re: Endless Sleep - The Obituary Thread

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Allan Williams, The Beatles’ first manager, has died aged 86

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In 1958 Williams leased a former watch-repair shop at 21 Slater Street, which he converted into a coffee bar. He named the venue the Jacaranda, after an exotic species of ornamental flowering tree.

The Jac opened in September 1958 and The Beatles were frequent customers, with John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe attending Liverpool Art College nearby and Paul McCartney being at Liverpool Institute.

Asking for the chance to play the club, Williams made them redecorate. Lennon and Sutcliffe had to paint a mural for the ladies room, before playing gigs there between May and August 1960.

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Williams didn't hold onto The Beatles and saw them guided to multimillionaire fame by Brian Epstein. The story goes that when Williams signed copies of his memoirs, he would often write: "Allan Williams -- I should have known better"



Alan Williams, wife Beryl, Liverpool entertainer Lord Woodbine, Stuart Sutcliffe, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best, 1961 (John Lennon took the picture). The inscription reads: "Their names liveth for evermore"