Jacaranda Records Ltd
Liverpool, England, United Kingdom
Address:
23 Slater St, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 4BW, UK
Introduction:
Situated on the first floor of the legendary Jacaranda Club, where the Beatles originally performed in the 1950s.THE JACARANDA CLUBThe Jacaranda's history dates back to the 1950s, when local businessman and promoter Allan Williams opened the venue as a coffee bar. The Italian espresso machine was a stylish, exciting innovation in post-war Britain. Coupled with a jukebox and live music performances, it gave coffee bars a cool and colourful atmosphere that was popular with teenagers.Unlike conventional youth clubs, often associated with schools or churches, coffee bars were free of authority figures. Teens could make a coffee bar their own, providing them with an environment to hear modern, American-influenced music, and to socialise without the watchful eyes of parents or schoolteachers.The Beatles were frequent customers, with John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe attending the nearby Liverpool Art College and Paul McCartney studying at the adjacent Liverpool Institute. After asking Williams for a chance to perform at The Jacaranda, Williams instead put them to work redecorating (their painted murals, now restored, still adorn the basement bar). As a part of the deal, John and Paul were able to use the basement as a rehearsal studio during the day to fine tune their craft and were rewarded when Allan asked to become their manager. Helping to hone their world beating act, Allan took The Beatles on their first tour of Hamburg in 1961. Towards the latter end of the year, Williams and the Beatles got into dispute over pay from their Hamburg tours and soon parted ways. 1962 was the year the Beatles signed with Brian Epstein who took them onto international stardom and the household name we now recognise.The Jacaranda itself has lived through various incarnations and has seen many changes since the 1950s. After a mysterious closure in 2011 amidst a changing Liverpool nightlife landscape, many wondered if there was a future for the iconic club. A surprise re-opening in late 2014- as well as the opening of a new record store and coffee shop in 2015- reasserted The Jacaranda's position as one of the city's finest and most interesting venues.The club consists of three floors- basement, ground floor, and first floor, each with its own unique purpose. The basement functions as a late-night club and music performance space, hosting the grass-roots of Liverpool's music community; the ground floor remains as a traditional bar, serving a wide selection of cocktails, bottled beers, and draught to a jukebox soundtrack; and the first floor contains a record store and coffee shop.The owners and staff that make up the Jacaranda's extended family are deeply passionate about music. This drives our dedication to providing music to the people of Liverpool. A devotion that began with the freewheeling ideals of post-war Liverpudlians and culminated in The Fab Four still lives on inside the cosy confines of our Slater Street home -a place to revel in the beauty of classic music and discover new and exciting sounds.
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