John meets Paul

John meets Paul

It's late afternoon on a Saturday afternoon in June in a suburb of Liverpool. A summer fete is coming to an end. On the stage a young band is playing an American pop song, 'Come go with me'.

The band is called The Quarrymen, after the boys' school, Quarry Grammar. It's members are all sixteen years old.

A tall, very thin young man sings and plays guitar. Though very shortsighted, he doesn’t wear glasses on stage. So he stands close to the microphone and stares out into the crowd.

‘Who is that boy?’ people whisper.

His name is John Lennon.

Paul

Fifteen-year old Paul McCartney is in the audience. He is only there because his friend has promised, ‘there’ll be lots of girls.’ That’s why Paul is wearing his best clothes: white jacket and drainpipe trousers. But all the girls seem to be with other boys.

The band aren’t too good, either. But there’s something about John Lennon that gets Paul’s attention:

‘There was a guy up on the stage wearing a checked shirt,’ he remembers many years later. ’He was singing a song I loved, the Del-Vikings' Come Go With Me - and he changed the words! I liked that!. And thought he was singing well.’

The young musician also notices something about John's guitar. It's slightly out of tune.

What do you play?

The Quarrymen finish playing and come down from the stage. A mutual friend introduces Paul to John. They don’t shake hands but nod to each other.

They begin to talk about music. Lennon smells of beer but is friendly to the younger boy.

‘What do you play?’ he asks.

‘Guitar,’ says McCartney.

‘Show me then,’ said the older boy.

Paul decides

The left-handed McCartney plays Lennon’s right-handed guitar. He plays songs by Eddie Cochrane, Little Richard and Gene Vincent.

The quality of Paul's guitar playing impresses Lennon. And the younger boy knows the chords one of John’s favourite songs, Twenty Flight Rock.

McCartney then shows Lennon a new way to tune his guitar.

‘Do you want to join my band?’ asks Lennon.

‘I’ll think about it,’ said Paul.

McCartney goes on holiday to the Lake District. When he returns he agrees to join The Quarrymen.

An important moment

This meeting tells us a lot about the relationship between Lennon and McCartney. The boys are very different but they interest each other. Each admires the other. There is rivalry, too.

John Lennon is the leader of the group. At sixteen he is already a charismatic figure on stage. In the photograph he is the one we look at. He is creative and changes the words he can't remember. But he is also a little lazy and doesn't tune his guitar

The alcohol on his breath shows another side of Lennon’s character. He drinks a lot and later takes drugs. People see him as ‘dangerous’ or 'wild'. Boys admire him and girls find him attractive.

John Lennon quickly spots something in McCartney. The younger boy's musical talent impresses him. They share very similar taste in music. Lennon s a little jealous, too. Paul McCartney is a future partner - and a future rival.

Paul big decision

Paul McCartney also reveals a lot of his character and personality. He is a natural musician and technically better than Lennon. He is confident enough to play guitar for the older boy. He bravely tells John, 'your guitar is out of tune.'

Paul hesitates before joining the Quarrymen. He admires Lennon but notices his ‘wild’ side. Typically he takes some time to consider John's invitation. Then he makes one of the most important decisions in the history of pop music.