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| Location | 8 Haymans Green, Liverpool, L12 7JG |
|---|---|
| Owner | Mona Best |
| Capacity | 300 |
| Opened | 29 August 1959 |
| Closed | 24 June 1962 |
| Website | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Casbah Club |
| Designated | 15 September 2006 |
| Reference no. | 1391759 |
The Casbah Coffee Club, officially Casbah Club, was a rock and roll music venue in the West Derby area of Liverpool, England, that operated from 1959 to 1962. Started by Mona Best, mother of early Beatles drummer Pete Best, in the cellar of the family home,[1] the Casbah was planned as a members-only club for her sons Pete and Rory and their friends, to meet and listen to the popular music of the day.[2] Mona came up with the idea of the club after watching a TV report about the 2i's Coffee Bar in London's Soho where several singers had been discovered.
The Quarrymen—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ken Brown—went to the club to arrange their first booking, to which Mona agreed, but said she needed to finish painting the club first. All four took up brushes and helped Mona to finish painting the walls with spiders, dragons, rainbows and stars. In addition to the four boys' artistic contributions, Cynthia Powell, later to become Cynthia Lennon, painted a silhouette of John on the wall, which can still be seen today. The group often played at the Casbah as other venues, like the Cavern Club, had a jazz-only policy at that time. The cellar—with its original decoration—still exists.
In 2006, Culture Minister David Lammy announced that the Bests' ex-coal cellar was to be given Grade II listed building status and a blue plaque, after being recommended by English Heritage. It was opened as a tourist attraction in Liverpool, along with McCartney and Lennon's previous homes at 20 Forthlin Road and 251 Menlove Avenue respectively.
In 2024, the Casbah was turned into holiday flats, available to rent on Airbnb.[3]
- ^ "8 Hayman's Green". Google Maps. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
BillboardPeteBestBiogwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Al-Othman, Hannah (21 August 2024). "Liverpool venue that hosted some of the Beatles' earliest gigs turned into Airbnb". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 August 2024.