Despite the fact that the Williams story was false, it was taken up and elaborated on by writers such as Philip Norman and began to take on a life of its own. In Chet Flippo’s book ‘McCartney: The Biography’, he writes, “In the middle of a jive night at Lathom Hall in Seaforth…that was the night that Stu was attacked and kicked in the head by Teds who didn’t like the Silver Beats’ looks.”

Yet Pete Best, though confirming that John suffered a broken finger, clearly states that Stuart was never kicked in the head and was relatively unharmed.

Even more bizarre is Albert Goldman’s accusation in ‘The Lives of John Lennon’ that John was responsible for Stuart’s death. “He had gotten into a quarrel with Stu at Hamburg…suddenly John was seized by one of his fits of uncontrollable rage. He lashed out with hands and feet…when he came to his senses he looked down and saw Stu lying on the pavement.”

Goldman said that, as a result, John felt completely responsible for Stu’s death. This is complete fiction, but of such stuff, myths are made. 

After the heyday of the Mersey Sound, the venue became a Royal Navy Club and was then derelict for some time. Brian Corrigan took ownership of the building in 1989, but it was in such a bad shape that, together with his son Dean, he totally revamped the entire premises.

Brian was such an enthusiast for memorabilia of any kind – the Mersey Sound, cult movies, classic stars, that he was able to turn the venue into a unique club by decorating it with interesting, fascinating and sometimes bizarre items, all the time adding more and more memorabilia to the premises.

He is an inveterate collector who continues to accumulate memorabilia – although one major item of memorabilia was already in the venue: it still has the original stage that the Beatles performed on! There is even a Beatles bar.

The Lathom has life-size figures of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, James Dean, the Terminator, Father Christmas - and a 30ft inflatable gorilla.

Also on display are two sets of Beatles heads which Brian bought off eBay and a lock of Elvis Presley’s hair, framed, with a certificate of authenticity. He also likes old Westerns and is currently looking for a colt 45 peacemaker.

There is a large collection of memorabilia relating to the days of the Liverpool sound, photographs, tapes, videos – including the BBC documentary ‘The Mersey Sound.’

The Lathom still books some of the legendary Mersey groups and recent appearances have included the Searchers, the Merseybeats, Kingsize Taylor, the Undertakers, the Spidermen and other original bands from that incredible era.

It is commendable that one of the authentic venues where the Beatles and other original Liverpool groups appeared so regularly is still alive and kicking!

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