The Beatles at the Merseyside Civil Service Club

If you were running a social club in 1960s in Merseyside you could book a band to play one evening for £5 total. This is what The Beatles were paid to play at the Merseyside Civil Service Club in central Liverpool. They played here five times in 1961 (4 x January, 1 x November.) I went to have a look.

They didn’t have their own songs but wanted to use their hobby of music to earn some spending money. John and Paul had met four years earlier in 1957 but had messed around as The Quarrymen, doing odd spots in social clubs and weddings. These were the early days when Peter Best was the drummer (he’d be sacked and replaced with Ringo.) In 1961 the lads couldn't decide on a name: they'd alternate between The Fabulous Beatles, The Silver Beatles and The Beatles.

At the time there were about thirty bands around Merseyside playing other people’s songs and £5 was the going rate. After paying for transport and beer they ended up with £1 each. When they played here John Lennon was 21, Paul McCartney was 19, George Harrison was 20, and Pete Best was 22.

There’s little see now on this narrow street. If you want to see cooks and chefs near the back doors of hotels and restaurants smoking and scrolling on the phones then this is a good place. The club's original door and windows still remain. In 1961 the club was down in the basement. You went down into the main space where tables and chairs surrounded a dancing area and in one corner was a stage about the height of garden decking. There was a card school room and a snooker room. On nights when no bands were booked there was a wall mounted jukebox.

The club was open to members only but they could bring a guest for three shillings. On Friday's there used to be strippers. The place remained open throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s (it was Castle Court in the 70s.)

The Beatles secured their spots here through one of Pete Best's contacts. Unfortunately the nights they played the club were poorly attended. The young lads calling themselves The Beatles weren’t fresh or edgy enough to demand a good fee. Most of the main Merseyside bands played here - The Searchers, The Pacemakers, Big Three, Derry, The Seniors....who all pretty much played the same popular songs of the day.

I had a couple of black and white photos of the place so I could do some matching up of windows and drain pipes. You can see where the door went down into the basement. I wondered what lay down there now. Was it still laid out as it was left many years ago? Was the small stage still there in the corner? Where the original seats on the toilets which the Beatles slashed through?

Thankfully a couple of years after they played here John and Paul realised they wouldn't progress unless they were different. They decided to try and find out if they were good enough to write their own catchy songs. Looks like they were fairly effect songwriters. Time to go but I'll be back soon. Whenever me and my friend Bob are over there we call at the nearby Wetherspoons for a slap-up. I did a salute and left.