One of the very first clubs that the Beatles played in has been given Grade II Listed heritage status by the British government’s English Heritage conservation body this Friday.

The surburban basement in the home of original Beatles drummer Pete Best was converted into The Casbah Coffee Club in 1959 by Best’s mother, Mona. At it’s opening in April that year, it was John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison who hit the stage as The Quarrymen. They were a last-minute replacement for scheduled headliners, the Les Stewart Quartet. They went on to play the Casbah many times after Best joined and the band was renamed to the Beatles, until the club closed in 1962.

That was also the year when Best was replaced by drummer Ringo Starr and the Beatles rocketed to fame.

The club played a big role in the band’s beginnings and its new heritage status means it has “special architectural or historic interest” and cannot be demolished.

Bob Hawkins of English Heritage said the Casbah was “in a remarkably well-preserved condition … with wall and ceiling paintings of spiders, dragons, rainbows and stars by original band members along with 1960s musical equipment, amplifiers and original chairs.”

“We know of no other survival like it in Liverpool or indeed anywhere else,” he said.






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