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The Beatles for English language learners http://www.beatles.esllistening.org/

On 6 July, 1957, a chance meeting between two teenagers begins the most successful songwriting partnership in popular music

A church fete

It is late afternoon. In a church hall in a suburb of

Liverpool a summer fete is coming to an end. A group of

school friends is playing music on the stage. They call their

band, The Quarrymen, after their school Quarry Grammar.

A tall, very thin sixteen-year-old young man sings and plays guitar. He is clearly the leader of the band. Because of his very poor eyesight he stands very close to the microphone and stares out into the audience. It makes him look angry and aggressive.

‘Who is that boy?’ people whisper. His name is John Lennon.

Looking for girls

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 isn’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. I thought he was singing well.’

McCartney begins to listen more closely. He notices that Lennon’s guitar is out of tune.

‘What do you play?’

The Quarrymen finish playing and come down from the stage. A mutual friend

When John met Paul

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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.

‘Do you want to join my band?’The left-handed McCartney plays Lennon’s right-handed guitar. He plays songs by Eddie Cochrane, Little Richard and Gene Vincent.The quality of his 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?’ asked 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.

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.

The alcohol on Lennon’s breath points to another side of Lennon’s character. He drinks a lot and later takes drugs. People see him as ‘wild’.

Unlikely PartnersLennon quickly spots something in McCartney. He notices musical talent but is a little jealous, too. McCartney is a rival as well as a partner.

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.

Another key to McCartney is the way he delays the invitation to join the group. He likes Lennon but notices his ‘wild’ side. He thinks carefully before joining the group.

Some (including the other Beatles at times) find this calculating side of McCartney unattractive. It is, however, essential to their success.

When John Met Paul - Slideshow with audio

Learning Activities

The Beatles: for English language learners

The young John Lennon

First ever recording of The Quarrymen (audio)

http://www.beatles.esllistening.org/