 LIVERPOOL'S immortal Cavern Club celebrated its 50th birthday in style yesterday by announcing a string of similar clubs will open across the globe. Buenos Aires, Adelaide and Tokyo already have their own versions of the Cavern Club. But the influence of the Mathew Street venue will spread even further after owners confirmed they had inquiries from 42 countries about opening Cavern Clubs in exotic destinations, including Dubai and Shanghai. The new venues were just part of a raft of plans designed to move the Cavern business model forward in the 21st century. But the glory and magic of the original club, which first opened its doors in 1957, was not forgot-ten in yesterday's celebrations. When it first became known as the place to be, the Cavern attracted queues of young people who lined up outside its famous doors clamouring to get inside. Now, for the first time since it was reopened, fans will be able to clearly see where the first entrance to the club used to be. The Cavern was filled in during 1973 and finally demolished in 1982 but it was re-opened on part of the same site in 1984 using reclaimed bricks from the original building. The club's original door, which became the new venue's emergency exit when it was rebuilt, was unveiled yesterday as a piece of public art. Cavern co-owner Dave Jones said: "This will help clarify once and for all where the entrance to the original Cavern was, what it looked like, and its relationship to the Cavern today." One side of the artwork reveals what the door looked like, while the other side shows photographs of people waiting to get inside along with a picture of The Beatles. Yesterday's 13-hour VIP party started with a performance from the Merseysippi Jazz Band who were the first band to play the Cavern when it opened. The celebrations featured more than 30 live bands across the night which paid tribute to The Beatles as well as some of the new bands who still play at the club. Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were invited along with a host of Merseyside music greats, but the former Beatles were unable to make it due to prior commitments. In the coming months, the Cavern Club will draw in several big names with a series of high-profile "Legends" concerts. Bo Diddley will play at the venue on June 9 with more stars to be revealed in the next few weeks. To commemorate the half- century, a double CD will also be released by one of the country's major record labels. It will feature some of the bands and tracks that made the Cavern a world-famous venue. More plans to market the Cavern are set to be unveiled in the near future. Co-owner Bill Heckle said: "We are very proud to have actually owned the Cavern twice as long as any other previous owner. "It's not a tourist trap, it's a real, live, dirty, smelly club as it always was. "We're committed to attracting new regional, national and international talent to come and play here for an experience that is absolutely magic. "We have to pay tribute to the Beatles because without them the Cavern would have been confined to the dustbin. "We are very, very proud of Liverpool and we will continue to unashamedly market the city all over the world." John would have loved this, says his sister >>> | 
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