Does anybody know how long the lunchtime concert in the Cavern usually took?
Okay, Bobber, I checked the library yesterday. No love. I checked Cynthia's book
John, Elizabeth Partridge's book on John, and Ray Coleman's book
Lennon. None of them contained the anecdote which I know I read somewhere recently. It describes a young office worker getting ready for a cavern session, rushing over there, and returning to her desk before the boss got too mad. Since I couldn't find it in any of the previous books, I assume it must be in Goldman's
Lives of John Lennon. Unfortunately, that book is in a different library.
Ray Coleman did have an interesting anecdote from a former Cavern girl, now the manager of the Beatles store in Liverpool. According to her, the Cavern sessions began at noon. She and her girlfriends would get ready to leave about 11:45 a.m. Depending on what ferry they made, they could get there shortly after 12 or, if they missed the first ferry, they would get there at 12:40 p.m. The woman is quoted as describing it was "worth it". This blows my 45-minute session theory. I can't imagine all that work would be "worth it" for a 45-minute session if they only caught the last 5 minutes. Therefore I assume that the Beatles must have been on at least until 1 p.m., possibly longer.
I'll see if I can find that interview with the former office worker. She did give the exact time that she had to be back at her desk. I'm pretty sure it was probably 2 p.m., particularly if the cavern sessions began at noon.
Good luck! I really want to hear your results. Cheers!