Beatlemania... finally! after 45 years Cuba goes mad on Fab 4.

Beatlemania... 45 years late: Cubans go mad for Fab Four and open replica Cavern decades after Castro's ban

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Last updated at 10:51 AM on 9th August 2011

Their songs are as famous now as they were 45 years ago.

But while Beatles fans may have flocked to the Cavern Club in Liverpool, crossed the zebra crossing outside Abbey Road and played every album hundreds of times, one country missed out on the fun.

Now, though, Cuba is catching up, albeit a little bit late.

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We all drink at the Yellow Submarine: Surrounded by pictures of The Beatles, a couple enjoy a drink at the bar in Havana that pays tribute to the band

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Rocking on: A band perform at the club as groups watch. Often there are mass singalongs of Beatles songs, and dancing breaks out

In the capital city Havana, a new club has opened, named the Yellow Submarine ('Submarino Amarillo'), to celebrate everything to do with the band.

Such an act during the band's heyday may have led to countless arrests as dictator Fidel Castro cracked down on anything English, claiming it was therefore American.

The Beatles look and music did not sit well with the authorities and countless people recall stories of snatching a listen to whatever songs they could lay their hands on.

Penny Lane: Fans wait outside the bar, which is part run by the Cuban government to try to broaden the city's nightlife

FIDEL CASTRO CHANGES HIS TUNE

Fidel Castro's government frowned on Western music as a 'decadent' influence in the decades after his 1959 Cuban Revolution.

Many Cubans recall being harassed for wearing long hair or listening to rock and pop music from Europe or the United States.

But over the past decade, Castro went to great lengths to show that times have changed.

In 2000, he appeared at an homage to John Lennon  - and he attended a concert by the anti-Establishment band Manic Street Preachers the following year.

But with the opening of the Yellow Submarine, fans have a chance to listen to their favourite songs being played live.

Last weekend, queues formed outside the club to hear the house band play hits including Dear Prudence and Let It Be.

And as the music plays, there are guitars and Beatles lyrics on the walls of the bright yellow and blue interior.

There were also mass singalongs during the biggest hits as fans of all ages turned up at the door - with some experiencing something they missed out on their youth.

One fan told local newspaper the Havana Journal: 'You don’t understand. This music, it used to be banned.'

Despite the fan's happiness at the venue's opening, it does still have elements of the dictatorship hanging over it.

The club is owned by the Cultural Ministry, who charge $2.50 for entry, while all the images of John, Paul, Ringo and George are used without official licensing. 

The bar staff also have to wear black vests.

The government was partly behind the project as they try to reopen closed spaces and broaden the city's nightlife.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023850/Beatle-mania--40-years-late-Cubans-mad-Fab-Four-open-replica-cavern-decades-Castros-ban.html#ixzz1UXG2lUzC