Pete Best

Rare photos of The Beatles performing in their early days at Liverpool's Cavern Club have been discovered.

The images were taken in 1961, a year before their debut single Love Me Do was released.

The Photos show Sir Paul Mccartney and John Lennon singing, with George Harrison on guitar and a partly-obscured original drummer Pete Best .

Historian Mark Lewisohn described them as " whippet-thin under-nourished lads" following their tour to Germany.

The Band , who were then aged between 18 and 20, had recently returned from performing in Hamburg, where they had been " slogging 500 stage hours in 90 days" He Said .

" So slender has this marathon made them, it's As If their heads and bodies are stranger.

" A look emphasised by the unusual clothes - Leather trousers and cotton tops. No Other photos show them dressed this way. "

Mr Lewisohn, who has written A Number of books about The Band , said The Photos showed The Beatles playing to a lunchtime or evening audience In July 1961.

" Three months from here, John and Paul Went to Paris and returned with what became known as 'The Beatle haircut'.

" Days later, Brian Epstein saw The Beatles in The Cavern , offered to become their manager and set them on a course that changed Our World . "

Pete Best was dropped from The Band in 1962 and replaced by Ringo Starr .

Source of news: bbc.com