WE HAD A TREMENDOUS NIGHTS ENTERTAINMENT AT MERSEY RATS WITH SO MANY GOOD BANDS AND JAM BANDS. Thanks to Still Standing, Francesca Davies and friends, The Bizz, The fabulous Dominoes & Arthur Baker joined the Dominoes for a few numbers. Next was Faron and his band. Faron's brother Jimmy was in the house visiting from America. Next were Howe's That and Lee Curtis joined them and brought the house down, what a voice! Everyone had such a great night dancing and I don't think anyone was left sitting down. Next week we have 2 visiting bands from the States.

MESSAGE TO PAULINE RIMMER OF WIRRAL from Mave: On behalf of Mersey Rats we would like to thank you for your wonderful gift of the 4 tickets to the Greenroom show for Mike Penders Searchers. We gave them away in last night's raffle. The people who won were delighted. The raffle made £114 and that was fantastic. As you know the money raised by Mersey Rats is given to the Imagine Appeal at Alder Hey Hospital Baby Unit. Thank you so much for your generosity. Mave

Stan Johnson and Lathom Hall owner Brian Corrigan were interviewed recently on Radio Merseyside recalling Stan's days with one of the first Merseybeat bands The Hytones. Owner Brian Corrigan gives a fascinating insight into the history of  The Lathom, one of the few remaining original Beatles Venues and the place where Stuart Sutcliffe incurred the dreadful head injury, which eventually led to his premature death.

Update: Stan has admonished me for misspelling the Hightones, it should be The Hytones. Here's Stan on the right in the late 50s.

Every week the stars of "the Mersey Sound" can be heard jamming at the Lathom. Here is a glimpse of what you can expect when you visit this Fab venue. The fabulous Undertakers popped in August and rocked the joint.

History of The Lathom

The Beatles played the Lathom Hall way back in 1960 and on the 14th May Crosby promoter Brian Kelly  booked them as The Silver Beets. Also on the bill that night were The Dominoes and The Deltones with a ticket price of 3 Shillings and Sixpence. They made a total of 14 appearances over the next months, before leaving for their historic journey to Hamburg. 

The hall is a hidden gem and a unique shrine to the age of Rock’n’Roll. It boasts an amazing collection of memorabilia and décor from the golden period of rock through the Merseybeat era of the early 60s and beyond.

Visiting the Lathom

Entrance is from £1, with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. As well as the feb music and the amazing memorabilia, there’s a large dance floor, ample comfortable seating and the drinks are reasonably priced. If you’re either a native of Liverpool, or simply a visitor looking for the genuine article – don’t hesitate to pay The Lathom & Mersey Rats a visit.

Contact Details:

For enquiries regarding booking the venue, please call Brian Corrigan on 0151 928 6378

For Mersey Rats contact Dave Jamieson on 01942 601359

or email them on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Lathom Website

Click here to find out "What's On?"

Lathom Girls Get The Vapours!!!!

What happens when four good looking young lads with mop top haircuts climb on stage and start hammering out vintage Rock' n' Roll? Well, the same thing as happened in 1961 when the Original Beatles played at this famous venue. Over for a tour in the UK, were The Juke Box Beatles who showed us how the music is played in Puerto Rico and boy did they "kick ass". What was far more disconcerting, was the health of the Lathom Girls, who were having the vapours as the Bass player jumped in the audience and starting dancing with the girls, Hofner guitar poised in a menacing position. The St Johns Ambulance were called, but fortunately the girls eventually recovered and calmed down. Talk of Kidnapping the drummer in the boot of Sheila's car were swiftly dismissed as common sense prevailed. The show also featured some of the great heroes of the Merseybeat Faron, Geoff Nugent, Nick Crouch, Sam Hardie and Ken Shalliker to mention just a few.

That great native American Bobby Cortes over from NYC showed us some excellent guitar work. All in all, a superb night. Watch out for Arty's drum solo. Hope you enjoy the videos...