bodhbdearg

messages from Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono on the 40th anniversary in 1997 of the Woolton church fête where John and Paul first met

John, Paul & Me Before the Beatles: The True Story of the Very Early Days, Len Garry (2014)

text under the cut

(part ii) (part iii)

(note: this has been formatted for twt)

As the legend goes, on the 6th of July 1957, a young John Lennon performed at a church fete in Woolton, watched by a younger Paul McCartney. Thereafter, younger Paul showed off to young John and the rest was history…

Usually in these source busting threads i have something to, y’know, investigate but for this special edition we are just going to traverse the history books of see how this momentous meeting has been reported on, point out bits of interest, glaze over repetitions etc.

I’ve examined the usual books noted as the ‘canon’ of Beatles history texts, as well as whatever other books I have copies of and found interesting. I’ve focused on monographs rather than articles & interviews. That’s it. That’s the methodology. 

I’ve included page numbers where possible but some of my collection are e-books and hence nae page numbers

So let’s kick off with the John Lennon’s ‘In His Own Write’ (1964, p. 11)

Short n sweet from ar Paul. Paul labels himself a ‘fat schoolboy’ (be kind) & says John was drunk. He also states ‘we were twelve’, but i think this is paul trying to do a funny and highlight they were but wee ‘uns rather than literal twelve year olds. also sideboards = sideburns 

next up, Billy Shepherd’s ‘The True Story of the Beatles’ (1964, pp. 11-12)

Oh, Billy. June 15th 1955? You’re a month and two years out of date! We’ll blame Paul for the whole ‘we were 12’ thing. Other than that, we have Ivan being the key person to bring Paul to the fete (for music reasons) and introducing him to John. 

oh i’m sure you’ve been waiting for this one: Hunter Davies, ‘The Beatles: The Authorized Biography’ (1969, p. 23, pp. 35-36) 

June 15th, 1956? I don’t think! Beyond that faux pas, Davies’s rendition of events became the blueprint for beatle books and introduced some key beats of the story: (1) John dressed full teddy boy and Mimi disapproved (2) John got ‘roaring drunk’ 

(3) Ivan took Paul to the fete [paul thought there would be girls there] (4) Paul wore a white sports coat and drainies (5) They met in the Church Hall (6) Paul showed off his skills (7) John’s beery breath (7) Shotton not impressed (8) Paul looked like Elvis

roll on everyone's favourite biased “expert”, Philip Norman’s ‘Shout!’ (1981, pp. 42-44)

FINALLY! THE CORRECT DATE! (probs cheers to lewisohn for that, who was a researcher for shout!). Other than that, the main beats are similar to Davies’s rendition, but with some fleshed out details. 

(1) Mimi visited the Fete unaware John was performing and was shocked to see him there (2) Shotton recalls the introductions were stiff (oo-er) and Paul was cocky (oh i say) 

a couple of years later, Peter Shotton described the meeting in ‘John Lennon: In My Life’  (1983, p. 53-54)

Shotton reiterates a standoffishness but, in contrast to his view in ‘69, says he was impressed by Paul's 'cool reserve'. He also states Paul had his own guitar (wrong) and that John was immediately impressed by Paul.

next up we have the paul crab truthers Peter Brown & Steven Gaine’s ‘The Love You Make…’ (1983, pp. 21 - 22)

Brown & Gaines mainly focus on Paul. tho the initial date of the fete is correct, B&G then state Paul was 14. Doh. They iterate Paul went to pick up the ladies, segue into his first sexual escapades, and then say the fete was in 1956. Silly mistakes, boys.

We then get the familiar details of Paul wearing a white sports coat and black drainies, borrowing a guitar to show off, and John’s beery breath. This time, John is ‘begrudgingly impressed’.

onto the completely agreeable and non-controversial Albert Goldman ‘The Lives of John Lennon’ (1988, pp. 67-68)

Goldman largely keeps to the status quo of the story/regurgitates Davies’s work. He stresses Mimi’s disapproval of John’s garb, and highlights Paul’s outfit of the white sports jacket with SPARKLES and TOIGHT black drainies. Then we have John’s beery beery breath once again.

going off the beaten path of The Canon, we have Geoffrey Giuliano’s ‘The Lost Beatles Interviews’ (1994, pp.289-292)

This is a printed version of a 1986 interview between Julia Baird, John’s sister, and ar Paul. Paul admits to being terrible with dates (we know) but otherwise is consistent with his earlier recollections - the songs, minor beery breath, sports coat etc. The most interesting tidbit comes from Julia who states John’s family (sans Mimi) went to the fete to see John perform.

We also get a lovely long bit about how suave and Buddy-holly like John looked, swooooon.

next up Ray Coleman’s ‘Lennon: The Definitive Biography’ (1995, pp.157-160) 

The outliers In this version include john buying beers from the office and getting lightly inebriated for the fete. Though initially shocked, Mimi says she was *happy* to see John perform, contrasting with John’s well documented recollection.

The artwork’s reception has underscored the uniquely participatory nature of McCartney fandom. Hidden among the montage are 30 birds, a nod to the singer’s childhood obsession with bird spotting. “We were all taken aback by the fan response,” says Lane. “Fans had located and identified them all within a day.”

ABC Theatre, Blackpool, Aug. 1, 1965

“Following Paul’s rendition of ‘Yesterday’, a comedy link was rehearsed for when the others reappeared on stage; John clutched a plastic bouquet of flowers which came away as Paul accepted them, leaving him holding only the bottom stems. As if to further puncture any pompous formality, John announced, ‘Thank you Ringo, that was wonderful.’ ‘The Beatles were in a terrific mood…’ Sean O’ Manhony wrote in his editorial (Beatles Book #26), ‘Laughing and giggling their way through rehearsals as though they were preparing for a private Beatle People Telly Show for the fan club rather than a national networked performance to millions of viewers.’ However, he now remembers a charged atmosphere at Blackpool that day after Lennon sarcastically roared ‘Thank you, Paul, that was bloody crap!’ following McCartney’s debut of the song during the afternoon rehearsal. If there was any tension it was swiftly diffused as Bryce’s photographs reveal the two relaxed and joking in each other’s company. Paul and John rode back to London together in comfort that night in Lennon’s new black Phantom V Rolls-Royce.”