Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music , blues , country , bluegrass , and jazz , generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments.
68-680: The Quarrymen (also written as " the Quarry Men ") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the Quarrymen took their name from a line in the school song of their school, the Quarry Bank High School . Lennon's mother, Julia , taught her son to play
136-506: A Bale of Cotton )", " Alabamy Bound " and " Cumberland Gap ", and later learned how to play two of Elvis Presley 's first hits, " That's All Right " and " Mean Woman Blues ". Lennon and Griffiths decided to form a skiffle group in November 1956. This initial line-up consisted of Lennon and Griffiths on guitars, Pete Shotton on washboard , and school friend Bill Smith on tea-chest bass . Both Lennon and Shotton have been credited with coining
204-518: A band formed by Chris Barber . Lonnie Donegan played banjo for the Jazzmen, and also performed skiffle music during intervals. He would sing and play guitar with accompaniment of two other members, usually on washboard and tea-chest bass . They played a variety of American folk and blues songs, particularly those derived from the recordings of Lead Belly , in a lively style that emulated American jug bands . These were listed on posters as "skiffle" breaks,
272-424: A bass guitar and join the group. The group had no bookings, but began rehearsing vigorously to allow the musical novice Sutcliffe practice on his new instrument. In early 1960, the Quarrymen returned to Phillips' Sound Recording Services to record Lennon's new original song " One After 909 ", although this recording does not survive. Around the same time, the three made a rehearsal tape at McCartney's home. Harrison
340-569: A job in a restaurant at the Liverpool Airport . McCartney and Harrison, meanwhile, went on holiday hitchhiking in Wales , playing with a local skiffle group called the Vikings. Although Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison remained extremely close, the trio only performed a handful of times in the last months of 1958. When asked why they had neither a drummer or a bass player, they would respond "The rhythm's in
408-416: A medley of Little Richard songs. Vaughan and McCartney left before the evening show which started at 8 o'clock. During the performance, there was an unexpected thunderstorm, which made the lights go out. Bob Molyneux, a young schoolmate from Quarry Bank, recorded part of the performance on his Grundig TK8 portable reel-to-reel tape recorder . The tape included versions of Lonnie Donegan 's " Puttin' On
476-625: A million copies worldwide. The Acoustic Music organization makes this comment about Donegan's "Rock Island Line". "It flew up the English charts. Donegan had synthesized American Southern Blues with simple acoustic instruments: acoustic guitar, washtub bass and washboard rhythm. The new style was called 'Skiffle' .... and referred to music from people with little money for instruments. The new style captivated an entire generation of post-war youth in England." After splitting from Barber, Donegan went on to make
544-500: A name suggested by Ken Colyer's brother Bill after recalling the Dan Burley Skiffle Group. Soon the breaks were as popular as the traditional jazz. After disagreements in 1954, Colyer left to form a new outfit, and the band became Chris Barber's Jazz Band. The first British recordings of skiffle were carried out by Colyer's new band in 1954, but it was the release by Decca of two skiffle tracks by Barber's Jazz Band under
612-550: A new name: the Beatles. The Beatles (after several line-up changes, including adding Mona's son Pete Best on drums) continued to perform around Liverpool and in Hamburg , Germany, before being signed to Parlophone Records in 1962. Since the break-up of the Beatles in 1970 and the murder of John Lennon in 1980, members of the Quarrymen have reunited several times. From 1994 to 1995, Rod Davis and John Lowe recorded an album with studio musicians. This album, Open for Engagements ,
680-613: A permanent stage in the field behind the church, before a display by the City of Liverpool Police Dogs. They were playing " Come Go with Me " when Paul McCartney arrived, and in the Scout hut after the set, Ivan Vaughan introduced McCartney to Lennon, who chatted for a few minutes before the band set up in the church hall for their performance at that evening's "Grand Dance". McCartney demonstrated how he tuned his guitar and then sang Eddie Cochran's " Twenty Flight Rock ", Gene Vincent's " Be-Bop-a-Lula ", and
