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Liverpool
2
00:03:18,064 --> 00:03:20,328
That's better, Johnny
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The Wild One
Released 1954
You know I missed you.
Ever since the club split up I missed you
4
00:03:25,772 --> 00:03:28,400
We all missed you. Do you miss him?
5
00:03:28,641 --> 00:03:30,609
Yeah! All the Beetles missed you
6
00:03:41,387 --> 00:03:44,185
Let's go back and get 'em, eh?
- I'm game
7
00:03:45,992 --> 00:03:50,554
To the temple. A man's got to do
what he's got to do
8
00:03:51,197 --> 00:03:55,429
Let's go back, back,
back, back, back...
9
00:04:13,286 --> 00:04:17,416
My mother used to say because I was born
the Second World War started
10
00:04:17,790 --> 00:04:23,387
Richard Starkey
Born Liverpool 7th July 1940
11
00:04:23,630 --> 00:04:26,724
I was with mother until about four,
then my father split
12
00:04:26,966 --> 00:04:31,960
He was a merchant seaman.
It was 1940 and the war and all that
13
00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:40,871
John Winston Lennon
Born Liverpool 9th October 1940
14
00:04:43,149 --> 00:04:45,982
My mum was a Catholic,
dad was a Protestant
15
00:04:46,252 --> 00:04:52,213
They got married quite late.
I think they had me when they were 40
16
00:04:54,527 --> 00:05:02,366
James Paul McCartney
Born Liverpool 18th June 1942
17
00:05:03,369 --> 00:05:06,497
At the time I was born
my father's job was driving a bus
18
00:05:06,773 --> 00:05:10,800
I lived in a two-up and two-down,
12 Arnold Grove
19
00:05:11,411 --> 00:05:18,647
George Harrison
Born Liverpool 25th February 1943
20
00:05:35,435 --> 00:05:37,426
My mum was a nurse
21
00:05:37,670 --> 00:05:40,400
She was a midwife as well
22
00:05:41,074 --> 00:05:43,599
My dad was a cotton salesman
23
00:05:44,711 --> 00:05:48,238
My father and my mother split
when I was about four
24
00:05:48,481 --> 00:05:52,474
I was with mother up to then,
then I was brought up by an aunty
25
00:05:53,486 --> 00:05:57,354
Dad was a... he made cakes
26
00:05:57,590 --> 00:06:00,559
so we always had sugar through the war
27
00:06:00,793 --> 00:06:04,160
She ended up doing a lot of jobs
as he left when I was three
28
00:06:04,397 --> 00:06:06,524
He decided that was enough of that
29
00:06:06,766 --> 00:06:11,897
She did any job she could get
to feed and clothe me
30
00:06:13,005 --> 00:06:17,999
My mother was from an Irish family
called French
31
00:06:19,045 --> 00:06:22,503
She had lots of brothers and sisters
32
00:06:23,249 --> 00:06:27,447
My grandmother lived in Albert Grove,
which was next to Arnold Grove
33
00:06:28,354 --> 00:06:33,815
I was terrible at school.
I wasn't there much as I was often sick
34
00:06:34,193 --> 00:06:39,654
I had peritonitis when I was six and a half -
a burst appendix
35
00:06:40,233 --> 00:06:44,033
They told my mother that I'd be dead
three times - but I'm still here
36
00:06:44,670 --> 00:06:50,802
My dad was an amateur musician
who played piano
37
00:06:51,310 --> 00:06:57,510
I've memories of lying on the floor,
hearing him play
38
00:06:59,185 --> 00:07:05,522
When my parents were younger
they listened on an old crystal radio
39
00:07:06,826 --> 00:07:09,226
John really loved his mother.
I loved her too
40
00:07:09,495 --> 00:07:13,261
She played the ukelele.
To this day...
41
00:07:13,533 --> 00:07:17,299
if I meet grown-ups
who play ukeleles, I love them
42
00:07:17,703 --> 00:07:20,399
Everybody has their party piece in Liverpool
43
00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:26,636
My mother's was Little Drummer Boy.
She sang it to me
44
00:07:27,146 --> 00:07:31,776
I'd sing Nobody's Child to her
and she'd always cry
45
00:07:38,624 --> 00:07:42,492
Rock'n'roll meant it was real,
everything else was unreal
46
00:07:42,728 --> 00:07:48,530
It was the only thing to get through to me,
at 15, of all the things happening
47
00:08:10,256 --> 00:08:15,717
You can't imagine a time when rock'n'roll
was only one of the musics
48
00:08:21,133 --> 00:08:23,863
Whatever record was being played,
you'd try and listen to it
49
00:08:24,103 --> 00:08:27,561
You couldn't even get a cup of sugar,
let alone a rock'n'roll record
50
00:08:31,811 --> 00:08:34,006
There was no such thing
as an English record
51
00:08:34,247 --> 00:08:39,048
The first English record that was anything
was Move It by Cliff Richard
52
00:08:39,285 --> 00:08:41,276
Before that there'd been nothing
53
00:08:45,525 --> 00:08:50,292
You'd listen to whatever was on the radio
in those days
54
00:08:56,969 --> 00:09:01,565
I listened to a lot of country and western -
skiffle was coming through
55
00:09:31,971 --> 00:09:36,772
There were lots of people coming up
and one of them was Buddy Holly
56
00:09:37,176 --> 00:09:40,543
We loved his vocal sound
and we loved his guitar playing
57
00:09:40,813 --> 00:09:45,375
But most of all was the fact
that he actually wrote the stuff himself
58
00:09:45,651 --> 00:09:47,642
That's what turned us on
59
00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:52,181
I was at art school for five years
60
00:09:52,425 --> 00:09:57,795
They'd only allow jazz to be played -
no rock'n'roll in those days
61
00:09:58,030 --> 00:10:02,364
We conned them into letting us play
rock'n'roll by calling it blues
62
00:10:02,969 --> 00:10:05,961
As I became a teenager
63
00:10:06,205 --> 00:10:11,609
I was 12 or 13 when I first heard
Fats Domino, I'm in Love Again
64
00:10:11,844 --> 00:10:16,304
That was the first what I would call
rock'n'roll record I ever heard
65
00:10:16,882 --> 00:10:19,544
Even Bill Haley was around then
66
00:10:20,152 --> 00:10:23,883
I remember being in school
when I was a kid
67
00:10:24,123 --> 00:10:28,992
Somebody had a picture in one
of the musical papers... of Elvis
68
00:10:29,228 --> 00:10:32,026
It was an advert for Heartbreak Hotel
69
00:10:33,366 --> 00:10:38,668
I just looked at it and thought,
he's just so good looking, just perfect
70
00:10:39,038 --> 00:10:42,007
When I was 16,
Elvis was what was happening
71
00:10:42,241 --> 00:10:47,508
A guy with long greasy hair wiggling
his ass and singing Hound Dog
72
00:10:47,747 --> 00:10:51,774
That's Alright Mama and those early
Sun Records - his great period
73
00:10:52,184 --> 00:10:56,280
That's him - the guru we've been
waiting for - the messiah has arrived
74
00:11:22,748 --> 00:11:26,844
One of our favourite records
was Searchin'by the Coasters
75
00:11:48,841 --> 00:11:53,073
We heard people like Big Bill Broonzy.
I think he did a tour of England
76
00:12:21,207 --> 00:12:24,142
I was a big fan of his
and Frankie Laine
77
00:12:38,758 --> 00:12:43,593
All those train songs, Rock Island Line
and all that stuff
78
00:12:45,464 --> 00:12:49,560
Lonnie Donegan
79
00:13:03,015 --> 00:13:05,984
Suddenly here was a rock'n'roll hero
who had glasses
80
00:13:07,486 --> 00:13:11,980
Buddy Holly and The Crickets
81
00:13:24,470 --> 00:13:31,069
The first music I can remember
hearing as guitar-oriented music
82
00:13:31,310 --> 00:13:34,143
was Jimmie Rodgers,
"The Singing Brakeman"
83
00:13:55,935 --> 00:14:00,395
I had no idea about doing music
as a way of life...
84
00:14:00,639 --> 00:14:04,439
until rock'n'roll hit me
and that changed my whole life
85
00:14:04,677 --> 00:14:11,139
Drums were the only thing I wanted.
