25 March(?) 1962
The Casbah Club
8 Haymen's Green
West Derby, Liverpool
Photographer: M. Haywood
Previously, I had given these photos of John the very vague
date of "Autumn 1961 - Spring 1962". However, the photo of
Paul recently surfaced and shed new light on the possible date.
Paul is clearly wearing his new Beno Dorn suit. According to
Mark Lewisohn, The Beatles made their public debut wearing the
suits on 24 March 1962 at the Hezwell Jazz Club. Presumably,
placing this photo post 24 March. But why does John seem to
not be wearing his suit?
Close examination shows that, in fact, John appears to be wearing
his suit jacket without the shirt and tie. Stories tell that John was
a bit reluctant to change to the suit look. Perhaps this is visual evidence
of those tales. Also, The Casbah would certainly be a more "at home"
atmosphere for the band. Perhaps John felt more casual.
In Pete Best's book, True Beginnings, a few of John photos appear
on a page telling of The Beatles last Casbah show before going to
Hamburg. The book places the date as 26 March but Mark Lewisohn
places the date as 25 March (I'm following Lewisohn's date).
Thus, it's not too far of a stretch to theorize that, for their last Casbah
show before Hamburg, someone might choose to photograph the
occasion and, of course, Pete was there so he would likely know when
these photos were taken (even if he did have the date wrong)