748-469: A recording session on 12 July 1958. They recorded straight to disc, as tape would have been an extra expense. The sound was recorded live by a single microphone in the centre of the room, and Lennon suggested that Hanton put a scarf over the snare drum to lower the volume. They first recorded " In Spite of All the Danger " a McCartney original (credited as McCartney/Harrison) followed by Buddy Holly's " That'll Be
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#1732854652005816-685: A second test, the Quarrymen lost by a small margin. On 6 July 1957, The Quarrymen played at the St. Peter's Church Rose Queen garden fête in Woolton . They first played on the back of a moving flatbed lorry, in a procession of floats that carried the Rose Queen and retiring Rose Queen, Morris dancers , Boy Scouts , Brownies , Girl Guides and Cubs , led by the Band of the Cheshire Yeomanry. At 4:15, they played on
884-466: A series of popular records as "Lonnie Donegan's Skiffle Group", with successes including " Cumberland Gap " (1957), " Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour " (1958) and " My Old Man's a Dustman " (1960). It was the success of Donegan's "Rock Island Line" and the lack of a need for expensive instruments or high levels of musicianship that set off the British skiffle craze. A few bands enjoyed chart success in
952-528: A talent contest in Liverpool, the winners of which would appear on the television series Star Search. The Quarrymen played Lonnie Donegan 's " Worried Man Blues ", and were loudly applauded, but a group from Wales (called the Sunnyside Skiffle Group) "jumped all over the stage" and outshone the static Quarrymen, and were asked by Levis to fill in the last few minutes of the contest with a second song. Lennon argued heatedly with Levis backstage, saying
1020-401: A trend of groups wishing to "play down that word skiffle", considering it limiting. By the end of 1958, the boom was over as enthusiasts either abandoned music for more stable employment or moved into some of the forms of music that it had first suggested, including folk, blues and rock and roll. As a result, it has been seen as a critical stepping stone to the second folk revival, blues boom and
1088-580: The British Invasion of the US popular music scene. Donegan continued his career in skiffle until his death in 2002. It has been estimated that in the late 1950s, there were 30,000–50,000 skiffle groups in Britain. Sales of guitars grew rapidly, and other musicians were able to perform on improvised bass and percussion in venues such as church halls and cafes and in the flourishing coffee bars of Soho , London, like
1156-572: The banjo , showed Lennon and Eric Griffiths how to tune their guitars in a similar way to the banjo, and taught them simple chords and songs. Lennon founded a skiffle group with his close friend Pete Shotton and after a week of gaining new members, they named themselves The Quarrymen. The Quarrymen played at parties, school dances, cinemas and amateur skiffle contests before Paul McCartney joined in early July, 1957. George Harrison joined in early 1958 at McCartney's recommendation, though Lennon initially resisted because he felt Harrison (14 when he
1224-476: The washboard until Paul McCartney joined. Shotton left the band when he confided that he did not really enjoy playing, prompting Lennon to smash the washboard over his head at a party. However, he remained a friend and confidant of the group, becoming close with all of the Beatles. Shotton pursued a career in business; after the Beatles became famous and wealthy, Lennon bought a supermarket on Hayling Island and gave it to him. He later served as manager of
1292-485: The 1940s. Skiffle was a relatively obscure genre, and it might have been largely forgotten if not for its revival in the United Kingdom in the 1950s and the success of its main proponent, Lonnie Donegan . British skiffle grew out of the developing post-war British jazz scene, which saw a move away from swing music and towards trad jazz . Among these bands were Bill Bailey Skiffle Group and Ken Colyer 's Jazzmen,
1360-846: The 2i's Coffee Bar , the Cat's Whisker and nightspots like Coconut Grove and Churchill's, without having to aspire to musical perfection or virtuosity. A large number of British musicians began their careers playing skiffle in this period, and some became leading figures in their fields. These included leading Northern Irish musician Van Morrison and British blues pioneer Alexis Korner , as well as Ronnie Wood , Alex Harvey and Mick Jagger ; folk musicians Martin Carthy , John Renbourn and Ashley Hutchings ; rock musicians Roger Daltrey , Jimmy Page , Ritchie Blackmore , Robin Trower and David Gilmour ; and popular Beat-music successes Graham Nash and Allan Clarke of