I never looked at guitars or anything
86
00:14:11,717 --> 00:14:15,551
My dad used to be a trumpet player
and for my birthday
87
00:14:15,788 --> 00:14:21,954
he bought me a trumpet from Rushworth
and Drapers' music store in Liverpool
88
00:14:22,528 --> 00:14:26,760
At 16 I re-established a relationship
with my mother for about 4 years
89
00:14:26,999 --> 00:14:31,402
She taught me music, first the banjo,
then I progressed to guitar
90
00:14:31,637 --> 00:14:34,765
My first song was Ain't That A Shame,
an old rock hit, Fats Domino
91
00:14:35,641 --> 00:14:42,046
When I was 13, 14, I used to be
at the back of the class, drawing
92
00:14:42,281 --> 00:14:47,776
Trying to draw guitars,
big cello cut-away guitars with 'F' holes
93
00:14:48,053 --> 00:14:51,921
Little solid ones with pointy
or rounded cut-aways
94
00:14:52,157 --> 00:14:54,523
I was totally into guitars
95
00:14:54,894 --> 00:14:58,227
I heard about a kid who had a guitar
and it was �3.10s
96
00:14:58,464 --> 00:15:03,128
Just a little acoustic, round hole guitar
97
00:15:03,369 --> 00:15:07,203
I got the �3.10s from my mother,
a lot of money in those days
98
00:15:07,673 --> 00:15:13,077
I suddenly figured out I couldn't sing
with this thing in my mouth
99
00:15:13,445 --> 00:15:18,348
so I went back to the shop
and traded it in for a guitar
100
00:15:18,584 --> 00:15:21,348
That was a Zenith,
the first guitar I ever had
101
00:15:21,587 --> 00:15:23,748
I was about 16
102
00:15:23,989 --> 00:15:28,153
I bought a thirty-bob bass drum -
thirty shillings
103
00:15:28,394 --> 00:15:32,524
Just a huge one-sided bass drum
104
00:15:32,831 --> 00:15:37,325
It's a family joke now - "The guitar's OK
for a hobby but won't earn you any money"
105
00:15:37,903 --> 00:15:43,773
We'd travel the whole of Liverpool
to see someone who knew a new chord
106
00:15:44,009 --> 00:15:48,207
I remember once hearing
about a bloke who knew B7
107
00:15:48,447 --> 00:15:53,942
We knew E and A - those are quite easy -
but we didn't know B7
108
00:15:54,186 --> 00:15:58,213
That was the missing link.
The other chord. The lost chord
109
00:15:58,490 --> 00:16:04,258
We trooped across Liverpool, changed
a couple of buses, found this fella
110
00:16:04,530 --> 00:16:07,260
He showed us dum, dum dum - B7
111
00:16:07,533 --> 00:16:11,993
We learned it from him,
went home to our mates and went...
112
00:16:14,406 --> 00:16:15,464
Got it!
113
00:16:15,708 --> 00:16:19,405
Paul and I used to just kind of get together,
play it a bit
114
00:16:19,645 --> 00:16:24,673
We were just schoolboys.
There were no groups till a bit later
115
00:16:32,958 --> 00:16:37,827
In those days we were desperate
to get anything
116
00:16:38,063 --> 00:16:40,588
Whatever film came, you'd try and see it
117
00:16:42,034 --> 00:16:47,028
The Girl Can't Help it
Released 1956
118
00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,842
You went to those movies with Elvis
or somebody in them in Liverpool
119
00:17:00,085 --> 00:17:03,282
Everybody was waiting to see him -
I'd be waiting there too
120
00:17:03,522 --> 00:17:06,423
They'd all scream
when he came on the screen
121
00:17:06,692 --> 00:17:08,990
So we thought, that's a good job!
122
00:17:09,561 --> 00:17:12,223
When The Girl Can't Help It came along
123
00:17:12,464 --> 00:17:15,262
Instead of us looking at old
black and white movies and thinking
124
00:17:15,534 --> 00:17:18,162
"There's Clyde McPhatter,
there's Fats Domino"
125
00:17:18,404 --> 00:17:21,805
people we loved, who were
being treated quite shabbily
126
00:17:22,041 --> 00:17:25,602
suddenly this was in colour
and in widescreen
127
00:17:25,844 --> 00:17:30,645
At the start of Girl Can't Help lt,
Tom Ewell comes on and says...
128
00:17:33,585 --> 00:17:35,382
Widescreen
129
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:43,222
Colour!
130
00:17:46,865 --> 00:17:50,665
Gorgeous, life-like colour by Deluxe
131
00:17:59,945 --> 00:18:04,439
Sometimes you wonder
who's minding the store
132
00:18:04,950 --> 00:18:08,113
You cut to Jayne Mansfield
and that's it - the game's over
133
00:18:24,703 --> 00:18:28,833
I went to see Rock Around The Clock
in the Isle of Man
134
00:18:29,074 --> 00:18:33,238
My grandparents took me
and it was sensational
135
00:18:33,479 --> 00:18:38,246
They ripped up the cinema
and this was good for me to see
136
00:18:39,284 --> 00:18:43,516
Bill Haley and The Comets
137
00:18:58,704 --> 00:19:03,107
I went to grammar school with Paul
138
00:19:03,609 --> 00:19:07,636
We started in the same class,
then we went into different streams
139
00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:13,113
But basically I knew him since
I was about eleven
140
00:19:13,352 --> 00:19:18,984
I didn't really know him like a friend
until a number of years later
141
00:19:19,224 --> 00:19:22,716
I met George at
the Liverpool Institute as well
142
00:19:22,961 --> 00:19:26,556
He was a year younger than Paul and I
143
00:19:26,798 --> 00:19:31,895
Neil Aspinall
Schoolfriend
I met George - we used to smoke
behind the air-raid shelters
144
00:19:32,437 --> 00:19:38,433
George and I lived near each other
in Liverpool, just a bus stop away
145
00:19:38,844 --> 00:19:42,439
I'd get on the bus and then the stop
afterwards George would get on
146
00:19:42,681 --> 00:19:46,742
Being close in age, we'd sit together
and we'd talk about stuff and that
147
00:19:47,186 --> 00:19:52,886
In fact he was, I think, about
one and a half years younger than me
148
00:19:53,125 --> 00:19:57,528
A big age difference at that time
so I suppose I talked down to him a bit
149
00:19:57,763 --> 00:20:00,789
as you do to a kid one and a half years
younger than you
150
00:20:01,033 --> 00:20:04,025
When he's sort of 14 and a half
and I'm sort of 16
151
00:20:04,269 --> 00:20:08,672
Perhaps I talked down to him
because I'd known him as a younger kid
152
00:20:10,108 --> 00:20:13,874
He was always nine months older
153
00:20:14,112 --> 00:20:16,706
Even now, he's still
nine months older
154
00:20:18,150 --> 00:20:23,247
Paul met me the first day
I did Be Bop A Lu La live on stage
155
00:20:23,488 --> 00:20:27,618
A mutual friend brought him to see
my group, The Quarry Men
156
00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:31,454
I had a mate at school
called lvan Vaughan
157
00:20:31,730 --> 00:20:36,064
We were born on the same day
so we were great mates
158
00:20:36,335 --> 00:20:41,295
One day he said do you want to
come to the Woolton Village Fete?
159
00:20:41,573 --> 00:20:47,136
We went along one Saturday afternoon
to the field where they had the fete
160
00:20:47,412 --> 00:20:52,645
There was a wagon,
and on the back of this a little stage
161
00:20:52,884 --> 00:20:55,682
On stage were a few lads
162
00:20:55,921 --> 00:21:00,517
One particular guy I noticed
at the front had a checked shirt
163
00:21:00,759 --> 00:21:05,628
Blondish hair, a bit curly, sideboards,
looking pretty cool
164
00:21:05,864 --> 00:21:11,097
He was playing guitar,
not a very good one
165
00:21:11,370 --> 00:21:15,397
But he was making a good job of it
and I remember being impressed
166
00:21:15,641 --> 00:21:19,907
He was doing a song by the Del Vikings
called Come Go With Me
167
00:21:20,145 --> 00:21:23,205
He obviously didn't know the words
168
00:21:23,448 --> 00:21:27,111
He was pulling in lyrics from blues songs,
so instead of going
169
00:21:27,352 --> 00:21:31,345
"Come, little darling, come go with me"
which is right
170
00:21:31,590 --> 00:21:35,686
he'd got "Down down down
to the Penitentiary"
171
00:21:35,927 --> 00:21:39,363
He'd be doing the sort of stuff
he'd heard on Big Bill Broonzy records
172
00:21:39,598 --> 00:21:44,399
I thought, that's clever, he's pretty good.
