Thousands of Beatles fans visit the Cavern Club every year

Alan Sytner, who passed away after falling ill on holiday, founded the Cavern Club in cellars beneath Mathew Street in January 1957.

Originally a jazz bar, the club was inspired by an underground club in Paris called Le Caveau.

He sold the club in 1959 and it became a focus for the Merseybeat scene, led by The Beatles.

After leaving the city, Mr Sytner went on to form a luxury car dealership based in Nottingham.

Tourist attraction

The club's current owner, Bill Heckle, said: "This is very sad news for anyone connected to the Cavern.

"Alan had the vision to create the conditions which acted as a vehicle for all of the talent that was around in the Merseybeat era.

"You could even argue that without the Cavern the Beatles would never have gone on to achieve what they did."

John Wilson, a jazz musician who played at the Cavern when it first opened, said: "Alan always impressed me as being kind, but reserved and rather self-effacing.

"We'll never know if Merseybeat would have been born if Alan Sytner had not opened the Cavern.

"But we do know that thousands of musicians and millions of music lovers all over the world owe a great deal to his initiative and his love of jazz."