1428-563: The African-American migration to northern industrial cities. The first use of the term on record was in 1925 in the name of Jimmy O'Bryant and his Chicago Skifflers. Most often it was used to describe country blues music records, which included the compositions "Hometown Skiffle" (1929) and "Skiffle Blues" (1946) by Dan Burley & his Skiffle Boys . It was used by Ma Rainey (1886–1939) to describe her repertoire to rural audiences. The term skiffle disappeared from American music in
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#17328546520051496-499: The Casbah Coffee Club on 29 August 1959. The opening night performance was attended by about 300 local teenagers, but as the cellar had no air conditioning and people were dancing, the temperature rose until it became hard to breathe. The Quarrymen were afforded the use of Brown's three input amplifier (which, along with McCartney's Elpico, meant that all four guitarists were electric), and sang through one microphone connected to
1564-568: The Conservative Club, the group needed another guitarist to accommodate their new rock-focused repertoire; McCartney recommended his school friend George Harrison. Harrison first saw the group perform on 6 February 1958 at Wilson Hall, where McCartney introduced him to Lennon. Harrison subsequently auditioned for The Quarrymen in March at Rory Storm 's Morgue Skiffle Club, playing " Guitar Boogie Shuffle ". Lennon thought Harrison (having just turned 15)
1632-448: The Day ". Both feature Lennon on lead vocals. When the recording was finished, Phillips handed the group a fragile 78rpm record, which was passed around the band for one week each, or lent out to friends. It was later lost until Lowe rediscovered it in 1981, and sold it to McCartney for an undisclosed amount. The recordings would later be issued on the Beatles' album Anthology 1 . Soon after
1700-480: The English word skiffle is unknown. However, in the dialect of the west of England to make a skiffle , meaning to make a mess of any business, is attested from 1873. In early 20th century America the term skiffle was one of many slang phrases for a rent party , a social event with a small charge designed to pay rent on a house. It was first recorded in Chicago in the 1920s and may have been brought there as part of
1768-494: The Good Times Roll ", and Gene Vincent 's " Be-Bop-A-Lula " which they added to their repertoire. After his tenure on tea-chest bass , Walley became the group's manager. He sent flyers to local theatres and ballrooms, and put up posters designed by Lennon: "Country-and-western, rock n' roll, skiffle band — The Quarrymen — Open for Engagements — Please Call Nigel Walley, Tel. Gateacre 1715". Walley managed to secure
1836-554: The Hollies . Most notably, the Beatles developed from John Lennon 's 1957 skiffle group the Quarrymen ; Paul McCartney was added after a few months and George Harrison joined in 1958. Similarly, the Bee Gees developed from Barry Gibb 's skiffle group The Rattlesnakes . During summer 1970, the skiffle-like song " In the Summertime " by British band Mungo Jerry reached the top of
1904-612: The Moondogs , Japage 3 , and Long John and the Silver Beatles before returning to the Quarrymen name in 1959. In 1960, the group changed their name to "The Beatles" (chosen for its double meaning and as a wink to Buddy Holly 's band, " The Crickets "). In 1997, the four surviving original members of the Quarrymen reunited to perform at the 40th anniversary celebrations of the garden fête performance at which Lennon had first met McCartney. Since 1998, they have performed in countries outside
1972-438: The Moondogs changed their name to Japage 3 (pronounced "Jaypage") (combining letters from each of the member's names: J ohn, Pa ul, and Ge orge). Lennon had a friend from art school, named Derek Hodkin, who owned a tape recorder, and Lennon convinced him to record the group (along with McCartney's brother Mike on drums). The group then asked Hodkin to act as their manager, and he agreed. Despite Hodkin's management, bookings for
2040-518: The Quarrymen have recorded three albums, consisting mostly of covers of 1950s rock and skiffle. Skiffle Originating as a form in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, it became extremely popular in the United Kingdom in the 1950s, where it was played by such artists as Lonnie Donegan , the Vipers Skiffle Group , Ken Colyer , and Chas McDevitt . Skiffle
