The Beatles venue awarded special status

The venue where The Beatles played their first ever gig has been granted a special preservation order following a recommendation from the English Heritage.

The Casbah Coffee Club in Liverpool has been awarded a Grade II listed building status by the goverment to prevent the venue being knocked down.

The band performed in the converted cellar back in 1959 as The Quarrymen, and went on to play a series of gigs before the venue was shut down in 1962.

Over the years, the cellar club has been preserved and still contains murals and paintings by the band members and John Lennon's former wife, Cynthia, reports BBC News.

Culture Minister David Lammy, who granted the Grade II listed building status, said: "It is absolutely right that the club where the group first learnt their craft should be badged as an important part of our heritage, and receive the extra protection from harmful redevelopment that listed building status affords."