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The former owner of the Cavern Club in Liverpool, Ray McFall, who helped launch The Beatles' career by booking one of their first gigs, has died.
McFall, who was 88, first began running The Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1959. He first booked The Beatles for a lunchtime session in February 1961.
Speaking later on, he said: "The Beatles were sensational and I was smitten. Completely. Absolutely. Instantly. I stood at the side, between the pillars, about halfway up the hall, and as soon as they started playing I was captivated by them. I said to Bob: 'What other lunchtimes have they got? We must have them regularly.'"
Speaking to the BBC, Cavern Club director Jon Keats said, "It was Ray who opened it up to those early Merseybeat sessions, which led to the whole Merseybeat explosion. It was completely his vision that moved the club forward, with what turned into the huge Merseybeat explosion and The Beatles' success and Gerry and the Pacemakers and all the main bands. He changed The Cavern completely and allowed the rock'n'roll into the club."
In 1966, McFall was declared bankrupt and the club was forced to close - but the legacy of the music scene he created lived on.