2108-645: The Quarrymen, and Vaughan also invited McCartney to join. McCartney said he would join after Scout camp in Hathersage , Derbyshire, and a holiday with his family at the Butlin's holiday camp in Filey , North Yorkshire. Shotton and Davis both left the Quarrymen in August, feeling that the group was moving away from skiffle and towards rock, leaving their instruments superfluous. When McCartney returned from holiday, he began rehearsing with
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2176-527: The Quarrymen, playing songs such as " Bye Bye Love " (The Everly Brothers) and " All Shook Up ", which Lennon and the group had been trying to learn, without success. McCartney made his debut with the band on 18 October 1957 at a Conservative Club social held at the New Clubmoor Hall in the Norris Green section of Liverpool. Lennon and McCartney wore cream-coloured sports jackets, which were paid for by
2244-560: The Style " and Elvis ' " Baby Let's Play House ". In 1963, Molyneux offered the tape to Lennon via Ringo Starr , but Lennon never responded, so Molyneux put the tape in a vault. As they were walking home after the evening performance, Lennon and Shotton discussed the afternoon encounter with McCartney, and Lennon said that perhaps they should invite McCartney to join the band. Two weeks later, Shotton encountered McCartney cycling through Woolton, and conveyed Lennon's casual invitation for him to join
2312-472: The Sunnyside Skiffle Group had brought a bus full of supporters with them, and were given "the upper hand" advantage by Levis. After the competition, Levis used a clap-o-meter (a machine to measure the decibels of the audience's reaction to the groups) as they were asked to walk back out onto the stage. The Quarrymen and the Sunnyside Skiffle Group tied by both reaching ninety on the meter, but after
2380-479: The UK and released four albums. Three original members still perform as the Quarrymen. In the mid-1950s, there was a revival in the United Kingdom of the musical form "skiffle" that had originated in the United States and had been popular in the US in the 1920s, '30s and '40s. In addition to its popularity among British teenagers as music to listen to, it also spawned a craze of teenage boys starting their own groups to perform
2448-518: The band's Apple Boutique , then as the first CEO of their Apple Corps . After Lennon began a relationship with Yoko Ono and Apple started to flounder, Shotton parted company with the Beatles. Shotton resumed his ownership of the Hayling Island supermarket, which he continued to run until the late 1970s. He then created the Fatty Arbuckle's chain of restaurants, a franchise designed to bring
2516-625: The broadcasting of the BBC TV programme Six-Five Special from 1957. It was the first British youth music programme, using a skiffle song as its title music and showcasing many skiffle acts. However, the British rock and roll scene was starting to take off, producing home-grown stars like Tommy Steele , Marty Wilde and Cliff Richard and the Shadows (themselves originally involved in skiffle). By February 1958, Pete Murray , host of Six-Five Special , noted
2584-452: The cellar. Harrison and fellow Quartet guitarist Ken Brown , however, missed a show, causing Les Stewart to fire the two and drop the residency. This caused distress to Best, but Harrison offered a solution: he recruited Lennon and McCartney to play, and they returned to calling themselves the Quarrymen. After helping Best finish converting the cellar, the new four guitarist line-up of the Quarrymen (Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Brown) opened
2652-544: The charts in several countries around the world. In 2017, performer Billy Bragg 's book Roots, Radicals and Rockers , a history of the skiffle movement, was published. Bragg has compared the development of skiffle in Britain in the 1950s to punk rock in the 1970s, noting that skiffle was a revolt by young people against the culture of their parents, and allowed them to create their own style of music without expensive equipment or great musical virtuosity. Pete Shotton Peter Shotton (4 August 1941 – 24 March 2017)
2720-544: The club's small PA system. The group continued their Casbah residency into the new year, occasionally securing other gigs. In January, Brown grew ill and was unable to play the show. Best, however, insisted that the Quarrymen still pay Brown, but Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison refused; the incident resulted in the loss of their residency at the Casbah and Brown's departure from the group. Shortly after, however, Lennon convinced fellow art school student Stuart Sutcliffe to purchase
