Their latest episode is an interview with John Lennon’s sister, Julia Baird.
Jude Southerland Kessler of The John Lennon Series and Lanea Stagg of The Recipe Records Series sit down with Director of Cavern Tours, Liverpool, and John Lennon’s sister, Julia Baird for a lively and revealing chat. Julia discusses her Strawberry Fields Project which reaches out to children with special needs and has had a transformative affect on her hometown of Liverpool. She briefly discusses Paul McCartney and George Harrison. And then, she talks at length about her childhood and teen years with her famous brother, John Lennon, and her beloved mother, Julia Stanley Lennon. Julia, who inspired John to become a musician and form a band, was a talented musician and a woman “ahead of her time,” in her daughter’s words, and you will discover what she means in this heart-felt, sincere, and emotional conversation. Julia Baird is an incredible lady – a teacher, the author of two books (including her latest, Imagine This), a business director, and now…a city-transformer who will speak to your heart. Julia knows John Lennon as no other, and here, she shares her life story with you.
George, John, Ringo and Paul – Just After Ringo joined The Beatles
Too often has The Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr been the butt of some unkind jokes. Reportedly purported by his bandmate John Lennon, the adage goes that when asked about whether Ringo was the best drummer in the world, the bespectacled Beatle responded: “He’s not even the best drummer in The Beatles.” Thankfully, that myth has been dispelled, and the joke traced back to a 1981 radio show featuring Jasper Carrott to prove that nobody within the Fab Four thought of Ringo as anything less than integral to their sound.
Was He A Good Drummer?
That hasn’t helped his wider public of Ringo’s drumming be any less derisory though. As we all know by now, it doesn’t have to be the truth to be spread around as fact. But, for Ringo, it is an unwelcome and unwarranted tagline. The truth is actually that Ringo may not have been a studious percussionist, or particularly gifted with what was deemed as precision playing. Still, he had that one unteachable thing that every musician craves — he had style. As Paul McCartney said when pickinghis own favourite drummers: “Not technically the best by a long shot, but for feel and emotion and economy, they’re always there, particularly Ringo.”
Debbie Greenberg, our resident Cavern Club expert, looks back at the very first time The Beatles appeared at the legendary Cavern Club. In an excerpt from her book, Cavern Club: The Inside Story, Debbie discusses The Beatles debut.
“The Cavern’s identity started to change at the start of the decade. Rock ‘n’ roll replaced jazz and the Cavern became the heart that gave Mersey its beat.
Debbie with Paul McCartney at The Cavern
“We watched The Beatles debut at The Cavern lunchtime session on 9th February 1961. We were blown away. The Beatles were different, their music was incredible, their appearance raunchy, their energy infectious. They just oozed excitement.
“Six weeks later on the 23rd March, after a lunchtime session at the Cavern, they jumped on a train at Liverpool’s Lime Street Station on their way to Hamburg for a second time having previously played there in 1960.
“This time they sped out of our lives for four months. We missed them, but still went down to the Cavern to watch the other groups, like Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Singing Blue Genes, The Remo Four, Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes and many more.
“They were all fabulous groups but they weren’t The Beatles.”
The Ed Sullivan Show
1964 John Lennon Paul McCartney George Harrison and Ringo Starr with American TV show host Ed Sullivan on the 9th February 1964
Exactly three years to the day from their debut at The Cavern Club in front of a couple of hundred fans, they appeared in front of 73 million Americans on the Ed Sullivan Show.
David Stark celebrates The Beatles iconic rooftop concert
Saturday is the 52nd anniversary of the legendary ‘Rooftop Concert’.
Join David Stark on Plastic EP TV, where he explains why he should have been there on January 30th, 1969 instead of at school.
“Join me, Plastic EP, Chachi Loprete & Tony Barrell, author of ‘The Beatles on the Roof’, along with the premiere of a special video* to promote the Audiobook version of “It’s All Too Much.”
Poster for the 60th Anniversary of The Cavern Club
On 16th January 1957, The Cavern Club opened. Discover a rare photograph and the inside story of the world-famous Cavern Club.
“The above is the poster that Tony Booth produced for the Cavern Club during the summer of 2016 in preparation for the club’s 60th anniversary celebrations in January the following year. It really showcases the range of styles and creativity of a unique, unsung lettering artist who certainly played an important part in the marketing of music history. Posters and flyers were the social media of the sixties and they helped create the legends of the era.”
Debbie Greenberg saw The Beatles at every performance in the ’60s at The Cavern, before her father went on to buy The Cavern. In her book, Cavern Club: The Inside Story, she talks about the opening of the Cavern Club in January 1957.