That was John
173
00:21:45,470 --> 00:21:49,463
We met and talked after the show
and I saw he had talent
174
00:21:49,708 --> 00:21:53,701
He was playing backstage, doing
Twenty Flight Rock by Eddie Cochran
175
00:22:07,926 --> 00:22:12,260
The thing that impressed him most
was I knew all the words
176
00:22:57,042 --> 00:23:02,275
I was the singer and the leader, I made
the decision to have him in the group
177
00:23:02,514 --> 00:23:09,352
Was it better to have a guy who was better
than the people I had, or not?
178
00:23:09,588 --> 00:23:13,217
That decision was to let Paul in
and make the group stronger
179
00:23:13,725 --> 00:23:17,320
I asked him on our first meeting
"Do you want to join the group?"
180
00:23:17,562 --> 00:23:20,360
I think he said yes the next day
181
00:23:23,969 --> 00:23:26,062
George came through Paul
182
00:23:26,471 --> 00:23:30,066
"I've got this friend who's really good,
you know"
183
00:23:30,308 --> 00:23:36,304
He said well yeah, like what,
and I said he plays Raunchy perfectly
184
00:23:39,885 --> 00:23:43,321
We all loved that song so we
said well, got to try him out
185
00:23:43,555 --> 00:23:50,222
We ended up on the top deck
of an empty late night bus, just us
186
00:23:50,495 --> 00:23:55,262
and we said "Go on, George,
get your guitar out, you show him"
187
00:23:56,268 --> 00:23:59,829
Sure enough - note perfect - Raunchy.
"You're in"
188
00:24:36,808 --> 00:24:41,541
The first thing we ever recorded
was That'll Be The Day, a Buddy Holly song
189
00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:46,310
and one of Paul's,
called In Spite of All The Danger
190
00:24:46,685 --> 00:24:52,681
That record, the first we ever made,
is in Liverpool somewhere
191
00:24:54,025 --> 00:24:58,655
First Recordings
1958
192
00:25:16,214 --> 00:25:21,982
Everybody hung around at
the Jacaranda Club near the art school
193
00:25:22,254 --> 00:25:25,815
and near Paul and George's school
in the centre of Liverpool
194
00:25:26,091 --> 00:25:31,552
This was before we really formed a band,
just me, Paul and George
195
00:25:39,404 --> 00:25:42,601
We used to show up for gigs
with just three guitars
196
00:25:42,841 --> 00:25:47,437
The person booking us would say
"Where's the drums then?"
197
00:25:47,679 --> 00:25:51,775
To cover this eventuality we'd say
"The rhythm's in the guitars"
198
00:25:51,917 --> 00:25:58,322
We once tried to do this audition
for Carol Levis Discoveries
199
00:25:59,190 --> 00:26:02,956
Everybody would go on and audition
200
00:26:03,194 --> 00:26:09,224
Then they'd pick out somebody
and go "OK, you, you and you"
201
00:26:09,467 --> 00:26:13,426
They'd pick out about 20 different acts
202
00:26:13,672 --> 00:26:19,076
They'd have a clapometer
and the winner would go on to the final
203
00:26:19,311 --> 00:26:23,941
It just kept on going.
We went in for one of those
204
00:26:24,549 --> 00:26:29,111
We were on the train to Manchester,
rehearsing our act
205
00:26:29,354 --> 00:26:35,315
Only me and George had our guitars.
John must have sold his or bust it
206
00:26:35,694 --> 00:26:38,663
OK, there's just the two of us with guitars
207
00:26:38,930 --> 00:26:42,730
As it happened it looked good.
Paul was left-handed
208
00:26:42,968 --> 00:26:46,426
I was right-handed - still am -
209
00:26:46,671 --> 00:26:51,199
John was in the middle,
standing with a hand on each shoulder
210
00:26:51,443 --> 00:26:53,434
"Think it over, what you just said"
211
00:26:55,013 --> 00:26:59,382
Me and George - John did the lead
and we were also going to do Rave On
212
00:26:59,651 --> 00:27:04,145
We did it, he put his arms around us
and it was OK. We didn't win, as usual
213
00:27:04,389 --> 00:27:08,587
but I believe that day
some unfortunate person in the theatre
214
00:27:08,827 --> 00:27:11,819
was relieved of his guitar
215
00:27:19,971 --> 00:27:24,931
Stuart Sutcliffe
Stuart was John's friend from art college.
He was a very good painter
216
00:27:25,210 --> 00:27:31,979
We were jealous of John's friendship,
John being a bit older than us
217
00:27:33,284 --> 00:27:36,685
He was a little bit, you know...
218
00:27:36,921 --> 00:27:41,119
You wanted to sit next to him on a bus -
he was the older fella
219
00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:46,991
So when Stuart came in he was taking
a bit of that position away from us
220
00:27:47,232 --> 00:27:50,224
We had to take a little bit of a back seat
221
00:27:50,635 --> 00:27:56,631
The story was that he sold his painting
to a John Moore exhibition
222
00:27:57,308 --> 00:28:00,106
So the question was
what do you do with 75 quid?
223
00:28:00,345 --> 00:28:04,839
We said "That happens to be the exact
amount it takes to buy a Hofner bass"
224
00:28:05,083 --> 00:28:07,483
That would be a great thing
to spend the money on
225
00:28:07,719 --> 00:28:12,315
He said "No, I'm a painter,
I've got to spend it on paints"
226
00:28:12,557 --> 00:28:16,493
We said "No, Stuart, really" and John
and I gave him a persuasive argument
227
00:28:16,728 --> 00:28:21,392
that the best thing to do, obviously,
was to buy this Hofner bass
228
00:28:21,633 --> 00:28:26,832
Which he did. The only trouble was,
he couldn't play it
229
00:28:27,205 --> 00:28:31,608
But it was better to have a bass player
who couldn't play
230
00:28:31,843 --> 00:28:34,107
than to not have a bass player at all
231
00:28:46,091 --> 00:28:50,551
Early Recordings
Made in Liverpool - 1960
232
00:30:34,065 --> 00:30:38,195
Ringo was a professional drummer
who sang and performed
233
00:30:38,436 --> 00:30:42,896
in one of the top groups in Liverpool
before we even had a drummer
234
00:30:43,374 --> 00:30:49,335
Rory and the Hurricanes were the first
who wanted to get into rock'n'roll
235
00:30:50,248 --> 00:30:53,445
We were playing skiffle before that
236
00:30:53,685 --> 00:30:58,987
and he had this rock'n'roll
blonde hair attitude
237
00:30:59,224 --> 00:31:03,991
Johnny Guitar was just, for me,
Liverpool's Jimi Hendrix at the time
238
00:31:04,229 --> 00:31:09,565
The one good story about Rory and the
Hurricanes, of which I was a member...
239
00:31:09,801 --> 00:31:15,364
We were playing the Cavern
and Johnny Guitar had a radio
240
00:31:15,607 --> 00:31:20,044
He plugged his guitar into the radio
so we could be a bit more rock'n'roll
241
00:31:20,278 --> 00:31:26,046
They threw us off for being rock'n'roll.
He plugged in the radio - get OFF!
242
00:31:26,517 --> 00:31:30,146
John thought of the name Beatles
and he'll tell you about it now
243
00:31:30,955 --> 00:31:33,321
I had a vision when I was 12
244
00:31:33,558 --> 00:31:38,359
I saw a man on a flaming pie and he said
"You are Beatles with an A", and we are
245
00:31:38,830 --> 00:31:42,766
John put this thing in Mersey Beat
246
00:31:43,001 --> 00:31:47,370
which was also started by Bill Harry
who went to art college with John
247
00:31:47,605 --> 00:31:52,633
just saying that this little guy
appeared on a flaming pie -
248
00:31:52,877 --> 00:31:56,904
you know, in the sky - and said
"Let there be Beatles - with an A"
249
00:31:57,415 --> 00:32:01,875
John got the name Beatles ages ago
250
00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:05,749
Everybody was thinking of a name
and he thought of Beatles
251
00:32:06,557 --> 00:32:10,152
I was looking for a name like the Crickets,
that meant two things
252
00:32:10,395 --> 00:32:12,920
and from Crickets I got to Beatles
253
00:32:13,164 --> 00:32:17,123
When you said it, it was crawly things;
when you read it, it was beat music
254
00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:24,508
That's better, Johnny
255
00:32:25,343 --> 00:32:29,143
You know I missed you.
