Beatles Nightclub Hit By Blaze

Drummer Ringo Starr sat in on one of his early sets with the band at the Kingsway club in Southport, England in 1962 when he covered for a sick Pete Best.

The nightclub has since gone down in Beatles legend - but it was ravaged by flames on Monday night (06Sep10) as around 50 firefighters battled to stop the blaze.

Onlooker Andrew Brown tells the BBC, "The fire really took hold of the top floor and the third floor wall collapsed on to the road outside, (drawing) a lot of gasps from the crowd. It was very dramatic. The fire was really ripping through the building."

The property has been derelict since 2006 when it was closed down and earmarked for demolition.