CAVERN CLUB OWNER RAY McFALL DIES

Former Cavern Club owner Ray McFall, who helped launch the careers of The Beatles, has died.

McFall owned the Liverpool club in the 1960s, changing it from a jazz venue to a rock 'n' roll club and booking Merseybeat bands like The Beatles.The Fab Four went on to play at the legendary basement venue 292 times.

"It was Ray who opened it up to those early Merseybeat sessions, which led to the whole Merseybeat explosion," said Jon Keats, a director of the Cavern.

"It was completely his vision that moved the club forward, with what turned into the huge Merseybeat explosion and The Beatles' success and Gerry and the Pacemakers and all the main bands.

 

By 1966, The Beatles had moved on and the club was forced to close

"He changed The Cavern completely and allowed the rock 'n' roll into the club."

McFall took over the club in 1959 and, with compere Bob Wooler, opened it up to the city's young rock 'n' roll bands.

The Beatles first performed there in a lunchtime session on 9 February 1961 - but their legendary association with the club almost did not happen.

McFall had banned jeans from the club because he thought they signified a rough crowd. Guitarist George Harrison wore jeans to that first gig but managed to persuade the doorman to let him in.

McFall was not pleased at first - but was soon won over when he saw the band perform.

"The Beatles were sensational and I was smitten," he later said. "Completely, Absolutely, Instantly.

"I stood at the side, between the pillars, about halfway up the hall, and as soon as they started playing I was captivated by them.

"From that very first day, there was no stopping them. I said to Bob: 'What other lunchtimes have they got? We must have them regularly.'"

But in 1966, McFall was declared bankrupt and the Cavern Club was forced to close.

The cellar was filled in in 1973 but the club was rebuilt near the original site and opened again in 1984.

The man credited with booking the Beatles at the iconic venue turned it from a jazz club to the mecca of British rock and roll

The Cavern Club’s legendary owner Ray McFall who first booked the Beatles has died.

Mr McFall, a legend of the British music scene, first bought the club in October 1959 from Alan Sytner and set about transforming it from a jazz club to the mecca of British rock and roll.

Buying the Cavern for the tidy sum of £2,750, Mr McFall owned and operated the Mathew Street venue throughout the 60s- booking a young Ringo Star in his first band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.

Under Mr McFall, many more legends from the Who to the Kinks performed at the Cavern, and he first booked the Beatles for a lunch-hour appearance on February 21, 1961.

The Beatles’ first evening appearance followed a month later, the beginning of 292 Cavern Club dates by August 3, 1963, earning roughly 25 shillings per performance.

Mr McFall eventually installed a recording studio and founded his own short-lived label, Cavern Sound Recording.

He passed away last night.

Speaking about his first meeting with the soon-to-be worldwide phenomenon, Mr McFall recalled in 2011: “The Beatles were different and they were very well rehearsed because they had come back from three months of torture in Hamburg. “However, I didn’t like them wearing jeans which were taboo in the Cavern.

“Our doormen would stop anyone wearing jeans. I felt that if people were wearing good, clean clothes they would be more likely to behave themselves as they wouldn’t want them getting dirty and damaged.”

Mr McFall closed the venue on February 27, 1966, following one final Rory Storm & the Hurricanes gig.