Site of early Beatles gig protected

A suburban basement in Liverpool where the Beatles played some of their earliest gigs was given protected heritage status by the British government Friday.

The Casbah Coffee Club, created in the home of original Beatles drummer Pete Best, was given Grade II Listed status on the recommendation of conservation body English Heritage. The designation means the venue, which still contains original artwork and musical equipment, is of “special architectural or historic interest” and cannot be demolished.

Best’s mother, Mona, created the club in the basement and coal cellar of her Victorian house on the edge of Liverpool after reading about the “beat” clubs popular with teenagers in London. John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison -- then billed as the Quarrymen -- played at the club’s opening in April 1959 as a last-minute replacement for scheduled headliners, the Les Stewart Quartet.