ALL THESE PLACES HAD THEIR MOMENTS
WHEN JOHN MET PAUL
I just thought, ‘Well, he looks good, he’s singing well and he seems like a great lead singer to me.’ Of course, he had his glasses off, so he really looked suave.
– Paul McCartney
Saturday, 6 July 1957
Woolton Garden Fete, St Peter’s Church
The ingredients were just right. It was the season for summer galas, parties and fetes. Both skiffle and rock ’n’ roll were mainstays in the charts. Planning committees across the UK were allowing the kids their spots to shine in front of their communities in between the usual fancy dress contests, vegetable-growing competitions and raffles. St Peter’s Church in Woolton was no different, booking The Quarrymen for three slots, two in the afternoon and one in the evening.
Ivan Vaughan, a friend of John’s since childhood and sometime member of The Quarrymen, had a pal over in Allerton he’d befriended at the Liverpool Institute, Vaughan’s high school. He was as obsessed with rock ’n’ roll as John and could play a bit too. He felt they might have a lot in common.
Paul was keen to go to the fete with Ivan. It was a hot, sunny day, and there might be some good-looking girls to chat up. He donned his favourite white sports jacket and drainpipe trousers and cycled over to Woolton.
The Liverpool Police Dogs Display was over, and The Quarrymen were on stage when Ivan and Paul arrived. Right away, Paul noticed the singer. He had presence and attitude, despite his shortcomings in technique, and he was singing a song – ‘Come Go With Me’ by the American doo-wop group The Del-Vikings – that was impressively obscure. Not only that, but he was singing his own lyrics, changing it from a romantic love song into something bluesier. Paul appreciated his cheek.
Later, in the scout hut before The Quarrymen’s evening slot, a few beers were taken, and Ivan finally introduced Paul to John. Paul, slightly intimidated, being two years younger, was handed a guitar. There was pointing and laughing when he first retuned the guitar away from John’s banjo chords, and flipped it upside down to accommodate his left-handedness. But then he launched into a word-perfect, smoothly played rendition of Eddie Cochran’s ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, another relatively obscure song at the time. He followed this up with Gene Vincent’s ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’, one of John’s favourites. Confidence rising, Paul switched to the piano and gave a screaming rendition of Little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally’, showing as much front as Lennon had earlier.
John now had a decision to make. Paul was obviously the better player and he’d really strengthen his band, but The Quarrymen was his band. Would Paul’s talent dilute his place as leader?
Memories of John asking Paul to join the band differ from person to person, but what seems most likely is that Pete Shotton bumped into Paul on his bicycle days later and passed on the message that John wanted him to join. Paul agreed and cycled away.
However, Paul couldn’t play with The Quarrymen at their next gig – their first in the Cavern Club – as he was at scout camp. He joined them at their next gig at the Conservative Club in New Clubmoor Hall. Nerves got the better of him, and he flubbed his guitar solo during ‘Guitar Boogie’. He didn’t play another solo for The Quarrymen. What might’ve been if Paul had succeeded?