Paul McCartney visits The Cavern

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The following report indicates that Paul McCartney visited The Cavern Club in Liverpool, on October 25, 1968. This date is unlikely, as Paul and Linda were supposed to be holidaying in New York on this date.

From The Beatles Bookstore:

It was 25th October 1968 and I had paid my usual Friday visit to the hairdressers and arrived at the club mid-morning to start work. Dad was stocking the Top Bar when I arrived.

“We’ve had a visitor,” he said.

“Who was it?” I asked.

“Paul McCartney,” he said.

“So I’ve missed him?” To say I was disappointed doesn’t come close.

“Don’t worry, he’s coming back,” Dad assured me. “You finish stocking the bar and put some champagne on ice. I’m going to the photography shop to buy a camera.”

Dad walked across North John Street to Photo Optics in Dale Street. He had to spin the photographer a yarn that he wanted to take photographs of a group in the club and asked if he’d come over and set up the camera so he wouldn’t have to do anything but take photos.

Paul had just walked into the club and out of the blue, while Dad was stocking the Top Bar ready for the evening.

Recognising him instantly, Dad held out his hand.

“Hi, Alf Geoghegan, the Cavern.”

Paul shook his hand and replied, “Hi, Paul McCartney, the Cavern. I’m going over to the Wirral to deliver a record player to Ruth, my stepsister, and I’d like to come back later. I’ve got my girlfriend in the car and I’d like to show her the Cavern, on one condition – you don’t tell the press.”

“You’ve got it,” Dad said. “Would you mind if we took some photographs?”

“No, that’s fine, I’ll be back in about an hour.”

Dad locked the main door to prevent any visitors wandering in. We gathered by the bar where Dad offered them a drink and proceeded to open the champagne.

“I’ll do that,” Linda said. “I’m a good bartender.” She took over and served the champagne.

Dad made a toast: “To Paul and the Cavern.”

He asked Paul again if he could take some photographs and was about to pick up the camera, when Linda said, “I’ll do that, I’m a good photographer.”

She picked up the camera and after altering all the settings started to take the shots. Dad was afraid she’d messed up the camera!

The article is an excerpt from a book written by Debbie Greenberg :

As a teenager Debbie Greenberg was spending far too much time at the Cavern Club in her home town of Liverpool. It was already the most famous music club in the world, where she had been dazzled by the Beatles’ debut performance and had witnessed their rise to stardom for two years before watching the local heroes leave home.

Then in 1966, after the previous owner declared bankruptcy, her father asked her out of the blue if she thought it would be a good idea to take over the club. It was an offer she couldn’t refuse. She’d been a Cavern fanatic since it was a jazz club, hardly missing a lunchtime or evening rock session until its closure a few weeks before – amid mass protests by Liverpool youth.

Now she was suddenly part of a new family business, faced with the task of helping to breathe new life into a dilapidated rock ‘n’ roll shrine and build on the legacy of the legendary Mersey Beat.

This first-hand account of her ten years frequenting and eventually helping to run the original Cavern Club is the authentic inside story of the Beatles launch pad, full of triumphs and failures – and surprise celebrity encounters.

Richly illustrated with dozens of photos, posters and press clips.

Last updated on January 2, 2022