Ray McFall

Andrew Raymond "Ray" McFall (born November 26, 1926 in Garston (Merseyside) , Liverpool , England - † January 8, 2015 ) was a British businessman and music organizer. He became known as the owner of the Cavern Club in Liverpool and an early supporter of the Beatles .

A bookkeeper by trade , McFall counted Alan Synter among his clients, who had opened the Cavern Club as a jazz club in 1957 . At times, McFall even sat at the club's cash desk. When Synter got into financial difficulties, McFall bought the club from him for ₤ 2,750 in October 1959 .

At first, McFall continued to rely on jazz , but soon realized that the future of his club belonged to beat music . On May 25, 1960, Rory Storm & the Hurricanes performed at the Cavern Club with Ringo Starr on drums . With Bob Wooler as stage manager, local beat groups were hired, including the Beatles with Pete Best as drummer, who had their first of a total of 292 appearances in the Cavern Club on February 9, 1961.

With Beatlemania, the Cavern Club moved into the international spotlight. Radio Luxemburg broadcast weekly from the club, McFall set up a recording studio and founded his own record label Cavern Sound Recording.

But the maintenance of the club became too expensive. Debt forced McFall to close the club and declare bankruptcy on February 27, 1966. He moved to Balham, London and sold insurance, calculating machines and office furniture.

Ray McFall died on January 8, 2015. He had been married to Shirley Wilkins since 1952. They had three sons and three daughters together.

Web links

• Ray McFall at Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Ray McFall-obituary . The Telegraph , January 8, 2015
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Allmusic, see web links
3. ↑ 1960s on the pages of the Cavern Club (English)
4. ^ Cavern Club owner Ray McFall dies . BBC , January 8, 2015 (English)
5. ↑ Legendary Cavern Club owner Ray McFall has died . Liverpool Echo, January 8, 2015