Shannon Macdonald
“The Unveiling of The Beatles”
A few years back I was asked to provide a painting of The Beatles (at The Cavern) in celebration of the anniversary of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr (let’s not forget Pete Best)… The Beatles as we so fondly know them… playing The Cavern (Club) 292 times.
Painted on my farm in Howell, NJ, this large conglomeration of canvas and paint would be unveiled across the ocean at International Beatleweek in Liverpool, England that summer.
I decided to create five separate paintings instead of one large painting; four of those would be about 40 inches by 50 inches. The 5th painting, which is smaller and would be the centerpiece, is The Cavern Club logo.
Given the power to “do whatever I like”… I put them in their famous Cavern-look with a lot of sweat rolling down their young skin, messy mop-top hair, and incased in their white shirts, black vest with matching slacks, and Italian boots attire – just as many of us remember them in the film where they bop up and down to “Some Other Guy”. This footage would be our introduction to, not only the “raw and savage” young Beatles playing “live”, but also the inside of The Cavern Club.
By Shannon Macdonals.