Liddypool - Birthplace of The Beatles

HOME CONTACT BUY THE BOOK HISTORY OF THE BEATLES VENUES

A Brief History of The Beatles - or is it?

“Am I the Walrus?”

If you’ve read any of the books written about The Beatles, you will have a certain view of the greatest band in music history. However, not everything that has been written gives you a true reflection of what really happened.

I have met Beatles fans from all over the world, many of whom actually saw them in the 1960s and have been fans ever since. But they can have different versions of what they think actually happened, as opposed to what did happen.

So, here is my version of The Beatles’ history, which has largely passed into folklore. But what is the truth, and what is myth? Can you tell? Everything quoted here has appeared in either a book or an interview about The Beatles - often with The Beatles themselves!

There are 36 errors - can you spot them all?

The History of The Beatles

A young working-class boy named John Winston Lennon formed a group with some friends called the Quarrymen, named after their school of Quarry Bank.

On 7 July 1957, the Quarrymen were the star attraction at St. Peters Summer Fete, where a young Paul McCartney decided to go and watch them. He was impressed by them, and particularly John, who was improvising words to ‘Come Go With Me’ and putting in words about going down to the penitentiary. Paul went and introduced himself to John in St. Peter’s Church Hall and they talked about music. Paul played Twenty Flight Rock, and John was so impressed that he asked Paul to join the Quarrymen that day.

Paul then introduced John to his friend George Harrison, and John was so impressed with his guitar playing, that he invited George to join them as soon as possible, and the group consisted of John, Paul and George, after the others were asked to leave. John then met Stu Sutcliffe, and they became The Beatles, named after the film “The Wild Ones” where the line is: “We missed you, all the Beetles missed you” although John later told about the “Man on the Flaming Pie” and claimed he was the inspiration.

When they became the first Liverpool group to head out to Hamburg, they wanted to add to their reputation as Liverpool’s top rock ‘n’ roll band by adding Pete Best on drums.

Stu was forced out of the group, as he wasn’t musically talented, and often had to stand with his back to the audience as he was playing the wrong notes. It got so bad that they often had to unplug his lead so that he couldn’t be heard!

On their return to Liverpool, The Beatles could see a great future for themselves, and the promoters were fighting to try to book them. Paul became The Beatles’ first left-handed bass guitarist for the first gig back home at Litherland Town Hall, rightly seen as the birth of Beatlemania.

Allan Williams, The Beatles’ manager had a falling out with them, and so gave them away to Brian Epstein, who, at Raymond Jones' suggestion, saw them at the Cavern, the Birthplace of The Beatles. Epstein signed the contract with The Beatles in the Cavern.

Decca Records turned The Beatles down and instead signed Brian Poole and the Tremeloes who lived near London. When Brian secured a record deal for The Beatles at EMI, George Martin put Pete through his paces, and wasn’t impressed with Pete’s drumming, and told Brian he wouldn’t be using Pete, as he wasn’t good enough, and suggested to Brian that he should replace him.

The Beatles and Brian decided to sack Pete, and bring in Ringo Starr, the best drummer in Liverpool. Pete had often missed gigs due to illness, and wasn’t reliable, and so Ringo had sat in with them on a number of occasions already. Pete left by mutual agreement, as reported in Mersey Beat.

The new Fab Four take the world by storm and become the most successful Pop group ever, particularly after Brian bought 10,000 copies of Love Me Do to take them to the top of the charts with their first number one.

Unparalleled success left Brian Epstein almost redundant, and so in the summer of 1967, he committed suicide by taking an overdose.

John met Yoko Ono, who was then responsible for the break-up of The Beatles.

The four stayed together to record their final album “Let it Be”, and officially split up in 1970, never to play with each other again.

How did you do? Did you find all 36? To enter the competition to win a FREE copy of "Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles", email me now with your version listing them all from 1 to 36 in order.