Well shake it up baby now!

The Cavern Club was by far my favorite stop in Liverpool or in all of England for that matter (though the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London is an extremely close contender). I still get the chills thinking about it. The Magical Mystery Tour bus, the tour where I got all the other pictures, dropped us off at the club, which is kind of in a back street of the main city center. We hopped off and instantly I was struck with what I was seeing. The neon red letters that have called music fans since the late 1950s were still blazing above the door that leads down to the cavern. There are plenty of pictures of the boys in front of this sign and the line of girls waiting to hear them play "Twist and Shout." Once we entered, we trapised down three or four flights of stairs to the underground club. Hot (comparatively speaking, we are in England, mind you), full of people, with the sound of music playing, it was the closest I have ever felt to The Beatles.

Except for the absence of the coffee shop that Cilla Black ran during the 1960s, the addition of artifacts and a shop, The Cavern Club looked exactly like I had seen in pictures. Standing next to the stage where The Fab Four played 274 times before they were fab was absolutely incredible and I just stood there in silence gazing at the place where it all started.

The Cavern is extremely significant for a couple of reasons. Brian Epstein, then an upstart record-store manager and hopeful band manager, heard The Beatles play at this club in 1962 for the very first time. He was instantly hooked by their tight performance skills and friendly but cheeky charisma. After a bit of signing, Mr. Epstein became Brian and The Beatles were well on their way to becoming international music icons. In addition, The Cavern is responsible for compiling their huge following in Liverpool and in some cases English cities and towns well outside of it. Regular Cavern-goers referred to The Beatles during their Cavern days as "their boys." Well, hate to break it to you ladies, but they are also my boys and millions of other peoples' boys now.

The Cavern Club was absolutely wonderful. It's free entry most days of the week, except Thursdays and the weekend I think, with a small cafe, a souvenir shop, and something called the Cavern lounge. The resident Beatles tribute band of Liverpool plays there every Saturday evening on the stage where the originals made their mark. It's an awesome place, a true pilgrimage for any Beatles fan.