Live: Morgue Skiffle Cellar, Liverpool

The Morgue Skiffle Cellar was an illegal club held in the basement of a large Victorian house at 25 Oakhill Park in the Broadgreen area of Liverpool.

The Morgue was run by 18-year-old Alan Caldwell, who was the singer with Al Caldwell’s Texans. Ringo Starr joined the group from 25 March 1959, and the group later changed their name to Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.

The Texans and the Quarrymen were among a number of local groups who played on this, the club’s opening night. The music began at 7.30pm, and 100 people crammed into the confined space which had no sanitary facilities. It was lit with a single bare lightbulb and a fluorescent strip light.

The Morgue was closed by police on 1 April 1958 and, despite efforts to continue it surreptitiously, it closed for good on 22 April.

Live music was held on Tuesday and Thursdays. The Quarrymen may have played additional dates during the Morgue’s short life, but reliable information is not available.