The Blue Angel, also known as "The Raz" is a nightclub in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is located where Seel Street meets Berry Street in

Liverpool city centre Liverpool city centre is the commercial, cultural, financial and historical centre of Liverpool, England. The inner city districts of Vauxhall, Liverpool, Vauxhall, Everton, Liverpool, Everton, Edge Hill, Merseyside, Edge Hill, Kensington, Liv ...

. It is a venue in Liverpool in which

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and many other bands played at in the 1960s. It was historically a jazz club, but it now plays pop music.

History

The building in which the club is situated was the birthplace in 1805 of Dr William Henry Duncan and a plaque above the door commemorates this. The Beatles' original manager

Allan Williams Allan Richard Williams (21 February 1930 – 30 December 2016) was a British businessman and promoter who was the original booking agent and first manager of the Beatles. He personally drove the van to take the young band to Hamburg, Germany, in ...

was once the owner of the club and reputedly ejected Judy Garland after the local premiere of their first film '' A Hard Day's Night'' in 1964.

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (né Scanland; born 24 November 1941) is an English musician known as the drummer of the English rock band the Beatles who was dismissed immediately prior to the band achieving worldwide fame. Fired from the group in 1962 ...

's audition to join the Beatles took place in the Blue Angel on 12 August 1960. It was also where the Beatles, in 1960, auditioned for impresario

Larry Parnes Laurence Maurice Parnes (3 September 1929 – 4 August 1989) was a British pop manager and impresario. He was the first major British rock manager, and his stable of singers included many of the most successful British rock and roll singers of t ...

landing them their first tour outside Liverpool, supporting singer

Johnny Gentle John Askew (born 8 December 1936), known as Johnny Gentle, is a British pop singer best remembered for having briefly toured Scotland with the Silver Beetles (later known as the Beatles) as his backing group in 1960. Life and career John Ask ...

on a tour of Scotland. After seeing

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

performing "

Bye Bye Blackbird "Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by Jerome H. Remick and written by composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra in March 1926. Song in ...

" at the Blue Angel,

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

contracted Black as his only female client on 6 September 1963.

The Blue Angel today

The Blue Angel is especially popular with students, however the club attracts people from a wide range of ages and backgrounds, with people who attended the club in the 1990s still regularly visiting to this day. Monday nights are seen as one of the most popular nights for students to visit, and this coupled with the club holding an extended late night opening license means it is a draw with students. The club has two main floors and an outside seating area. The lower floor has DJ equipment and a dance floor, whilst the upper floor has more seating and a more bar orientated feel. One popular drink available at the club is a 'Fat Frog' made by mixing a

Smirnoff Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff produ ...

Ice, a blue WKD and an orange

Bacardi Breezer Bacardi Breezer is an alcoholic fruit-flavoured drink made by Bacardi that comes in a variety of fruit flavours: lemon, peach, lychee, pineapple, apple, ruby grapefruit, lime, orange, blackberry, watermelon, cranberry, coconut, raspberry, blueb ...

. In 2008, DJ equipment was seized from the club, following a series of complaints from local residents about noise levels, since the clientele had to smoke outside the club following the introduction of the

smoking ban Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor work ...

. The Blue Angel was banned from using its backyard. A support network, set up mainly by students and boasting a website was created in order to "Save the Raz" from closure. In 2010 the Blue Angel won the court battle to remain open and operate as normal.https://www.thefreelibrary.com/This+is+why+the+Blue+Angel+nightclub+gets+called+%27The+Raz%27%3B+If+you%27ve...-a0561716509

References

{{The Beatles, state=collapsed Music venues in Liverpool Nightclubs in Liverpool 1960 establishments in England