Come With Me to the Casbah

December 17, 1960

The year is rapidly approaching it's end and the Beatles are in a very different situation from when it began.  At the beginning of this year, they were really nothing more than a hobby.  They end it with a very wide repertoire, an exciting stage presence, and also very importantly, exposure to some new styles and ways of thinking.

So it is appropriate that today, the first place they should play on their return to their home country is the Casbah, the coffee club that Mona Best established in the basement of their Victorian Mansion in Hayman's Green.  She founded the club as much to satisfy her own desire to be among young people as to provide an outlet for the musical ambitions of her son, Pete.  (In fact, she would become pregnant by the Beatles friend and designated road manager Neil Aspinall, but that comes later.)

Incidently, today is the day that my Beatles tribute band (the Buntles) returns to the stage of our Alma Mater, AJs Music Cafe in Ferndale, Michigan, USA.  See the link to the right.