Charity event at The Cavern celebrates 60 years since legendary meeting of Elvis and The Beatles

The legendary first, and only, meeting between Elvis and The Beatles is being celebrated in a charity event at The Cavern Club this month.

Wednesday August 27 will be 60 years to the day since the two music giants came face-to-face at Elvis’ Los Angeles home.

And the Liverpool branch of The Official Elvis Presley Fan Club is marking the anniversary with a night combining their best-loved songs.

Elvis & The Beatles – 60 Years On will feature six singers performing an incredible setlist of hits from two of the greatest artists of all time, plus a DJ playing even more tunes with a video montage backdrop.

The special one-off gig is in aid of Zoe’s Place Liverpool, and all acts are giving their time free, so every penny will go to the children’s hospice charity.

Neil Lancaster, who has run the Liverpool Elvis Fan Club for the last 13 years, says it’s a milestone they couldn’t miss – and there was only ever one venue on their wish list.

He said:

“I could have picked other places but I just didn’t want to, it had to be The Cavern. I actually tried to do an event for the 50^th anniversary but I went to the Cavern too late to book. This time I contacted them two years and two months ago and I asked if we could book for August 27, 2025.

“It’s the Wednesday after International Beatle Week, it’s the exact date of the anniversary, and August is also when Elvis Week is celebrated in Memphis.”

The meeting between Elvis and The Beatles, at his home in Perugia Way, Bel Air, was arranged between managers Brian Epstein and Colonel Tom Parker.

By August 1965, The Beatles were on their American tour and Elvis was filming one of his movies, Paradise Hawaiian Style.

There was, says Neil, a strict understanding that there would be no press, no photographs and no recordings but some details have emerged over the decades since.

“The Beatles were on the up at the time and it’s fair to say that Elvis was on the down. Presley hadn’t done a live concert at that point since March ‘61, so four years, although he was making a lot of films. Between ‘61 and ‘67 he was making three movies a year and was the highest paid actor in Hollywood in the 60s.

“Elvis was always into new music, and The Beatles really wanted to meet him because he was the ultimate hero. They loved all the rockers, like Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, but Lennon especially adored Elvis. If you look at early photos of Lennon and McCartney, they’ve got the Elvis quiff and sideburns.

“When he talked about the meeting, McCartney said they were totally in awe of him but they had a great evening. He said it was the first time they’d ever seen anybody with a colour telly with a remote control!”

As a tribute to the 60^th anniversary, and the huge influence of both artists, Neil decided to put together a line-up that doesn’t feature impersonators but instead has performers paying homage in their own style.

“We’ll have a house band playing for two hours, and six singers including me doing five songs each, which will be a mix of Elvis and Beatles. Then we’ll all come together for an encore of Suspicious Minds and Hey Jude followed by a disco with Elvis and The Beatles alternating on a big video screen.”