Ever since the club split up I missed you
256
00:32:29,681 --> 00:32:31,842
We all missed you. Do you miss him?
257
00:32:32,517 --> 00:32:35,680
Yeah! All the Beetles missed you
258
00:32:38,957 --> 00:32:43,724
When we started off we had a manager
in Liverpool called Allan Williams
259
00:32:43,962 --> 00:32:49,958
He was a small bloke, with a high voice,
little Welsh accent
260
00:32:50,535 --> 00:32:54,403
He was a great motivator,
he was very good for us at the time
261
00:32:54,639 --> 00:33:00,305
He eventually got us an audition
at one of his clubs, the Blue Angel
262
00:33:00,545 --> 00:33:03,275
It was for Larry Parnes
263
00:33:03,514 --> 00:33:07,712
who had a big stable, so-called,
of rock stars in London
264
00:33:07,952 --> 00:33:11,388
so this was a big opening
to get this audition
265
00:33:11,823 --> 00:33:13,814
We showed up there
266
00:33:14,092 --> 00:33:18,222
I think half the groups in Liverpool
showed up that day
267
00:33:18,463 --> 00:33:22,194
Photos were taken -
this is us at the audition
268
00:33:22,433 --> 00:33:24,867
Something for Larry to look at
269
00:33:25,103 --> 00:33:30,097
We always had to ask Stuart
to turn away from the camera
270
00:33:30,375 --> 00:33:35,938
As he couldn't play that well.
We might be in A and he might be in A flat
271
00:33:36,214 --> 00:33:41,174
Someone might spot this - we always
noticed where people were on the guitars
272
00:33:41,686 --> 00:33:46,146
So there are a few photos of Stuart
with his back to the camera
273
00:33:46,391 --> 00:33:49,519
That was the reason
274
00:33:49,761 --> 00:33:54,596
We got the audition - Larry picked
up quite a few Liverpool groups
275
00:33:54,832 --> 00:33:58,825
Our only disappointment
was that all the people in his stable
276
00:33:59,070 --> 00:34:01,834
were like... Marty Wilde
277
00:34:02,073 --> 00:34:06,601
They all had very furious names,
Billy Fury, somebody Tempest,
278
00:34:06,844 --> 00:34:11,508
Storm, Hurricane - they were all
tempestuous names, you know
279
00:34:12,250 --> 00:34:17,278
There's Ron Whitcherley, 17,
known to his fans as Billy Fury
280
00:34:17,522 --> 00:34:20,116
Guaranteed �1000 in his first year
281
00:34:20,625 --> 00:34:26,393
Roy Taylor, 18, alias Vince Eager,
�5000 by his fifth year
282
00:34:27,165 --> 00:34:32,364
We thought this would be great,
but we ended up with Johnny Gentle
283
00:34:33,037 --> 00:34:35,972
Slight disappointment
in the name department there
284
00:34:36,808 --> 00:34:42,508
John Askew - or Johnny Gentle -
22, from Merseyside
285
00:34:43,047 --> 00:34:46,539
Duffy Power,
real name Raymond Howard, 17
286
00:34:47,085 --> 00:34:52,022
All - Eager, Power, Gentle, Fury -
in the lucrative business, as someone said
287
00:34:52,290 --> 00:34:55,487
of putting teenage growing pains to music
288
00:34:55,993 --> 00:34:58,018
Do you re-christen all your boys?
289
00:34:58,296 --> 00:35:01,459
Larry Parnes
Oh yes, I think this is terribly important
290
00:35:01,732 --> 00:35:05,793
Otherwise they would go on the stage
with unsuitable names
291
00:35:06,237 --> 00:35:11,698
They wanted a more imaginative
name than The Beatles
292
00:35:11,943 --> 00:35:16,107
They came up with Long John Silver
and the Beetles and we thought no
293
00:35:16,347 --> 00:35:18,872
It ended up as Long John
and the Silver Beetles
294
00:35:19,117 --> 00:35:23,520
We became the Silver Beetles
for this tour of Scotland
295
00:35:23,788 --> 00:35:28,816
So we thought, if the name of the group's
been changed and he's Long John
296
00:35:29,093 --> 00:35:34,588
We all changed our names but people
thought that John didn't - John was cool -
297
00:35:34,832 --> 00:35:40,168
but he was Long John for that tour.
He was quite happy to be Long John too
298
00:35:40,404 --> 00:35:44,306
I thought, if he's changing it
maybe we all should
299
00:35:44,575 --> 00:35:48,477
We all fancied it, our first foray
into professional entertainment
300
00:35:48,713 --> 00:35:51,944
Well, that's what you do, isn't it?
You change your name
301
00:35:52,183 --> 00:35:55,550
I became Paul Ramon, for some reason
302
00:35:55,786 --> 00:35:58,482
I thought it was a very exotic
French-sounding name
303
00:35:59,524 --> 00:36:02,186
And I was Carl Harrison
304
00:36:06,164 --> 00:36:11,067
It doesn't sound like a stage name now,
it's just that I loved Carl Perkins
305
00:36:11,669 --> 00:36:14,604
Stuart became Stuart de Stael
306
00:36:14,839 --> 00:36:18,832
He liked Nicholas de Stael,
an abstract expressionist painter
307
00:36:19,710 --> 00:36:24,943
Anyway, that was a pretty pathetic tour.
By the end of it we were broke
308
00:36:25,216 --> 00:36:30,950
We had no money, we were all cold,
freezing, and just miserable
309
00:36:31,189 --> 00:36:36,593
That was it. We came back to Liverpool
and nothing happened really
310
00:36:36,827 --> 00:36:41,560
I felt really sad -
we were like orphans or something
311
00:36:41,799 --> 00:36:47,237
Our shoes were full of holes,
our trousers were a mess...
312
00:36:47,471 --> 00:36:53,467
Larry Parnes' fella, Johnny Gentle,
had this posh suit and stuff
313
00:36:53,945 --> 00:36:58,109
I remember trying
to play Won't You Wear My Ring
314
00:36:58,349 --> 00:37:02,115
That's what he was doing -
one of those Elvis tunes
315
00:37:02,353 --> 00:37:06,619
And we were crummy,
we were really an embarrassment
316
00:37:06,891 --> 00:37:09,155
We didn't have amplifiers or anything
317
00:37:09,393 --> 00:37:13,329
And so I would say to the others
when we were all depressed
318
00:37:13,564 --> 00:37:18,399
thinking the group was going nowhere
and this is a shitty deal
319
00:37:18,636 --> 00:37:20,627
I'd say "Where are we going, fellas?"
320
00:37:20,871 --> 00:37:24,068
They'd go "To the top, Johnny"
in pseudo American voices
321
00:37:24,308 --> 00:37:28,267
I'd say "Where's that, fellas?"
"To the toppermost of the poppermost"
322
00:37:28,512 --> 00:37:31,606
I'd say "Right", then we'd all cheer up
323
00:37:32,450 --> 00:37:38,286
Derry and the Seniors
got offered a job in London
324
00:37:38,522 --> 00:37:42,481
Give up your jobs and come to London
and you're going with Larry, right?
325
00:37:42,727 --> 00:37:46,527
They gave up their jobs
and then didn't get a gig
326
00:37:46,764 --> 00:37:49,358
so they were a bit pissed off
327
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:55,095
They said "We're going to London,
we'll get Parnsey and beat him up"
328
00:37:55,373 --> 00:38:00,902
Allan Williams, the club owner
who did the audition...
329
00:38:01,145 --> 00:38:06,583
probably the first big groupie
of Liverpool, drove them to London
330
00:38:06,851 --> 00:38:11,948
He said bring your instruments, lads,
you might get a gig
331
00:38:12,189 --> 00:38:15,989
So he got them a gig
in the Two I's in London
332
00:38:16,927 --> 00:38:23,833
This fella, Bruno Koschmider,
from a club in Hamburg...
