The Beatles live: Pavilion Theatre, Liverpool

This was The Beatles’ only live appearance at the Pavilion Theatre, which was situated on Lodge Lane in Liverpool.

The group shared a bill with the Royal Waterford Showband, who flew in from Ireland for the engagement. The event was promoted by local variety agent Jim Gretty, and was The Beatles’ only live appearance at the theatre, known locally as the “Pivvy”. They were paid £5 for their appearance.

The Pavilion Theatre was better known as a striptease venue, although The Quarrymen did take part in skiffle contests there in the late 1950s. It was after one such event that drummer Colin Hanton left the group.

I left the Quarrymen after playing a booking at the Pavilion Theatre in Lodge Lane. We had drunk a few beers during the interval and an argument started on the way home on the bus. I got off to catch another bus to take me home to Woolton and somehow or other that was that, they never contacted me again to ask me to play. I saw John a few times and he told me that they had got a drummer called Pete, which must have been Pete Best. After that I lost touch completely. I put my drums away and never played them until we got together to practise for the 40th anniversary at St Peter’s in 1995!

The Pavilion Theatre opened in 1908. It was refurbished in 1933 and again in 1960, and in 1961 it was converted for use as a bingo hall. The building was destroyed by fire in March 1986, and a new bingo hall was subsequently built on the site.