2788-541: The early 20th century. Skiffle is often said to have developed from New Orleans jazz, but this claim has been disputed. Improvised jug bands playing blues and jazz were common across the American South in the early decades of the 20th century. They used instruments such as the washboard , jugs , washtub bass , cigar-box fiddle , musical saw and comb-and-paper kazoos , as well as more conventional instruments, such as acoustic guitar and banjo . The origin of
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2856-504: The feel of the American diner to Britain. The franchise was highly successful in the 1980s and was later sold for an undisclosed sum. He later moved to Dublin to live as a tax exile . Upon hearing the news that Lennon had been murdered on 8 December 1980, he visited Harrison at Friar Park . He co-authored, with Nicholas Schaffner , the book John Lennon: In My Life (1983). It was republished later as The Beatles, Lennon and Me , and told
2924-458: The finals in Manchester. The group performed Buddy Holly's " Think It Over " to positive reception, but were unable to stay until the end of the competition to receive the results. As they were leaving, Lennon saw a cutaway electric guitar by the stage door, picked it up and walked off with it, later saying that the trip "wasn't a total loss." Following their Star Search audition, Johnny and
2992-757: The group almost entirely excised skiffle from their repertoire, focusing on covers of songs by rock and roll singers such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins , Little Richard , and Larry Williams , and the Quarrymen's sound increasingly relied on harmony singing between Lennon and McCartney. An extremely important influence for them at the time was Buddy Holly and his group the Crickets . Around this time, Lennon and McCartney both started writing songs influenced by Holly – Lennon's " Hello Little Girl " and McCartney's " I Lost My Little Girl " – and both were impressed with each other's efforts. The two young men began writing together. After McCartney's poor performance on lead guitar at
3060-575: The group continued to perform, undertaking tours of the UK , the US , Germany , Japan , Russia , Cuba and other countries. The group's repertoire focuses on the skiffle and early rock and roll they played in their original incarnation with the added roots rock historical perspective of illustrating how American roots music inspired the nascent Beatles. In 2000, producer and the Beatles' historian Martin Lewis produced
3128-483: The group dried up. Harrison began a stint as rhythm guitarist in the Les Stewart Quartet, who had a weekly club engagement. By May, Japage 3 was defunct, although the three continued to see each other socially, and Lennon and McCartney continued to write songs together. In the summer of 1959, Mona Best decided to open a club in her cellar, and offered the Les Stewart Quartet a residency if they would help convert
3196-500: The group on piano. With Harrison's entry, the Quarrymen now had four guitarists. Lennon and McCartney suggested to Griffiths that he instead buy a bass guitar, but Griffiths refused because of the expense. The two subsequently convinced Nigel Walley, still acting as the group's manager, to fire Griffiths. Walley regretted the incident, and as a result gradually severed his ties with the Quarrymen. Around this same time, Len Garry contracted tubercular meningitis , and spent seven months in
3264-635: The group performing the Del-Vikings song " Come Go with Me " (the first song McCartney recalled hearing Lennon sing on the first day they met) for use on the soundtrack of the Michael Lindsay-Hogg film Two of Us , a film about the last day that Lennon and McCartney saw each other in April 1976. Eric Griffiths died in 2005, and Pete Shotton retired, owing to ill health. Shotton died in 2017. As of 2016, Davis, Garry, and Hanton continued to perform around
3332-473: The group several paid engagements throughout the spring of 1957, including one at The Cavern Club . A jazz club at the time, the Cavern tolerated skiffle as it was considered an offshoot of jazz. Lennon, however, began leading the band in several rock and roll numbers, prompting the club's manager to send up a note ordering the group to "cut out the bloody rock". In July 1957, Canadian impresario Carroll Levis held