333
00:38:24,268 --> 00:38:28,967
I think it was him, he saw them
and booked them to go to Germany
334
00:38:29,206 --> 00:38:34,735
Later he said he wanted another band -
we were probably cheap
335
00:38:35,079 --> 00:38:41,109
Allan Williams said OK, lads,
you can have this job in Germany
336
00:38:41,352 --> 00:38:46,380
The only problem is
he's asked for a 5-piece band
337
00:38:46,624 --> 00:38:51,220
At that point Paul was the drummer
because all the drummers didn't show up
338
00:38:51,495 --> 00:38:56,762
So that's where I said "OK, I remember
this guy..." and we went up to this club
339
00:38:57,001 --> 00:39:00,835
Pete Best - he had a drum kit for Christmas
340
00:39:01,439 --> 00:39:06,433
He was known on Merseyside as mean,
moody and magnificent
341
00:39:07,912 --> 00:39:11,643
We had all sorts of different drummers
342
00:39:11,882 --> 00:39:14,874
Few people owned drum kits.
They're expensive
343
00:39:15,119 --> 00:39:17,644
And they were usually idiots
344
00:39:17,888 --> 00:39:22,222
We got Pete Best because we needed
a drummer to go to Hamburg
345
00:39:22,526 --> 00:39:27,020
He came down to the Jacaranda Club
346
00:39:27,598 --> 00:39:32,262
We did a quick audition, jumped in the van
and went to Hamburg
347
00:41:09,066 --> 00:41:13,400
We ended up in Hamburg
very late one night
348
00:41:13,637 --> 00:41:17,698
There was no one there to meet us,
but we could find Hamburg off the map
349
00:41:17,975 --> 00:41:22,935
But St Pauli district and the Reeperbahn...
but everyone knew
350
00:41:27,918 --> 00:41:32,287
We found the street and the club
but it was all closed
351
00:41:32,523 --> 00:41:36,186
We had no hotel or anything
and it was now bedtime
352
00:41:36,427 --> 00:41:41,262
We managed to shake up someone
from a neighbouring club
353
00:41:41,532 --> 00:41:45,468
They opened the club and we slept in
the alcoves on the red leather seats
354
00:41:46,470 --> 00:41:51,965
The second night we moved into
the Bambi Kino for 2 or 3 months
355
00:41:52,309 --> 00:41:56,211
I remember Rory Storm and his group
coming with Ringo to see us
356
00:41:56,447 --> 00:42:02,147
They arrived a bit later and came
to see how the groups were living
357
00:42:02,386 --> 00:42:05,617
They were really shocked
358
00:42:05,890 --> 00:42:09,018
One of us had a Union Jack
over us to keep warm
359
00:42:09,293 --> 00:42:15,254
Rory and I were staying in one room
in the German Seamen's Mission
360
00:42:15,666 --> 00:42:19,102
That was luxury - absoloute bloody luxury
361
00:42:19,370 --> 00:42:24,501
Before we got to the club, the Kaiserkeller
362
00:42:24,775 --> 00:42:28,142
Howie Casey, sax player from Liverpool
363
00:42:28,412 --> 00:42:32,314
who also played a lot
with Paul McCartney later on
364
00:42:32,550 --> 00:42:35,951
They were sleeping for a while
in the back of the club
365
00:42:36,186 --> 00:42:39,178
I'll never forget when we arrived they said:
366
00:42:39,323 --> 00:42:41,553
"This is where you live"
367
00:42:41,692 --> 00:42:48,655
Just a couple of old settees
and Union Jacks for sheets
368
00:42:48,933 --> 00:42:52,266
We don't want this, we've got suits,
we're leaving, blah, blah, blah
369
00:42:52,503 --> 00:42:56,633
So we went to this life of luxury
in the German Seamen's Mission
370
00:42:57,274 --> 00:42:59,265
Everything else was such a buzz
371
00:42:59,510 --> 00:43:04,846
In the middle of the naughtiest city
in the world at 17 years old
372
00:43:05,082 --> 00:43:07,550
It was exciting
373
00:43:08,252 --> 00:43:12,689
And learning about the gangsters,
the transvestites
374
00:43:12,923 --> 00:43:15,983
You know, it was like that -
there's the hookers...
375
00:43:16,226 --> 00:43:21,630
We were just kids let off the leash,
straight from Liverpool to Hamburg
376
00:43:21,999 --> 00:43:24,433
We were used to little Liverpool girls
377
00:43:24,668 --> 00:43:29,435
but in Hamburg if you got a girlfriend
she's likely to be a stripper
378
00:43:29,673 --> 00:43:34,474
The only kind of people
who were around late at night there
379
00:43:35,446 --> 00:43:40,782
For someone who'd not really had
much sex before, which we hadn't
380
00:43:41,051 --> 00:43:45,385
to be suddenly involved with
the sort of hard-core striptease artist
381
00:43:45,623 --> 00:43:51,152
who obviously knew a thing or two
about sex, was quite an eye-opener
382
00:43:58,936 --> 00:44:04,704
That was also a point of our lives
where we found Dexedrine
383
00:44:04,975 --> 00:44:07,034
Uppers, you know, pills
384
00:44:07,277 --> 00:44:13,238
The only way we could continue
was to be on Preludin, they were called
385
00:44:13,484 --> 00:44:16,578
We bought them over the counter
so didn't think we were doing anything
386
00:44:16,854 --> 00:44:19,948
But you'd get really wired
and go on for days
387
00:44:20,524 --> 00:44:23,925
So with beer and Preludin,
that's how we survived
388
00:44:24,428 --> 00:44:30,264
We used to just be up there frothing
at the mouth, just stomping away
389
00:44:30,534 --> 00:44:33,833
Those were the days
390
00:44:56,527 --> 00:44:59,792
In Hamburg, 'cos we had to work
6 or 7 hours a night -
391
00:45:01,799 --> 00:45:04,927
on stage, with no rest -
392
00:45:05,169 --> 00:45:08,400
the waiters always had these pills
called Preludin
393
00:45:09,073 --> 00:45:14,067
When they saw the musicians falling over
with tiredness or drink
394
00:45:14,611 --> 00:45:15,737
they'd give you the pill
395
00:45:16,013 --> 00:45:19,505
You'd take the pill and you'd be talking,
you'd sober up
396
00:45:19,750 --> 00:45:23,948
You'd work until the pill wore off,
then you'd have to have another
397
00:45:24,488 --> 00:45:28,083
I think that's where we found our style
398
00:45:28,325 --> 00:45:32,591
We developed our style because
of this fella who used to say:
399
00:45:32,830 --> 00:45:38,769
"You've got to make a show
for the people. Mach Schau"
400
00:45:39,002 --> 00:45:44,565
so we used to Mach Schau
and John used to dance round like a gorilla
401
00:45:44,808 --> 00:45:47,800
We'd all knock our heads together
and things like that
402
00:45:48,679 --> 00:45:53,548
When we met in Germany,
they played one club, we played another
403
00:45:53,784 --> 00:45:55,979
They were just great by then
404
00:45:56,253 --> 00:46:01,919
I used to like... we'd do 12 hours
at a weekend between two bands
405
00:46:02,159 --> 00:46:05,094
when we ended up at the same club
406
00:46:05,329 --> 00:46:11,564
If they had the last set, I'd be semi-drunk,
demanding slow songs
407
00:46:11,935 --> 00:46:17,305
He used to like the sort of blues feel
of the late night sessions
408
00:46:17,574 --> 00:46:22,273
There was hardly anybody there.
I could see what he liked about it
409
00:46:22,513 --> 00:46:26,279
We were playing a bit more for ourselves
by that time of night
410
00:46:26,517 --> 00:46:28,985
because there was no one in
411
00:46:29,253 --> 00:46:33,314
This was all sort of bluesey -
B sides and lesser known tracks
412
00:46:33,557 --> 00:46:39,154
His particular favourite - he always
used to request it - was 3.30 Blues
413
00:46:52,476 --> 00:46:55,934
We made friends with a lot of people
414
00:46:56,513 --> 00:47:01,075
Our real friends
were the ones known now...
415
00:47:01,318 --> 00:47:04,481
Klaus Voormann
416
00:47:04,755 --> 00:47:06,746
Jurgen Vollmer
417
00:47:06,990 --> 00:47:11,586
and Astrid, who took all the famous
photographs of us at that period
418
00:47:12,095 --> 00:47:18,056
They liked all the rock'n'roll stuff,
the quiffed back hairdos...
