1957-1959

You could say it began July 6, 1957, when Ivan Vaughn first introduced John Lennon to Paul McCartney at the Wooten Village Fete in Liverpool. John's band, the Quarrymen, were playing at the festival that day. John and Paul visited backstage later and played a few songs together. Soon, John asked Paul to join the band as a guitarist. Paul knew George Harrison from the bus stop and knew he could play guitar very well. He introduced him to John. The band went through several name and member changes until settling on the Beatles (influenced by Buddy Holly’s Crickets). John’s best friend from art school, Stuart Sutcliffe, played bass, while Paul played drums. Around 1957-58, Ringo Starr was also making a name for himself as a drummer. He hooked up with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a well-known Liverpool band. He knew the other Beatles only in passing at this time. But soon, he would be filling in as drummer for them in Hamburg, Germany. For the last part of the ‘50s, the Beatles cut their teeth in the music business, dividing their time between playing gigs at local clubs and coffee houses for pennies and refreshments, and school.

John Lennon singing with the Quarrymen at the Wooten Village Fete, Liverpool,
England , July 6, 1957.

Pete Best, George Harrison, John Lennon,
Paul McCartney and Stuart Sutcliffe in
Hamburg, Germany, 1960.

1960-1961

In 1960, the Beatles were offered a gig in Hamburg by a local promoter. He wanted a five piece, so they took Paul off drums and switched him to guitar. They invited Pete Best to join them as drummer and off they went. John claims he “grew up in Liverpool, not Hamburg.” This seaport town in Germany had a swinging hive of adult entertainment called the Reeperbahn: bars, whorehouses, porno shops and movie houses. Just the sort of nurturing environment for five young men coming of age. When the first arrived, they were housed in a movie theater, while they played a dive called the Indra Club. The patrons came to see the strippers and often booed and hurled beer bottles at the band. After a month, they were moved to the Kaiserkeller club, which at least had a dance floor. They played for hours on end, taking uppers on stage and downers to sleep. They learned hundreds of songs and became a tighter unit with each passing day. They caught the eye of the local art crowd, especially Astrid Kircherr, Klaus Vorrmann and Jurgen Vollmer. When the Beatles were deported due to lack of work permits and being underaged, Stu stayed in Hamburg to live with Astrid, who had become his girlfriend. By the time the Beatles returned to Hamburg, Stu was dead of a brain tumor, a loss John never recovered from. This time, they decided to adopt their German friends hairstyles, which later became a world-wide phenomena. They recorded a record with Tony Sheridan, their first single.

1962-1963

By the time they returned to Liverpool they were fast becoming local celebrities. They began playing real gigs at dancehalls and the Cavern Club back home. Brian Epstein was intrigued by the requests for the Beatles record at his store, and sought the band out at the Cavern. He liked what he saw and soon became their manager. It was time for a wardrobe change from black leather to the Edwardian suits, which became the Beatles signature style. It was also time for a line up change. Brian and the boys agreed Pete did not fit in very well, style-wise nor talent-wise. They asked Ringo to join and he fit right in. Before they knew it, they had a recording contract in London and were soon a sensation in England, then Europe.

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