The Beatles and the Quarrymen in Liverpool

A rough timeline walk around the early Beatles period and places in Liverpool, and their predeccessor, the Quarrymen.  

 

It was the year of 1956 when John Lennon decided to form a skiffle group with his school-firends, named the Quarrymen. They all had been attending the Quarry Bank High School (now Calderstone School) and all lived in an area where the old quarry remnats can be seen to this day (upper right).  John's mother, Julia, taught them how to play and tune up their instruments, mostly banjos. They all loved to meet in her house at Bloomfield Road, Allerton (upper left), and listen to the rock'n'roll' records she owned.

John lived at Mendips, Menlove Avenue, Woolton (lower left) with his aunt Mimi. The Quarrymen practised at Lennon's aunt's house, or in Pete Shotton's garden shed on Vale Road, behind Mendips.

 

They took their role seriously, producing business cards and flyers to hand them out to anyone who would book them. The Quarry Men were available for hire at parties, dances, amateur skiffle gigs. 

 

The first ever time they played publicly as a band was on 22 June 1957, Rosebary Street, Toxteth (lower middle), for a street party celebrating the 750th anniversary of King John granting Liverpool a Royal Charter. They played from the back of a coal lorry. During their performance, a group of local youths from nearby Hatherley Street (lower right, how it looks today) had problems with John's attitude and started a fight. The Quarrymen were escorted by a policeman to the bus stop.

The others of the first appearances were at the Gaumont Cinema in Allerton, Wilson Hall in Garston,  Stanley Abattoir social club in Old Swan, and the New Clubmoor Hall in Broadway, Norris Green - all those building does not exists anymore, apart from Norris Green hall, which is not worth a visits - it is an ugly barrack.

 

On 6 July 1957 the Quarrymen played at St Peter's Church (upper left) garden fete in Woolton, where they all lived nearby. The group arrived through the back lane (upper right) on the back of a lorry while playing on it. After their performance, 15-year-old Paul McCartney had been introduced to John. He showed him how to tune a guitar properly, sang some songs, and played on the church hall piano. Both were impressed with each other, and the epochal meeting of the future best singers-songwriters, was about to change the world of music - in a few years time. 

Paul lived in a house with his father and brother in neighboring Allerton. A decent family but with less revenue that Mendips had at his disposal. Mimi did not like anyone not rising to her standards of affluence. For this reason Paul was hardly allowed in John's room, they practiced in the porch in Menlove Avenue (above, lower left).

 

St Peter's Church graveyard contains a tombstone of the Rigby's family, of which one member was Eleanor. A few feet away is a grave to McKenzie family. The Beatles fans always pondered about it. The Eleanor Rigby song from 1966 album Revolver is one of the breakthrough song where more mature theme have been played out - the lyrics concern the fate of lone and forgotten elderly people in our society. Paul would only say, years later, that it must had been some strange occurance, perhaps the name stuck with him subconsciously as he cannot reccolect taking it fromt the grave as an inspiration.

 

 

Alan Sytner, owner of The Cavern (below, upper left), was asked to book The Quarrymen by one of their friends. Sytner suggested that the band should play at the golf club first, so as to assess their talent. It was succesful and on 7 August 1957 as the most probable date, the first Quarrymen gig at the Cavern took place. It was rather a disastrous event, mainly due to John's sharp language and disobedience, and they had not played there for a while after that. The club was 'jazz only and occasional skiffle' and rock'n'roll was considered a low-life. Paul did not yet officialy joined the band, his debut was at the Norris Green hall in October 1957. 

The Quarrymen kept playing on different occasions such as wedding receptions, with some more serious appearance such as at the Holyoake Hall (below, upper middle), stone's throw away from Penny Lane. The played here several times in 1958 and in 1961. 

On 12 July 1958 the band booked a recording studio made in terraced house front room in Kensington (upper right). They recorded two songs. Three days later Julia, John's mother, was tragicaly hit by a car on Menlove Avenue, just visitng him and his aunt. A dark period entered his artistic soul. The Quarrymen's fate followed and their main meeting place was the Morgue, all black cellar room, with skeletons and spiders on the walls, in Broadgreen. 

There, at the basement of Balgownie villa (lower right, only entrance is original, the villa had been demolished) in Oakhill Park, a certain Alan Caldwell (later known as Rory Storm) organised the venue to play true rock'n'roll to the youth. He lived with his sister, Iris and parents at 54 Broad Green Road (lower left), nearby. Iris, then 13 years old, found her first love in a 14 year old George Harrison. George was interested in music and he was a frequent visitor at the Morgue. He asked Alan to join his band, the Texans but Alan refused due to George's young age. Finally George auditioned for The Quarrymen in March 1958 at the Morgue, and joined few weeks later, although John was also reluctant for his admission. Paul's constant advocacy made up his mind eventually.

The Quarrymen had become long-lasting friends to the Caldwell's family. They used to hang out in their house after shows around Liverpool. Iris dated Paul McCartney in 1961 when 'she was (just) seventeen'.

 

 

The first serious audition was a year earlier, in July 1957 when a talent contest was held in Liverpool Empire Theatre (below, upper left) for the television series Star Search. The Quarrymen came second only by small margin and only because some Welsh band came with a bus full of loud supporters.

