Message in a bottle in Preston recalls Fab Four

A message in a bottle has sparked a musical mystery dating back 53 years.
Message in a bottle found in Evoque, PrestonMessage in a bottle found in Evoque, Preston
Message in a bottle found in Evoque, Preston

Workmen at Evoque night club in Church Street, Preston, found a bottle in the depths of the building.

Inside was a note dated October 13, 1964 from a B Rooney and a S Barton.

They added: “The birth of the Beatles.”

The Beatles.The Beatles.
The Beatles.
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The bottle was found by Neil Makwana, who does repairs and maintenance for the club.

Within the back corridors running around Evoque and underneath a staircase the bottle was uncovered during some building inspections.

Manager Leigh Sweetman asked photographer Jon Andrews to come down to the club and bring his camera.

Jon said that in the pitch black crawl space underneath the stairs he got to work.

Message in bottle found behind wall in Evoque, PrestonMessage in bottle found behind wall in Evoque, Preston
Message in bottle found behind wall in Evoque, Preston
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He said: “With a DSLR in one hand and my phone’s flashlight on to light the scene I got to work to get some images of the scene without disturbing it any more than needed.

“From this I then did a quick search on Google to see if I could find any trace of the S. Barton and B. Rooney but couldn’t find anything definitive on either of them. We then reached out on Facebook and were contacted both by an employee and the grand children of Mr Rooney.

“B. Rooney and S. Barton had left the message at age 24 whilst laying some foundation work for the Top Rank ballroom.”

The Beatles played Preston twice – in 1962 and 1963 at the Public Hall.

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