The Cavern Club Today
In April 1984 the club was taken over by Liverpool F.C. player Tommy Smith in association with Royal Life. Occupying almost 50% of the original site, it was re-built with many of the same bricks that had been used in the original club. The new design was to resemble the original as closely as possible. This was a difficult period of massive economic and political change in and around Liverpool and the club only survived until 1989, when it came under financial pressures and closed for 18 months. In 1991, two friends — school teacher Bill Heckle and Liverpool cabbie Dave Jones — reopened The Cavern. They still run the club today and are now the longest-running owners in its history. Despite being a world-famous tourist spot, the club continues to function primarily as a live music venue. The music policy varies from '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s classic pop music to indie, rock and modern chart music.
On 14 December 1999, former Beatle Paul McCartney returned to the New Cavern Club stage to play his last gig of 1999 publicising his new album, Run Devil Run. The Cavern Club is still open as one of the UK's most famous venues. It has around 40 live bands performing every week; both tribute and original bands, although the majority perform their own material. The back room of the Cavern is the most frequently used location for touring acts and ticketed events, recently playing host to The Wanted, Adele and Jessie J. The venue also plays host to young up-and-coming groups playing original material. The venue has recently outsourced its new music promotions to Jar Music.
The front room of the Cavern is the main tourist attraction, where people come to have their photograph taken on the famous Cavern stage, with the names of the bands who played there written on the back wall. This room hosts live music from 4pm to midnight Monday to Thursday, 12pm to close on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with various acts playing famous songs from the past and present. Between November 2005 and September 2007, the Cavern front room played host to the Cavern Showcase, an organisation and event started by 60s star Kingsize Taylor, his wife Marga, and best friend Wes Paul. The night took place every Sunday and featured original 60s bands such as The Mojos and The Undertakers. The Cavern is also used as a tour warm-up venue with semi-secret gigs announced at the last moment. The Arctic Monkeys did this is in October 2005, as well as many others before them, such as Travis and Oasis.
In November 2008 a campaign to have Gary Glitter's brick removed from the wall of fame was successful, but was noted by a brass plaque erected near where it was. The plaque informs the reader that the bricks of two former Cavern Club performers (Glitter and Jonathan King) have been removed.
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Famous quotes containing the words cavern, club and/or today:
“If the stars that move together as one, disband,
Flying like insects of fire in a cavern of night,
Pipperoo, pippera, pipperum . . . The rest is rot.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“In another year I’ll have enough money saved. Then I’m gonna go back to my hometown in Oregon and I’m gonna build a house for my mother and myself. And join the country club and take up golf. And I’ll meet the proper man with the proper position. And I’ll make a proper wife who can run a proper home and raise proper children. And I’ll be happy, because when you’re proper, you’re safe.”
—Daniel Taradash (b. 1913)
“At times it seems that the media have become the mainstream culture in children’s lives. Parents have become the alternative. Americans once expected parents to raise their children in accordance with the dominant cultural messages. Today they are expected to raise their children in opposition to it.”
—Ellen Goodman (20th century)