 

The second autition was in the Blue Angel (upper right) in May 1960. They were booked, off to Scotland as a support group, so it was a partial success as well, and then struck a deal with the Jacaranda (lower left) owner, Allan Williams, their first official manager.

 

In between, the whole of 1959 had not been a very busy year, yet the Quarymen's formative years were about to change thank to another venue - the Casbach (lower right).

 

This was an important nestling ground for them, with Mona Best, the owner, guiding them as their semi-offcial managers in later months. They played here more then 40 times. It was Pete Best's family home (the Beatles' drummer between August 1960 and August 1962), and Mona was his mother.  Here they first met their future manager and promoter, Neil Aspinall (who was also Mona's partner). 

It was in here where John and Paul persuaded Stuart Sutcliffe to buy a bass guitar with the money he had won in the John Moores art exhibition and join the group.

 

Between August and November 1960 the band had their first residency in Hamburg. After their return on stage in Liverpoool a posters was advertising “The Beatles, Direct From Hamburg”. The local audience was expected to see a German band and they were somewhat dissapointed seeing the 'same old faces'. They have quickly change their attitude - the boys had trained a lot in the Hamburg's night-clubs and knew how to make a thrilling show.

 

The Beatles had performed sensationally at Litherland Town Hall (below, upper right) on 27 December 1960 - this was their 'breakthrough show', and just afterwards the local promoters wanted them to book more appearances, mostly in Liverpool north, Bootle and Litherand. St John's Hall was situated opposite Bootle Town Hall (lower left) but has since been demolished. Lathom Hall (lower right) has been an active hire venue for the Beatles fans for years. It is widely belived that right here they finally decided on their name: the Beatles.

 

 

Mona Best decided to close the Casbach on 24 June 1962, even though she was making good money. The Beatles were the last group to perform on stage there. Two month later Brian Epstein fired Pete Best as the Beatles' drummer, replacing him with Ringo Starr.

 

After their second return from Hamburg, in summer 1961, a large folowing grew in Liverpool; the Mersey Beat office opened in Renshaw Street (upper left) and help promote local bands, mostly the Beatles. The first edition of Mersey Beat magazine was published in July 1961.

 

During this time the Cavern Club has been transformed and welcomed the young bands playing rock'n'roll. The Beatles made their proper debut here on 9 February 1961 after returning from the first Hamburg trip and few more gigs in the North Liverpool. This was George Harrison’s first time on the Cavern stage, as it was for Stuart Sutcliffe. 

 

The number of The Beatles’ Cavern performances is near 280, they played it often in the early afternoon and evening, twice a day. In those days they would hang out in between the gigs in the Grapes pub (lower left), helping themselves with a pint, as Cavern was alcohol free zone. Their final appearance here was on 3 August 1963. 

The White Star pub (lower right) has been litteraly a home to the first manager, who 'lost' the Beatles, Allan Williams, when he gave up running the Jacaranda. Thanks to him the band had their first tour in Hamburg, yet the money did not agree in the end, and the Beatles resigned from his service eventually. It is said that they were paid at the back room here, after their gigs.

In October 1961, a customer, asked Brian Epstein in his NEMS mega-music-store in central Liverpool (belowe upper left, now a different store), for The Beatles’ single ‘My Bonnie’. In his A Cellarful Of Noise, first published in 1964, Epstein wrote:

I had never given a thought to any of the Liverpool beat groups then up and coming in cellar clubs. They were not part of my life, because I was out of the age group, and also because I had been too busy. (...) The name ‘Beatle’ meant nothing to me though I vaguely recalled seeing it on a poster (...) there seems now no valid reason why, beyond my normal efforts to satisfy a customer, I should have gone to such lengths to trace the actual recording artists. But I did and I wonder sometimes whether there is not something mystically magnetic about the name ‘Beatle’?

Epstein visited the Cavern on 9 November 1961 to watch the Beatles. It was the start of a curious chain of events that would lead to a massive revolution in music and show-business.

On 10 December 1961 he suggested becoming the band’s manager. They signed a five-year management contract on 24 January 1962, at his office on Whitechapel in Liverpool, probably the most important music contract in history. There is not a single sign ot this momentus event anywhere in the area. 

 

The Cavern quarter, as it is callled now if filled with the Beatles memorabilia, Liverpool's Wall of Fame notes the Beatles number 1 songs, the Beatleweek is organised every year where young bands performing Beatles song play at various venues. 

The latest addition to this quarter is the Magical Beatles Museum (lower left and middle). It has been opened by Mona Best's youngest son who still operates Casbach, belonging to the family, and his half-brother, Pete Best, the original Beatles drumer is a supporter of this enterprise. This is a story on its own, and we will certainly visit there soon. The story of the Beatles and their locality has turned a full circle in some way.

In 1997 the four surviving original members of the Quarrymen reunited to perform at the 40th anniversary celebrations of the garden fete performance at which Lennon and McCartney met for the first time. Since 1998, they have performed in many countries throughout the world, releasing four albums. Three original members still perform as the Quarrymen.