Who was in The Quarrymen?
By the standards of music as we know it today, it seems unthinkable that there was ever a time before the world knew the meaning of the word Beatlemania, or acknowledged the prolific sonic partnership between John Lennon and Paul McCartney as one of the best to ever tread the boards. But The Beatles did not bolt out of obscurity, because they had The Quarrymen to thank for laying the foundations first.
For someone without an industry background, Lennon certainly did possess a talented eye when it came to forming bands and creating longevity, as although he didn’t see The Quarrymen through for the long run himself, his helming of the group led to a significant piece of skiffle history, in which Merseyside was well and truly making its mark on the map before it became fashionable.
As much as the original iteration of The Quarrymen only lasted as a late 1950s outfit until the heights of The Beatles came calling, what may be less common knowledge is the fact that the band is still going, with the trio of Colin Hanton, Len Garry, and Rod Davis leading the charge.
Before them, however, The Quarrymen featured a prestigious litany of members. For starters, there were three of the four Fabs – minus Ringo Starr – and a lineup which varied over the years, but at one point in time or another consisted of Eric Griffiths, Pete Shotton, Bill Smith, Nigel Walley, Ivan Vaughan, John Duff Lowe, Ken Brown, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Chas Newby.
What impact did The Quarrymen have?
Although Lennon took much of the credit for his musical prowess, it was actually his mother, Julia, who largely showed him the ropes when it came to kickstarting his adolescent ambitions with The Quarrymen. Teaching her son how to play the banjo, and then giving McCartney and Griffiths tips on how to tune their guitars to create a similar sound, she set about showing the nascent stars simple chords and songs they could perform – the results of which she could never have anticipated.
The group, later joined by George Harrison, toured their local scene of school dances and parties before committing themselves to some amateur recordings, including covers of the likes of Buddy Holly as well as their own tunes. But as the years wore on and the allure of rock and roll became ever more enticing, Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison jumped ship for ventures new – and the rest, they say, is history.
What The Quarrymen may have lacked in rapture at the time of their original tenure, they more than made up for in the lessons they learned from the experience, and the way this went on to shake up rock music around the world forevermore. In addition this, as much as The Beatles went on to conquer much more illustrious shores and went on to root their lives and careers in these far-flung places, it was worth remembering just how quintessential their Liverpool origins were to creating their unique selling sound.
At the end of the day, they were nothing without the skiffle.
