 THE Jacaranda bar, in Liverpool's Slater Street, is to receive an illustrious national award. The venue where the formative Beatles played some of their earliest gigs is to be one of the first establishments nominated as one of Britain's Pubs in Time. Devised by the London School of Economics and supported by the Campaign For Real Ale, it is one out of only 15 pubs nationwide chosen as inaugural candidates to display a plaque to be unveiled in the cellar area where the then Silver Beetles made about a dozen performances between May and August, 1960. The person who booked them was the then owner of The Jacaranda, Allan Williams, who became known as The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away. Now 75, Mr Williams will perform the ceremony on Thursday, February 23. Two other nominated pubs with a contemporary musical connection are the Clissold Arms, in Muswell Hill, in London, where Ray and Dave Davies of legendary '60s band The Kinks first performed and the Star Inn, Guildford, where veteran punk band the Stranglers - then the Guildford Stranglers - made their debut. One of the organisers of the scheme is 49-year-old Simon Davies, a visiting fellow at the LSE. "The idea came up when we were all sitting in the Three Tuns the LSE students' bar, bemoaning the loss of the country's historic pubs and that there was nothing in place to commemorate where relevant events of historical interest may have occurred," explained Mr Davies, who is also currently working on the Government's contentious identity card project. "The purpose is to tell the public that the national narrative can be told through its public houses and I personally believe that every public house has its own tale to tell." By the end of next year, they hope to have 100 pubs sporting the special circular plaques which are made of perspex with laser engraved words on the back giving the reason for the award. "I'm sure that there will be at least two or three other Liverpool pubs among them because there are so many in the city which have a historical significance. It has to be said too that since we started the project - which was only in November - the level of enthusiasm for it from people in Liverpool - not only from Camra, but ordinary people too - has been simply extraordinary." Mr Davies, who is hoping to attend the Jacaranda ceremony, suggested that Daily Post readers may want to nominate some of their own suggestions to him on s.g.davies@LSE.co.uk for future consideration. He added: "We don't want to just focus on pubs with specific national or international connections. They can be significant for reasons of local history as well." mikechapple@dailypost.co.uk Toasting legends of history - the roll-call of pubs that saw the beginnings of great events >>> | 
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