At the Cavern with The Strangers and The Sorrals

50 years ago on Wednesday 20 June 1962 The Beatles performed twice (lunch and evening) with The Strangers and The Sorrals at the Cavern in Mathew Street, Liverpool.

The Strangers

Very little is known about The Strangers. They should not be confused with the American band with the same name (who were a back-up band for country music artist Merle Haggard) and certainly not with De Strangers, a Flemish parody act.

From what I could gather, they were probably a South African band who came to Liverpool to be successful. And not only did they share the stage with The Beatles in The Cavern Club, but they even recorded a Lennon/McCartney song that was never recorded by The Beatles: "One and One is Two", which they released in May 1964. Paul McCartney had first offered it to Billy J. Kramer, who refused it, and then to The Fourmost. They did record it (with Paul McCartney on bass) but decided not to release it.

In a Playboy interview in the 1970's, John Lennon called "One and One is Two" 'paul's attempt at writing another bad song'.

The Strangers teamed up with Mike Shannon and became "The Strangers with Mike Shannon".

The Sorrals

Originally called 'Alby and the Sorrals' and later renamed 'Alby and the Sorrels', this Liverpool band is also know under the name The Cadillacs.

The line-up was in 1962:
Keith Draper (lead),
Brian Cox (rhythm),
Dave Foley (bass)
Trevor Morris (drums)
Pete Dobson (tenor sax)

In 1961 they played at St Barnabas Church Hall, Penny Lane. The Beatles never played there because the promotors refused to pay more than £15 per band.