John, Paul, and The Quarrymen at the Cavern Club

On this day in 1958, John Lennon and Paul McCartney performed together for the first time at Liverpool's Cavern Club, billed as 'The Quarry Men Skiffle Group'. For John and Paul, it would be the first of hundreds of performances at the venue with which they would eventually become synonymous, but with a new band: The Beatles. In turn, their performances at the underground club would secure its place as one of the most historic music venues in the world.

While John and Paul were starting out in their music careers, Elvis Presley was enjoying worldwide success. This same day, Presley secured the number one spot in the UK charts with his song 'Jailhouse Rock'.

Mike McCartney describes this exciting time in music and the beginnings of Sixties culture as a 'magic era'. In Elvis & the Birth of Rock, commenting on the photographs of Lew Allen, Mike reflects on growing up with the rich influences of American musicians such as Elvis, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, and the Everly Brothers. And, as a young man growing up in Liverpool, Mike was also at the heart of the vibrant Merseybeat scene. In Mike McCartney's Early Liverpool, his photographs reveal not only the local bands such as the Beatles and his own group the Scaffold, but also the bands the city welcomed, including Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and many more.

Mike McCartney's Early Liverpool is available to pre-order now.