419
00:47:18,535 --> 00:47:22,369
the leather outfits, the shades
420
00:47:22,606 --> 00:47:27,669
They weren't really rockers or mods,
they were something in the middle
421
00:47:27,911 --> 00:47:32,211
They called themselves 'exies' -
existentialists
422
00:47:32,916 --> 00:47:34,975
They were art students really
423
00:48:42,586 --> 00:48:44,918
Our best work was never recorded
424
00:48:45,155 --> 00:48:49,091
We were performers in Liverpool,
Hamburg and round the dance halls
425
00:48:49,326 --> 00:48:52,193
What we generated was fantastic
426
00:48:54,965 --> 00:48:59,026
I was 17 when we first went out there
and went to the Indra Club
427
00:48:59,269 --> 00:49:02,568
and then got moved
to the Kaiserkeller
428
00:49:02,806 --> 00:49:06,902
That ended up with us getting
the gig to go to the Top Ten Club
429
00:49:07,144 --> 00:49:11,137
Right before that happened,
I got busted for being under age
430
00:49:11,415 --> 00:49:16,876
They had this situation in Germany
I'd never come across before
431
00:49:17,120 --> 00:49:19,111
which was a curfew
432
00:49:19,356 --> 00:49:24,589
After 10 o'clock at night
anybody under 18 had to get out
433
00:49:24,828 --> 00:49:30,061
I was only 17, I was in the band
and I started getting worried
434
00:49:30,334 --> 00:49:35,829
Eventually somebody found out
we didn't have any work permits or visas
435
00:49:36,073 --> 00:49:38,564
so they started closing in on us
436
00:49:38,809 --> 00:49:42,836
The Police came one day
and they just booted me out
437
00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:47,449
That was at a critical time
because we'd decided -
438
00:49:47,684 --> 00:49:50,050
we'd been offered a job
to go to this other club
439
00:49:52,122 --> 00:49:55,523
The Top Ten was the club
we were ambitious to play at
440
00:49:56,026 --> 00:50:02,022
It was a slightly better club,
it was on the main Reeperbahn
441
00:50:02,666 --> 00:50:08,866
As we were leaving, me and Pete Best
were packing up - the last to leave
442
00:50:09,106 --> 00:50:13,133
He found a condom in his luggage
443
00:50:13,410 --> 00:50:18,507
What we did, just for a laugh,
outside in the corrider -
444
00:50:18,749 --> 00:50:21,718
concrete, nothing could
have caught fire at all -
445
00:50:21,952 --> 00:50:25,547
we pinned it up on the wall
and for a boyish prank we set fire to it
446
00:50:25,789 --> 00:50:29,816
So it left a little sort of black
rubber stain on the wall
447
00:50:30,093 --> 00:50:34,826
That was like "Right, we're going,
hey hey, on to better things"
448
00:50:35,065 --> 00:50:40,162
The fella wasn't pleased we were going
to the new club anyway
449
00:50:40,404 --> 00:50:44,397
because we were taking
all our business, all his business
450
00:50:44,641 --> 00:50:48,634
So he rang the police and we were
just walking down the Reeperbahn
451
00:50:51,715 --> 00:50:56,448
We were put in jail for about 3 hours -
first time in our lives
452
00:50:56,686 --> 00:50:58,677
Bloody hell, a German jail!
453
00:51:02,526 --> 00:51:06,257
The new club owners
where we were going to
454
00:51:06,530 --> 00:51:09,931
gave them a bottle of scotch
or something and got us out
455
00:51:10,367 --> 00:51:14,804
Well, Paul and Pete got deported
456
00:51:15,038 --> 00:51:18,565
for burning the condom on the wall
457
00:51:18,809 --> 00:51:23,337
So they were back before me,
and John got back about two days later
458
00:51:23,613 --> 00:51:29,711
I was really happy, thinking, oh great!
That's the supportive nature you see
459
00:51:29,953 --> 00:51:36,381
Stuart stayed there 'cos he decided
to get verheiratet with Astrid
460
00:51:37,527 --> 00:51:42,191
We went back when I was 18,
we were backing up Tony Sheridan
461
00:51:42,432 --> 00:51:46,459
At that point this fella came into the club
462
00:51:46,703 --> 00:51:52,505
They said he's a famous producer
and musician, Bert Kaempfert
463
00:51:53,009 --> 00:51:57,503
His claim to fame was he had
a number 1 hit in America
464
00:51:57,747 --> 00:51:59,738
Not only was he a record producer
465
00:51:59,983 --> 00:52:03,749
but he had a hit in America
called Wonderland by Night
466
00:52:03,987 --> 00:52:06,615
It turned out to be a trumpet solo
467
00:52:06,890 --> 00:52:11,691
He came in and this buzz went around
"We've got to be really good
468
00:52:11,928 --> 00:52:14,920
"We may get a chance to record" -
which we did
469
00:52:15,165 --> 00:52:20,831
He came back and asked us to come in
the studio with Sheridan and record
470
00:52:21,071 --> 00:52:23,562
We were all pleased with ourselves
471
00:52:23,807 --> 00:52:28,005
But he just wanted us
to back up Sheridan
472
00:52:28,245 --> 00:52:32,147
I remember feeling depressed
but we did get to do My Bonnie
473
00:52:56,873 --> 00:53:00,274
While we were out there,
we started to see other groups
474
00:53:00,510 --> 00:53:06,244
and started to get a little bit
dissatisfied with Pete
475
00:53:06,550 --> 00:53:12,716
I remember him not turning up for gigs
and we kept getting Ringo in
476
00:53:13,089 --> 00:53:17,116
Ringo Starr, who changed his name
before all of us
477
00:53:17,360 --> 00:53:22,457
He had a beard and was grown up
and had a Zephyr Zodiac
478
00:53:22,732 --> 00:53:26,190
which was a very big car in those days
479
00:53:26,436 --> 00:53:29,234
Nobody had this,
it was a knock-off probably
480
00:53:29,472 --> 00:53:32,566
Fell off the back of a showroom
481
00:53:34,678 --> 00:53:39,638
Ringo kept sitting in with the band
and it seemed like this was it
482
00:53:39,950 --> 00:53:43,943
This happened 3 or 4 times and then
that was the end, we were just pals
483
00:53:44,187 --> 00:53:48,180
We'd have a drink after it
and then I'd be back with Rory
484
00:53:48,425 --> 00:53:51,622
Around this time Stuart and I
got a little bit fraught too
485
00:53:51,895 --> 00:53:57,128
I claim that I was trying to make sure
we were musically very good
486
00:53:57,367 --> 00:54:00,165
but this did create a couple of rifts
487
00:54:00,403 --> 00:54:04,863
I could have been more sensitive
but who's sensitive at that age
488
00:54:05,609 --> 00:54:11,138
When we first met him he couldn't
play at all - when he first got a bass
489
00:54:11,414 --> 00:54:16,147
He learned a few tunes -
occasionally it was a bit embarrassing
490
00:54:16,386 --> 00:54:20,982
If it had a lot of changes to it
he was... but he knew that too
491
00:54:21,224 --> 00:54:25,285
That's why he was never really
at ease being in the band
492
00:54:25,528 --> 00:54:30,431
That's why he left after the gig in Hamburg -
to go back to art college
493
00:54:30,667 --> 00:54:34,228
At that point Paul was still playing guitar
494
00:54:34,471 --> 00:54:38,202
I remember saying "One of us
is going to be the bass player"
495
00:54:38,441 --> 00:54:42,468
I said I'm not doing it
and John wasn't doing it either
496
00:54:42,712 --> 00:54:44,703
He went for it
497
00:54:52,989 --> 00:54:56,925
He became the bass player
so then we were a four-piece band
498
00:55:05,635 --> 00:55:10,368
In Liverpool we got quite a few bookings -
they thought we were German
499
00:55:10,607 --> 00:55:15,010
They billed us from Hamburg
and said "You speak good English"
500
00:55:15,245 --> 00:55:19,306
We went back to Germany. We had a bit
more money so bought leather pants
501
00:55:19,549 --> 00:55:23,747
We looked like 4 Gene Vincents,
only a bit younger, I think
502
00:55:23,987 --> 00:55:30,551
Back in Liverpool, all the groups
were doing this Shadows stuff
503
00:55:32,028 --> 00:55:35,964
The Shadows
504
00:55:37,467 --> 00:55:41,164
That's why we became popular
because they couldn't believe it
505
00:55:41,404 --> 00:55:43,201
There were all
these dum de dum de dum...
