An original rare membership card for the 2i’s Coffee Club. It is date stamped 1 Feb 1962 on the reverse. The address is printed across the top as ’59, Old Crompton Street, London, W1.’
The 2i's Coffee Club first opened as a coffee shop in the 1950s by the Irani brothers, it changed ownership and became a notable music venue for skiffle groups and discovering new rock artists. Several groups had residency’s including The Vipers, Tommy Steele, The Vagabonds, Cliff Richard & The Drifters and more.
In Beatles folklore, the 2i’s Coffee Club is legendary for being the place where Alan William first met German promoter Bruno Koschmider. In mid-1960 Alan William drove to London to try and drum up business in the 2i’s Coffee Club in Soho. In what Williams later described as a ‘million to one chance’, sat in the 2i's on the same night as he arrived in London was Bruno Koschmider. Koschmider wanted to book UK rock ‘n roll bands to play in his club in Hamburg, William was able to supply them. Allan subsequently described the meeting as like ‘Stanley meeting Livingstone’. First he arranged with Koschmider a series of bookings for Derry And The Seniors to play in the Kaiserkeller, followed by a series of bookings for The Beatles to play at the Indra, Hamburg. Paul McCartney commented, ‘What happened was some fella came over from Hamburg wanted rock ‘n roll groups and somehow he got the idea that they were all in London at the 2i’s and someone at the 2i’s, I think, said there were also a couple of groups in Liverpool so Alan Williams became the agent for all the Liverpool groups.’ John, Paul, George, Stu and Pete were on their way…
The membership card measures 7cm x 4.5cm (2.7 inches x 1.7 inches). There is light wear to the edges and small creases around the corners, with some small marks on the reverse. The card has been signed on the front in pen. The condition is very good.