3400-704: The group. This group of Lennon, Griffiths, Shotton, Garry, Hanton, and Davis formed the first stable line-up of the group. The group first rehearsed in Shotton's house on Vale Road, but because of the noise, his mother told them to use the corrugated air-raid shelter in the back garden. Rehearsals were moved from the cold air-raid shelter to Hanton's or Griffiths' house — as Griffiths' father had died in WWII, and his mother worked all day. The band also often visited Lennon's mother at 1 Blomfield Road, listening to her collection of rock and roll records by Elvis , Shirley and Lee 's " Let
3468-407: The guitars." In the fall of 1958, the group had another chance to audition for Carroll Levis , nearly a year and a half after the Quarrymen's first Star Search . For the audition, the group changed their name to Johnny and the Moondogs. Lennon was without a guitar, his having broken recently. Johnny and the Moondogs passed the first heat of the competition in Liverpool, and were invited to appear in
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#17328546520053536-511: The hospital, never playing with the group again. This left Colin Hanton as the last of the group of Lennon's Quarry Bank classmates that originally comprised the group. In March, McCartney bought an Elpico amplifier with two inputs, and he and Harrison added pickups to their guitars, giving the Quarrymen an electric sound for the first time. Percy Phillips operated a studio called Phillips' Sound Recording Services at 38 Kensington, Liverpool, between
3604-539: The kitchen and a front room that served as an electrical goods shop. Actors from the Liverpool Playhouse often stayed in the room above the studio, and were asked by Phillips to record monologues and poems. Phillips had just turned 60 years old when Harrison heard about the studio from guitarist Johnny Byrne of the Raving Texans, who had recorded a version of " Butterfly " there on 22 June 1957. The Quarrymen booked
3672-689: The lessons soon after, as they were based on theory and not actual playing. As Griffiths already knew how to play the banjo, Lennon's mother showed them how to tune the top four strings of their guitars to the same notes as a banjo, and taught them the chords of D, C, and D7 , as well as the Fats Domino song, " Ain't That a Shame ". They practised at Lennon's aunt's house (called Mendips) at 251 Menlove Avenue where Lennon lived, or at Griffiths' house in Halewood Drive. They learned how to play Lonnie Donegan 's " Rock Island Line ", "Jump Down Turn Around ( Pick
3740-593: The music. One of the primary attractions was that it did not require great musical skills or expensive instruments to be played. Early British skiffle was played by traditional jazz musicians, with the most successful British proponent of the genre in the 1950s being Lonnie Donegan . The Quarrymen's initial repertoire included several songs that Donegan had recorded. When Lennon wanted to try making music himself, he and fellow Quarry Bank school friend, Griffiths, took guitar lessons in Hunt's Cross , Liverpool, although Lennon gave up
3808-523: The name Quarrymen after a line in their school's song: 'Quarrymen, old before our birth. Straining each muscle and sinew.' The choice of name was tongue-in-cheek as Lennon regarded the reference in the school song to "straining each muscle and sinew" as risible. Smith's tenure in the band was extremely short, and he was replaced in quick succession by Nigel Walley , Ivan Vaughan , and Len Garry throughout late 1956 and early 1957. Also during this period, drummer Colin Hanton and banjo player Rod Davis joined
3876-524: The name of the "Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group" that transformed the fortunes of skiffle in late 1955. Donegan's fast-tempo version of Lead Belly 's " Rock Island Line " was a major hit in 1956, featuring a washboard (but not a tea-chest bass), with " John Henry " on the B-side. It spent eight months in the Top 20, peaking at No. 6 (and No. 8 in the U.S.). It was the first debut record to go gold in Britain, selling over
3944-416: The recording session, Hanton had a fight with the rest of the group and quit. Lowe too lost contact with the group after leaving Liverpool Institute, leaving the Quarrymen as just a trio of guitarists: Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison. Lennon's mother was killed in a road accident on 15 July 1958, dealing him a devastating emotional blow. The group remained mostly inactive throughout the summer, as Lennon took up