506
00:55:45,775 --> 00:55:49,609
and then suddenly we come on -
wild men in leather suits
507
00:55:52,682 --> 00:55:55,742
I think Pete Best said to them
508
00:55:55,985 --> 00:56:00,979
that I'd drive them to the gigs and stuff
509
00:56:01,224 --> 00:56:05,217
I think I got a pound a night,
or a pound a gig
510
00:56:05,495 --> 00:56:07,554
Five bob off each of them
511
00:56:07,797 --> 00:56:12,393
They needed transport to get
to the Cavern and wherever
512
00:56:13,269 --> 00:56:17,000
We played the Cavern before
we ever went to Hamburg, I believe,
513
00:56:17,240 --> 00:56:21,506
in the days when it was
a jazz and folk club
514
00:56:23,012 --> 00:56:28,279
I remember playing there
and them handing us notes saying:
515
00:56:28,852 --> 00:56:33,016
"Stop playing this music,
this is a jazz club"
516
00:56:34,124 --> 00:56:40,029
We were saying "We'd like to do
this tune by Leadbelly
517
00:56:40,263 --> 00:56:43,061
"It's called Long Tall Sally"
518
00:56:43,333 --> 00:56:46,666
We'd do it...
and finally they kicked us off
519
00:57:04,254 --> 00:57:06,916
The Cavern is their home
520
00:57:07,157 --> 00:57:11,753
Cathy - A Fan
from the Cavern Club
It's where they first started
and where they've played most
521
00:57:12,762 --> 00:57:17,358
I've had a couple of requests
to do Kansas City so we'd like to do it
522
00:57:22,672 --> 00:57:27,041
We did well at the Cavern
and attracted some big audiences
523
00:57:27,811 --> 00:57:29,904
And the word got around
524
00:57:30,447 --> 00:57:34,679
A kid had gone into Brian's record store
and had asked for My Bonnie
525
00:57:35,185 --> 00:57:39,383
He found out that the Beatles
were supposed to be a Liverpool band
526
00:57:39,923 --> 00:57:43,086
and were playing the Cavern
so he came down to check us out
527
00:57:43,593 --> 00:57:47,359
I remember Bob Wooler,
the disc jockey, saying:
528
00:57:48,364 --> 00:57:51,959
"We have a Mr Epstein
who owns NEMS Enterprises in here"
529
00:57:52,202 --> 00:57:56,468
Everybody was going
"Ooh, wow, big, big deal"
530
00:58:02,111 --> 00:58:05,410
This was quite a new world for me
531
00:58:05,648 --> 00:58:09,584
I was amazed
by this sort of dark, smoky...
532
00:58:10,086 --> 00:58:15,183
dank atmosphere
with this beat music playing away
533
00:58:16,192 --> 00:58:22,620
Brian Epstein
The Beatles were then just four lads
on that rather dimly lit stage
534
00:58:23,433 --> 00:58:25,424
somewhat ill-clad
535
00:58:25,668 --> 00:58:30,230
Their presentation left a little
to be desired as far as I was concerned
536
00:58:30,473 --> 00:58:34,671
I'd been interested in the theatre
and acting for a long time
537
00:58:34,911 --> 00:58:40,281
but amongst all that,
something tremendous came over
538
00:58:40,517 --> 00:58:43,680
I was immediately struck by their music
539
00:58:43,920 --> 00:58:47,014
their beat and sense of humour on stage
540
00:58:47,290 --> 00:58:51,727
Even when I met them I was struck
again by their personal charm
541
00:58:51,961 --> 00:58:55,590
It was there that really it all started
542
00:58:56,566 --> 00:59:01,367
Brian had this shop. And it was good -
we used to pick up records
543
00:59:01,604 --> 00:59:07,600
He wanted to manage us and we weren't
going anywhere anyway
544
00:59:08,011 --> 00:59:13,176
We said you might as well. He got us jobs,
he got us a bit more money
545
00:59:13,449 --> 00:59:18,580
then started getting us radio shows
and things like that
546
00:59:18,855 --> 00:59:24,691
Then we got into our suits -
he talked us out of the leather suits
547
00:59:25,194 --> 00:59:29,187
It was a bit old hat anyway,
all wearing leather gear
548
00:59:29,432 --> 00:59:34,062
and we decided
we didn't want to look ridiculous
549
00:59:34,304 --> 00:59:37,296
Often people would laugh
550
00:59:37,574 --> 00:59:41,032
and we didn't want to appear
as a gang of idiots
551
00:59:41,277 --> 00:59:44,838
Brian suggested that
we just wore ordinary suits
552
00:59:45,949 --> 00:59:50,943
It was later put around that I'd betrayed
our heavy leather image
553
00:59:51,187 --> 00:59:53,951
and I wanted us to get suits
554
00:59:54,190 --> 00:59:57,717
but I seem to recall
that we all went quite happily
555
00:59:57,961 --> 01:00:02,421
I didn't drag anyone to the tailors,
they all went quite happily
556
01:00:03,333 --> 01:00:07,099
We gladly switched into suits
557
01:00:07,370 --> 01:00:11,033
if we were going to get more money,
get some more gigs
558
01:00:11,274 --> 01:00:14,266
Brian was a beautiful guy - Brian Epstein
559
01:00:14,510 --> 01:00:17,104
An intuitive, theatrical guy
560
01:00:17,347 --> 01:00:20,282
He knew we had something
and he presented us well
561
01:00:21,451 --> 01:00:26,582
I remember we had to drive to London
on New Year's Eve
562
01:00:26,823 --> 01:00:32,489
and we did a session for Decca,
an audition for Decca
563
01:00:33,997 --> 01:00:38,764
Decca Audition Tape
Recorded New Year's Day 1962
564
01:01:18,307 --> 01:01:20,605
When you hear the tape, it's pretty good
565
01:01:20,843 --> 01:01:24,074
It's not great
but it's certainly good for then
566
01:01:24,614 --> 01:01:28,516
Dick Rowe, the man who didn't sign us -
the head of Decca -
567
01:01:28,751 --> 01:01:32,983
said "Guitar groups
are on the way out, Mr Epstein"
568
01:01:49,806 --> 01:01:53,606
So Brian then had this tape
which he hawked around
569
01:01:53,843 --> 01:01:59,008
I think somebody in the HMV shop
on Oxford Street
570
01:01:59,816 --> 01:02:04,082
knew George Martin and told Brian
to go and play the tape to him
571
01:02:04,320 --> 01:02:07,983
and he gave us the audition at Abbey Road
572
01:02:08,324 --> 01:02:13,455
George hadn't done rock'n'roll
and we'd never been in a studio
573
01:02:13,596 --> 01:02:16,064
So we learnt a lot together
574
01:02:16,199 --> 01:02:20,602
He had a great musical knowledge
and background
575
01:02:21,437 --> 01:02:27,433
They were fairly irreverent,
even in those days, which I loved
576
01:02:27,677 --> 01:02:32,478
I like a bit of rebel in people
and I liked their sense of humour
577
01:02:32,715 --> 01:02:35,775
After all, that was my main
stock-in-trade too
578
01:02:36,052 --> 01:02:40,955
They liked what I'd been doing
with Peter Sellers and the Goons
579
01:02:41,190 --> 01:02:44,557
George Martin
Record Producer
I thought they had tremendous charisma
580
01:02:44,794 --> 01:02:47,957
I knew that that alone would sell them
581
01:02:48,431 --> 01:02:53,300
We did a reasonable audition
but he didn't like our drummer
582
01:02:53,836 --> 01:02:57,397
I said to Brian Epstein if...
when we do the next session
583
01:02:57,640 --> 01:03:02,134
I won't interfere with you and the Beatles
but I'll provide the drummer
584
01:03:02,879 --> 01:03:08,476
We really started to think we needed
"the great drummer" in Liverpool
585
01:03:09,252 --> 01:03:13,382
Historically it may look like
we did something nasty to Pete
586
01:03:13,623 --> 01:03:17,821
It may have been we could have
done it better but the thing was -
587
01:03:18,094 --> 01:03:22,224
as history also shows -
Ringo was the member of the band
588
01:03:22,465 --> 01:03:28,700
It's just that he didn't enter the film
until that particular scene
589
01:03:30,406 --> 01:03:33,603
It was a Wednesday and Brian called
590
01:03:33,843 --> 01:03:38,405
I don't remember John calling,
although it's in somebody's book
591
01:03:38,815 --> 01:03:41,978
"Would you join the band?"
