How Different From the Cavern Days (1964)

 

How Different From the Cavern Days

By Dorene Hannah

Beatle Book Monthly

March 1964

    I would like to tell you about the days before the Beatles were well-known. They had a small group of Liverpool fans who used to queue outside the Cavern from 8am until 12 noon for the lunch hour sessions. Most of them used to take days off school or college and tried to copy their mother's handwriting in a note for the teacher. On Sundays, queuing commenced from about 2pm until 7:30pm. As The Beatles became more popular, queuing went on all through Saturday night and all Sunday until 7:30pm. Ray McFall would bring a crate of milk down between four and five and sit in his car with the radio on for us to listen to the top ten. 

    We used to queue in the freezing cold and tell stories about the Beatles while wrapped in blankets and sipping hot coffee. Everyone knew everyone, and if girls came who had only just heard of The Beatles, well all us "scousers" made them welcome. While we were waiting for the Cavern to open, we would ask some girls to save our places, and we would go to the Kardoma Cafe (KD) and then for a stroll round town. And sometimes we would meet a Beatle and stop for a talk, then go back to the Cavern.

     It was gear in those days, but it was sheer agony when the lads went to Hamburg; everyone walked round with long faces. The Cavern looked lonely when we passed with no people queuing. Sometimes the lonely Beatle fans would meet at a lunchtime session to cheer themselves up by talking about the lads. It was nothing short of chaos when their welcome home performance was on at the Cavern; girls fainted, and there was hardly any screaming, and no one was hysterical. At least you could hear the Beatles singing and joking. Those were the days. Sometimes I wish we could relive them, but I suppose the Beatles wouldn't. Well, good luck in the future, lads.