Watching The Beatles Perform “My Bonnie”
Debbie Greenberg never missed a Beatles gig at The Cavern and she has some amazing memories. One of the most important Cavern appearances was when Brian Epstein came to see The Beatles for the first time.
“The Beatles had played a few numbers with Tony Sheridan in Hamburg, including “Ain’t She Sweet”, but the one that sticks in my memory is “My Bonnie”. When The Beatles played these songs at the Cavern they were absolutely brilliant. I think Tony had a big influence on how The Beatles dressed and moved. John Lennon copied Tony’s posture, holding his guitar high up on his chest.
“Tony was very talented but by all accounts a force to be reckoned with. His mood could change in an instant. It must have been difficult to work with somebody so unpredictable. They had first met when both were playing for a season at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg. German band leader Bert Kaempfert had spotted them and arranged for them to cut a disc of “My Bonnie” together, which was released in Germany.
Raymond Jones
“News of this record filtered back to Liverpool and one fateful day, Saturday 28th October 1961, a Liverpool teenager called Raymond Jones went into NEMS record store to ask about the disc. Situated on Whitechapel, NEMS was just a stone’s throw from Mathew Street and the Cavern. The young store manager was Brian Epstein, who prided himself on being able to source any record that had been officially released. After hearing the track with its throbbing beat he was intrigued.
Brian asked his assistant, Alistair Taylor, to arrange a visit to the nearby Cavern to see The Beatles at one of the lunchtime sessions. He got there on 9th November 1961 with Alistair and saw The Beatles play for the first time.
Epstein was entranced by their performance – and by the Cavern, the place he later called a “cellar full of noise.”
A Handshake
However, Brian Epstein was not the first candidate for the position of Beatles manager. A Liverpool-based promoter called Sam Leach, who regularly organised dances and live shows in local venues, frequently hired the Beatles. As he was giving them regular work and they were all very good friends, he suggested he should become their manager.
The group agreed and on the strength of a handshake with John Lennon, the group’s leader, he thought he’d secured the position as their first manager.”
As we know, after seeing The Beatles, it was Brian Epstein who would become the group’s manager and take them to the toppermost of the poppermost.
Get Debbie’s book on the story of the Cavern Club.
Cavern Club – The Inside Story
This first-hand account of Debbie’s teen years frequenting and eventually helping to run the original Cavern Club is the authentic inside story of the Beatles launch pad, full of triumphs and failures – and surprise celebrity encounters.
