After two busy days in London, The Beatles began the long drive back to Liverpool on the morning of 23 January 1963.
They arrived back just in time for their evening performance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. However, the journey wasn’t without incident. The windscreen of their van shattered and driver Mal Evans was forced to continue driving in bitterly cold temperatures.
I do remember one incident: going up the motorway when the windscreen got knocked out by a pebble. Our great road manager Mal Evans was driving and he just put his hat backwards on his hand, punched the windscreen out completely, and drove on. This was winter in Britain and there was freezing fog and Mal was having to look out for the kerb all the way up to Liverpool.
Paul McCartney
Anthology
Anthology
When they eventually arrived at the Cavern The Beatles played on a bill with The Fourmost, Ken Dallas and the Silhouettes, and Freddie Starr and the Midnighters.
This was The Beatles’ 273rd appearance at the Cavern, and their 121st evening performance.
Last updated: 25 January 2024
Also on this day...
- 1990: Paul McCartney live: Wembley Arena, London
- 1984: UK album release: Milk And Honey by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
- 1969: Get Back/Let It Be sessions: day 14
- 1964: The Beatles live: Olympia Theatre, Paris
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
For many years now it’s been known that the group taped many of their rehearsals in the Cavern days & one such tape has surfaced back in the 1980’s. It features early versions of “I Saw Her Standing There”, “One After 909” & an unreleased instrumental titled “Catwalk”. Besides that particular tape, not another one has surfaced. It has been rumored that high end collectors have access to a January 1963 rehearsal tape that supposedly includes a version of the unreleased Lennon-McCartney original titled “Tip of My Tongue” & a early version of the Please Please Me number “Misery”. It has been also stated that a rehearsal was recorded on January 22nd, 1962 but no other details are known. Paul’s brother, Mike McCartney has stated that he recorded the band rehearsing several times and kept a private recording of the supposed rehearsals.