Dec. 25, 1963 - Something culturally significant seems to be happening in a disused fruit cellar in Liverpool, England. The place is called The Cavern. It is scarcely noticeable from the street, but from its depths emerged The Beatles (pictured), who rocketed to fame in Britain this year. The club also launched the Dakotas, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and a string of other loud, long-haired, guitar-playing young extroverts with a strong beat and amplifiers. These groups have gripped the imagination of teenagers all over Britain and in places beyond, with music known as the “Mersey sound,” named after the murky river that flows past Liverpool into the sea. The bands have also generated a cult of specific clothes and haircuts, and they are responsible for a craze of girlish screaming that Frank Sinatra might have envied 20 years ago. The headmasters of several local schools have threatened boys with suspension for coming to classes with their hair in bangs almost to the eyebrows. The Cavern is not the only home for these famous and fame-seeking groups. There are 200 noisy little clubs like it, according to city authorities, all packed in a rundown neighborhood of warehouses and market buildings behind the docks.
Comments