Back in August 1960, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best took to the stage for the first time under a name which would become cemented in pop culture for ever more. This first ever performance as The Beatles would go down in history as the night that started their journey to becoming arguably the most culturally significant band of all time. This stage was situated in a small grassroots club on Liverpool’s Slater Street named The Jacaranda, a venue that is still providing the city’s major artists with their first live shows to this day.
On Friday 23rd August, The Jacaranda were presented with a commemorative plaque by the World Origin Site that officially marks the venue as the first place The Beatles ever played. Hundreds were in attendance, including John Lennon’s sister, Julia Baird, The Beatles’ secretary, Freda Kelly, and Holly Johnson from Frankie Goes To Hollywood, for the unveiling of the plaque which was accompanied by 12 hours of live music throughout the day. The big surprise of the event was a performance by The Zutons’ frontman Dave McCabe, who had played with members of The Zutons at The Jacaranda nearly 25 years ago. Other performances came from local acts Red Rum Club, MT Jones, The Cheap Thrills and many more.
Dave McCabe, frontman of The Zutons: “Grassroots music venues like The Jacaranda are so important because without them there’s no growth, there’s no education and there’s no real experience. They give you a chance to learn about what it is you love about music and find an answer as to why you wanted to do it in the first place”.
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The plaque was revealed by Leah Williams, daughter of Allan Williams, the founder of The Jacaranda and former manager of The Beatles, alongside Graham Stanley, the current Director of The Jacaranda who said: “We have always been proud of our Beatles heritage, but we haven’t had a clear way to explain it until now. Being awarded World Origin Site status is an amazing privilege for us. It probably wasn’t a big gig for the band; their name and reputation were really made during the Hamburg tour which began just days later. But our venue is where they adopted the most famous band name in history”.
As the crowd spilled outside of the venue onto the street, it felt as though the entire music scene in the city had come together to reflect on Liverpool’s music heritage, mark the occasion with this historic event and to look forward to the future, remembering the importance of perpetuating the kind of grassroots support, that The Jacaranda offered The Beatles over 60 years ago, to the new emerging talent of today. It was a momentous celebration of cultural heritage and of grassroots music that made all in attendance take lessons from the past and look how we can learn from them and implement them in today’s climate.
People from all generations shared stories of their first live memories, chance encounters they’d had with musical legends, the first time they heard The Beatles and their favourite new local band who they’re tipping to make it big. As you looked around you could see old friends reconnecting, new connections being formed and the next generation of music fanatics being enlightened on the history and heritage of The Jacaranda, The Beatles and Liverpool as a music city.
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Words: James Booton