The Opening of The Cavern Club: 16th January 1957
“Alan Sytner ran The Cavern strictly as a jazz club but starting in 1957 he allowed skiffle groups to play, getting very annoyed if any of them tried to play rock ‘n’ roll. The Quarrymen Skiffle Group, precursor to the Beatles, first played the Cavern on a date no-one can pinpoint in mid 1957 and again on 7th August 1957, only weeks after John Lennon met Paul at St. Peter’s Church Garden fete in Woolton Village.
John upset Sytner by playing rock ‘n’ roll numbers. Paul didn’t appear with them, though he’d just been recruited. He was away at Scout Camp with his brother Mike in Hathersage, Derbyshire. While at camp, Mike broke his arm when he fell out of an oak tree he was climbing.”
Rare, Unpublished Photograph of The Cavern
Debbie recently uncovered the following photograph of Joyce Lee, showing The Cavern Club in early 1957.
Rare photo of The Cavern in 1957
“In 1959, Alan moved to London and left his father, Dr. Joseph Sytner, to run the club until a buyer could be found. Ray McFall was a clerk with the Sytner family’s accountants and occasionally sat in at the Cavern cash desk. His offer of £2,750 to buy the club was accepted, and he officially took over the Cavern on 31st October 1959.”
The 60th Anniversary of The Cavern Club Opening
On the 60th anniversary of the Cavern Club in 2017, Debbie and her husband Nigel met with the star of the night, 70s pop star Gilbert O’Sullivan, who played a fantastic set in front of an exclusive packed Cavern crowd.
Debbie Greenberg, Gilbert O’Sullivan and Nigel Greenberg
Debbie also posed with former Beatles Fan Club Secretary, Freda Kelly.
Freda Kelly with Debbie Greenberg
The Inside Story of The Cavern
To discover this and so many more amazing stories about the famous Cavern Club, read Debbie’s book:
Gerry Marsden was seen by The Beatles as one of their main challengers in the early days of Merseybeat in Liverpool. With his group, The Pacemakers, he was signed by Brian Epstein and recorded ‘How Do You Do It’, a song which had been rejected by The Beatles, taking it to the top of the charts in the UK and doing the same with his second record, ‘I Like It’. He became the only person to have topped the UK charts with their first three records when his uniquely emotional version of a ballad from the musical ‘Carousel’ reached Number One in the autumn of 1963.
You’ll Never Walk Alone
‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is still played before every home game at Anfield Stadium, the home of Liverpool Football Club, but those of who were lucky enough to have been there the first time it was played will never forget it.
It was mid-October 1963. We stood on the Kop to watch Bill Shankly’s Liverpool team play against West Bromwich Albion, a team from the Midlands who were nicknamed ‘The Baggies’. It was a historic moment in the rise to glory of Liverpool Football Club.
“And now for our next record.” The voice of the announcer came from the Tannoy high above our heads. “It’s the first time we’ve played this one. Into the Top Ten at Number Seven, it’s Gerry and The Pacemakers with their version of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.”
The song could have been written for us. The words carried a message that reached deep into the heart of every single Liverpool supporter. Twenty-five thousand voices on the Kop were united in belief as red and white scarves were held aloft between raised arms. It was the perfect anthem for a crowd.
Gerry and the Pacemakers
The roar as the record came to an end was for Gerry and The Pacemakers. It was for Liverpool Football Club and the mighty Reds. It was for our city. Every one of us knew at that moment that we were part of the greatest football family in the world.
From that day ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was our song. Nobody was going to take it away from us. Ever. A magical genie had been let out of the bottle. Gerry Marsden had stolen the show.
His glorious anthem had transformed Anfield. The Baggies never stood a chance.
Bill Shankly and his mighty Reds were now invincible.
“Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey”
Gerry Marsden continued to live on Merseyside with his wife, Pauline, and their two daughters even after he had achieved international fame. In his self-penned hit song ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’ he was clearly speaking from the heart when he sang, “This land’s the place I love; and here I’ll stay.”
George Harrison
He had fallen for Pauline, who ran his fan club, back in the sixties. She had previously been going out with George Harrison, but The Beatles had gone off to play in Hamburg. Gerry was a wonderful raconteur, and he would tell the story of how he spoke to George when The Beatles got home from Hamburg.
“I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you, George. The good news is that while you were away in Germany, I’ve fallen in love. The bad news is it’s with your girlfriend.”
Everyone said Gerry Marsden was a lovely man who remained unaffected by fame. Over the years he raised many millions of pounds for charity, supporting those who had been less fortunate than him in their lives.
