The Casbah Coffee Club

There's a whole history here that I won't bore you with, but basically, Pete Best was the original drummer.  His mom started a Rock and Roll club in the basement of her house.  The Quarrymen, who later became The Beatles, were the house band there.  John, Paul, George and Pete all painted the rooms and everything's still intact.  Kaz is not a Beatle fan, but even she was impressed by the place and the tour we received.  She and I were the only one's on the tour so it was sort of like just showing up at someone's house and hanging out.


The original stage, which is maybe about eight feet wide.  Paul McCartney painted the stripes on the ceiling.


When the bands outgrew the tiny stage, they moved to the room next door.
The crowds were so thick that the fans were inches from the band and it got scary for them, so the metal railings were added.  It's still a tiny, tiny stage.


John Lennon carved this in the ceiling with his pocketknife.


Rory Storm of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes was too tall for the short ceiling and his head went through it.
 


The band painted all the stars on the ceiling.


Cynthia Lennon painted John on the wall.


John painted this "Aztec" design on the ceiling.


Our tour guide was Roag Best, Pete's half-brother.  And it turns out, his dad is Neil Aspinall who was part of the closest inner-circle of the Beatles.  I know it wouldn't mean much to anyone reading this, but it's a name I've known for years... I was like "Ok, I'm standing here talking to Neil Aspinall's son... huh????"

After Liverpool, we headed south to Abingdon (near Oxford)

Abingdon