592
01:03:42,251 --> 01:03:46,278
I said "What do you mean?"
and he said "Really join the band"
593
01:03:46,522 --> 01:03:50,549
I said "Sure, yeah, when?"
and he said now
594
01:03:50,793 --> 01:03:54,820
I said "No, I can't do that -
we've got these other four guys here
595
01:03:55,064 --> 01:03:59,125
"We'd got a gig for months
and I can't just pull out now"
596
01:03:59,368 --> 01:04:02,303
So I said "I'll join you Saturday"
597
01:04:02,572 --> 01:04:06,736
We used to have Saturday off.
That's when they changed the campers
598
01:04:07,009 --> 01:04:10,706
So I gave Rory until Saturday
to bring someone in for Sunday
599
01:04:10,947 --> 01:04:16,442
which I thought was giving him
a hell of a lot of time, and that was it
600
01:04:26,863 --> 01:04:30,731
We played the Cavern -
there was a lot of fighting and shouting
601
01:04:30,967 --> 01:04:33,629
Half of them hated me,
half of them loved me
602
01:04:34,270 --> 01:04:39,037
A few people shouted
"Ringo never, Pete Best for ever"
603
01:04:39,275 --> 01:04:45,305
After about half an hour I said
"Oh, bugger off", and stepped out...
604
01:04:45,548 --> 01:04:48,984
The Cavern had three tunnels
605
01:04:49,252 --> 01:04:53,086
We stepped out of what was
the dressing room into this dark tunnel
606
01:04:53,322 --> 01:04:56,314
and some guy butted me right in the eye
607
01:04:57,293 --> 01:05:02,253
That was a bad day -
and then I got hit by a bus
608
01:05:02,765 --> 01:05:04,756
George fought for me
609
01:05:05,134 --> 01:05:10,094
At this midday session at the Cavern
we proudly present the Beatles
610
01:05:10,406 --> 01:05:15,207
The Cavern Club
22nd August 1962
611
01:07:08,157 --> 01:07:10,148
We want Pete!
612
01:07:12,361 --> 01:07:15,922
When Ringo came to the session
for the first time
613
01:07:16,165 --> 01:07:18,963
nobody told me he was coming
614
01:07:19,201 --> 01:07:22,967
I'd booked Andy White
and told Brian Epstein I was doing this
615
01:07:23,205 --> 01:07:25,298
I said I just want the three others
616
01:07:25,574 --> 01:07:30,705
Ringo expected to play and I said,
"No, I've been bitten once
617
01:07:30,946 --> 01:07:33,938
"I don't even know who you are.
We're having Andy White"
618
01:07:36,852 --> 01:07:41,221
I was devastated.
I came down ready to roll
619
01:07:41,490 --> 01:07:44,482
and..."We've got Andy White,
the professional drummer"
620
01:07:45,561 --> 01:07:50,225
But he's apologised several times since,
has old George Martin
621
01:07:50,466 --> 01:07:55,403
But it was devastating and then we
did that, which Andy plays on
622
01:07:55,638 --> 01:08:00,166
Then we did the album, which I play on
623
01:08:00,409 --> 01:08:04,402
So Andy wasn't doing anything so great
624
01:08:04,647 --> 01:08:07,775
Well, nothing I couldn't copy
when we did the album
625
01:08:08,517 --> 01:08:11,281
Ringo bears those scars to this day
626
01:08:11,520 --> 01:08:13,545
He says "You didn't
let me play, did you?"
627
01:10:34,964 --> 01:10:39,060
Their first record, Love Me Do
sold 100000 copies
628
01:10:39,602 --> 01:10:44,596
It came to the charts in two days
and everybody thought it was a fiddle
629
01:10:44,840 --> 01:10:50,301
because our Manager's stores
send in these record returns
630
01:10:50,546 --> 01:10:55,040
Everybody down south
thought he was buying them himself
631
01:10:55,284 --> 01:10:58,845
or fiddling the charts - but he wasn't
632
01:10:59,355 --> 01:11:02,722
It was bought by the kids.
We had a big following
633
01:11:02,958 --> 01:11:07,657
Who'd had a record? Arthur Askey
was the last, I think, from Liverpool
634
01:11:08,397 --> 01:11:11,389
It got to 17 within the following weeks
635
01:11:11,634 --> 01:11:15,832
I don't recall what happened to it then,
it probably just died off
636
01:11:16,071 --> 01:11:20,599
but the next time we went to EMI
they were really more friendly
637
01:11:20,843 --> 01:11:24,335
"Oh, hello lads, come in"
638
01:11:27,383 --> 01:11:31,786
It was quite normal in those days
to find material for artists
639
01:11:32,054 --> 01:11:36,115
by going to Tin Pan Alley
and listening to all the publishers' wares
640
01:11:36,358 --> 01:11:40,419
That was a regular part of my life.
I'd spend ages looking for songs
641
01:11:40,663 --> 01:11:44,121
And for the Beatles
I was really looking for a hit song
642
01:11:44,366 --> 01:11:47,426
It didn't matter
so long as it suited the group
643
01:11:47,670 --> 01:11:51,572
Love Me Do was the best one
they were able to offer
644
01:11:51,807 --> 01:11:56,540
I found the kind of song I was looking for -
one by Mitch Murray
645
01:11:56,812 --> 01:12:00,339
called How Do You Do lt?
and I was convinced this was a hit song
646
01:12:07,089 --> 01:12:11,958
It wasn't the most marvellous song
I'd ever heard in my life
647
01:12:12,194 --> 01:12:16,790
but it had that essential element
to appeal to a lot of people
648
01:12:17,032 --> 01:12:19,796
and we did record it - John took the lead
649
01:12:31,280 --> 01:12:35,376
George said "If you want
a number 1 song, this is it"
650
01:12:35,651 --> 01:12:40,111
We said "Yeah, but we can't go back
to Liverpool singing that
651
01:12:40,356 --> 01:12:42,483
"We cannot be seen with that song"
652
01:12:43,225 --> 01:12:45,489
So we never issued it
653
01:12:45,728 --> 01:12:49,824
I gave it to Gerry and the Pacemakers
and it did become number 1
654
01:13:01,310 --> 01:13:04,939
George Martin asked if we'd anything
we'd like to do
655
01:13:05,214 --> 01:13:06,738
We'd got a song
called Please Please Me
656
01:13:07,015 --> 01:13:12,351
John had just written it,
a slow Roy Orbison kind of thing
657
01:13:12,588 --> 01:13:18,493
"Come on, please please me."
Big note at the end, just like Orbison
658
01:13:19,294 --> 01:13:24,197
I'd heard him doing Only The Lonely
and I was trying to..."Please Me"
659
01:13:24,433 --> 01:13:28,631
and I was always intrigued
by the words of...
660
01:13:28,871 --> 01:13:33,399
"Please lend your little ears to my pleas,"
a Bing Crosby song
661
01:13:33,642 --> 01:13:37,635
I was always intrigued by the
double use of the word 'please'
662
01:13:38,213 --> 01:13:42,115
And I said, OK. Let's try your song,
let's see if it works
663
01:13:42,351 --> 01:13:45,946
At the end of the session
I was able to say to them:
664
01:13:46,188 --> 01:13:48,782
"You've got your first number 1. Great!"
665
01:15:39,401 --> 01:15:45,101
Bob Wooler got on the stage,
telegram in hand: "I've got news for you"
666
01:15:45,374 --> 01:15:49,140
He looked terrible, we thought
something disastrous had happened
667
01:15:49,411 --> 01:15:55,748
"Please Please Me has reached number 1
in the national charts"
668
01:15:55,984 --> 01:15:59,385
The lads themselves
just stopped and looked at him
669
01:15:59,655 --> 01:16:04,422
They thought he was joking -
he must have been
670
01:16:04,693 --> 01:16:09,824
Lots of people who didn't know the Beatles
started cheering and clapping
671
01:16:10,065 --> 01:16:13,057
Three rows of girls at the front
all started crying
672
01:16:13,335 --> 01:16:15,997
It was a terrible night
673
01:16:16,238 --> 01:16:19,230
We knew then,
they'll get famous and go away
674
01:16:19,474 --> 01:16:22,068
They won't belong to us no more
675
01:18:33,241 --> 01:18:35,835
Subtitles: Screentext
63182
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