From The Quarrymen to The Beatles

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From The Black Jacks to The Beatles - The Story of the “Fab 27”

“With a Little Help from my Friends”

To many people, The Beatles are the “Fab Four” of John, Paul, George and Ringo - that’s it, end of story.

However, along the way, they had the help of many friends, without whom the final Fab Four that shook the world would never have been.

John Lennon (guitar), Pete Shotton (washboard) and Eric Griffiths (guitar) decided to start a skiffle group at Quarry Bank School. They quickly recruited Rod Davis who had just acquired a banjo. This was in about June 1956. They called themselves The Quarrymen - or Quarrymen - after their school, Quarry Bank, and the Quarry in Woolton.

They had friends who sometimes played with them; Bill Smith, who didn’t turn up to practices, so he was quickly disposed of: Ivan Vaughan and Nigel Walley who were John and Pete’s friends and occasionally played the tea-chest bass, but didn’t really want to stick at it.

So we have, John, Pete, Eric, Rod, Ivan, Nigel or Bill

Between 1956 and 1962, they became The Beatles

On 18 August 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with The Beatles as a replacement for Pete Best who was dismissed without warning two days before.

They became the “Fab Four” and conquered the world.

John, Paul, George and Ringo.

According to my calculations, there are 27 band members between June 1956 and August 1962 before we reached the final line-up.

Then of course there was Andy White, Jimmy Nicol and Billy Preston among many others brought in temporarily, but we’ll leave it there; I think that is complicated enough for now.

For the full story, read Liddypool