4012-627: The skiffle craze, including the Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group (" Freight Train "), Johnny Duncan and the Bluegrass Boys, and the Vipers , but the main impact of skiffle was as a grassroots amateur movement, particularly popular among working class men, who could cheaply buy, improvise, or build their own instruments and who have been seen as reacting against the drab austerity of post-war Britain. The craze probably reached its height with
4080-424: The whole group—Walley collected half a crown per week from each member until they were paid for — and the others wore white shirts with tassels and black bootlace ties . To the irritation of the other group members, McCartney endlessly practised the lead guitar intro to " Raunchy ". The Quarrymen continued to play sparse gigs throughout the autumn of 1957, mostly for local promoter Charlie McBain. During this period,
4148-621: The world. Lowe occasionally performed with them. In September and October 2010, the band undertook a US tour celebrating the 70th birthday of their founder, Lennon. They appeared in a charity concert for Amnesty International honouring Lennon in New York City on Lennon's birthday, Saturday 9 October 2010. From 2016 former Beatles bassist Chas Newby performed with the band. He died in May 2023. John Lowe died in February 2024. Since their 1997 reformation,
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#17328546520054216-414: Was a close childhood friend of John Lennon , with whom he attended Dovedale Infants School and Quarry Bank Grammar School . The two were frequently in trouble with school faculty, often being caned by the headmaster as punishment for their misdeeds, and they came to be known at Quarry Bank as "Shennon and Lotton" or "Lotton and Shennon". In 1957, Shotton was Lennon's bandmate in the Quarrymen , playing
4284-470: Was a major part of the early careers of some musicians who later became prominent in other genres, including the Quarrymen (who were later renamed the Beatles ) and Rory Gallagher . The skiffle style has been seen as a critical stepping stone to the second British folk revival , the British blues boom , and the British Invasion of American popular music. The origins of skiffle are obscure but generally thought to lie in African-American musical culture in
4352-471: Was absent (as he had an apprenticeship), and the tape features several jams and original songs, including the McCartney instrumental " Cayenne ". With few gigs during this period the group often wrote letters to secure bookings, several of which survive. The four disliked the Quarrymen name, and went through several others during this period, including Los Paranoias. By March 1960, Lennon and Sutcliffe came up with
4420-496: Was an English businessman. He was known for creating the Fatty Arbuckle's chain of restaurants and for his long friendship with John Lennon of the Beatles ; he played the washboard in the Beatles' precursor the Quarrymen and remained close to the band, holding various positions related to their business ventures over the years. Shotton was born in Liverpool on 4 August 1941, the son of Bessie (née Wilson) and George Shotton. He
4488-530: Was introduced to Lennon) was too young. McCartney and Harrison attended the Liverpool Institute . The group made an amateur recording in 1958, performing Buddy Holly 's " That'll Be the Day " and " In Spite of All the Danger ", a song written by McCartney and Harrison. The group moved towards rock and roll, causing several of the original members to leave. This left Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, who performed under several other names, including Johnny and
4556-423: Was released in 1995 under the Quarrymen name. The surviving members of the 1957 line-up of the Quarrymen reunited in 1997 for the 40th anniversary of their performance at the 1957 Woolton village fete, which was the location of the first meeting of Lennon and McCartney. All five surviving members from that day, Pete Shotton , Rod Davis , Len Garry , Eric Griffiths and Colin Hanton , performed. Following this,
4624-471: Was too young to join the band, so McCartney engineered another meeting on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, where Harrison played " Raunchy " for Lennon. After McCartney's constant advocacy, Lennon allowed Harrison to join the Quarrymen as lead guitarist. Harrison's entry into the Quarrymen shifted the group even more away from skiffle, in addition to ending Lennon's use of banjo chords. Around this time, John Duff Lowe , another school friend of McCartney, joined
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