first single, “Love Me Do”.
Managing director at Tracks, a music memorabilia business in the United Kingdom, Paul Wane, has commented before CNN that the photos were taken by an early fan who followed the band in their early years. Back then, they hadn’t officially released any music.
How the Band Was Formed
Every member of the band was born in Liverpool, which is also where the Beatles were formed. The first performance was back in 1957 when Lennon and McCartney first sang together.
Historian Mark Lewinsohn is known to have written many books about the band. In a statement, he says that the photos from the Cavern Club show members in “leather trousers and cotton-made tops”, i.e., before the time they decided on their signature looks. “You can’t see other photos that show them dressed in such a way.”
Becoming Famous
Back in their early days, the band members were roughing it. They went on a 90-day-long music tour in Germany, where they played for a total of 500 hours, according to historian Mark Lewinsohn. But fate was about to change… Three months after the German tour, Lennon and McCartney went to Paris. When they returned, they had what was to become the signature Beatles haircut.
“Several days afterward, prominent music entrepreneur Brian Epstein saw The Beatles and offered to be their manager. This set them on a course that transformed our world”, continues Lewinsohn.
The fan who took the rare photos is still alive, but he would prefer not to make his name public. Paul Wane comments before CNN that “he was on speaking terms with every member of the band, and even followed them on at their first really big gigs.”