50 years ago: Beatles perform at Liverpool's Cavern Club for the first time

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' first lunchtime performance at Liverpool's Cavern Club. The BBC speaks to Alex McKechnie, who was there:

"I never heard them singing one of their own songs because they were just a straight covers band at that time, as was everybody else in Liverpool.

"The standard songs that they sang - them and the other bands in Liverpool - were [by] Chuck Berry, Little Richard, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly. The sound that I very clearly remember the Beatles playing in the Cavern was a Chuck Berry riff.
Paul McCartney at The Cavern The band honed their sound and stage show in the tiny underground venue

"As well as doing the stock standards, the Beatles were a bit different because they were better at playing complicated chords. The Beatles were a bit more adventurous.

"It wasn't just the music and the singing, it was their lack of respect for the audience. At the Cavern for those first few gigs, they were quite irreverent to the audience and other people. They were sort of the first punk band. The Beatles were a law unto themselves on the stage.