A paragraph in Philip Norman's book Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation describes the Cavern:
"Underneath the warehouse at 10 Matthew Street, in 1960, could be found the Cavern Jazz Club. It's entrance was a hatchway, under a single naked lightbulb. A flight of eighteen stone steps turned at the bottom into three arched, interconnecting brick tunnels. The center tunnel was the main club area, with a stage against the intter wall and an audience of wooden chairs. In the nearer tunnel, the money was taken/ in the furhter one, beyond obscuring pillars, you danced. The best British jazz bands performed down there, in an atmosphere pervaded by damp and mold and the aroma of beer slops and small, decaying mammals and the cheeses that were kept in the adjoining cellar." -Page 108
Ray McFall, the owner of the Cavern, was a dedicated jazz fan, but was quick to notice of the skyrocketing popularity of rock and roll and was was quick to begin incorperating rock and roll into the Cavern's schedule. The first rock band to regularly play at the Cavern was called the Blue Genes which played an odd fusion of rock and jazz. It was through Bob Wooler, a friend of the Beatles, who persuaded McFall to give the Beatles a try, and on the first night some sixty extra customers showed up. The Blue Genes were completely overshadowed, and the Beatles become regulars at the Cavern Club from that time on.
-All information found in Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation by Philip Norman
