When Paul First Invited The Quarry Men To Rehearse At His House - And To Meet His Dad - He Met Them In

When Paul first invited the Quarry Men to rehearse at his house - and to meet his dad - he met them in town to walk them over. On the way back they ran into a sailor returning home on leave, who was really excited to meet a band, and insisted that they come to the pub and play him a song.

Colin Hall (the book's narrator) writes:

"It was an offer the boys could not resist, although Paul's face immediately dropped. This was the last thing he needed. He was reluctant to accept the invitation because he knew his dad was waiting to meet the Quarry Men for the very first time. To turn up at home with a bunch of lads about whom he'd told Dad so much, and whom Jim was keen to meet, but who were now likely to arrive 'half cut' was Paul's worst nightmare."

Colin Hanton explains how they had a couple of pints and sang the guy a song as they left. He then says:

"Paul was clearly anxious that his dad would smell the beer on our breath and frustrated that there was nothing he could do about it. John reassured him we would be alright, it was half a mile at least to number 20 and the walk in the fresh air would take away the smell of the pub and beer. Reassured, but not entirely convinced, Paul walked ahead of us while we followed."

I know it's nothing but I love Paul being "clearly anxious" around these early days and John being okay about it instead of awful.

The meeting with Jim and Mike went fine though, and Colin mentions: "We also learned that their mum, Mary, had passed away a few years earlier."

"After about an hour, as would become the norm for our many rehearsals at Paul's, the glass doors opened and Jim popped his head round to ask if we were ready for a cup of tea. He was very obliging like that and always struck me as a very pleasant, sociable, and friendly man. After Jim served us tea, we carried on for another half hour before calling it a day. I think, despite the beery breath, we had passed the audition. Jim certainly didn't throw us out or make any comments about the smell of beer, he couldn't have been more hospitable. Indeed we were invited back many times to rehearse. Being a musician himself and a former band leader, Jim understood the importance of a good rehearsal space in which you felt at ease. Rehearsing at Paul's house was always enjoyable, Jim was always encouraging, and his warm welcome allowed us to relax and focus on the music."

Pre:Fab! by Colin Hanton and Colin Hall

The Art of Junji Ito: Twisted Visions - Kyoshitsu Igyo Collection

John Lennon and Paul McCartney performing I’m A Loser during rehearsals for The Beatles performance on Shindig!, 2nd/3rd October 1964 - part 1 (part 2) (link)

With thanks to @reflectismo for posting the vid

Bonus

There is a tidbit in a new book that Jim refused to sign Paul's publishing contract before Paul was 21 because it wasn't with a Liverpool publisher. Paul had to wait until he was 21 to sign it.

That's some crazy level of control over Paul.

Here is the full quote:

"But when it came to signing John Lennon and Paul McCartney publishing, to be called Northern Songs, Paul was under twenty-one. Jim McCartney, his father, objected to him being published by a London publisher. He said to Brian, “Why can’t he publish with a Liverpool publisher?” Brian said, “Well, for the simple reason that there aren’t any. You know that. And there aren’t any in Manchester, and there aren’t any in Birmingham. The publishers are all in London.” Jim dug his heels in and refused to sign. I remember John saying to Paul, “Come on, sign the bloody thing.” Brian said, “No, not, not until he’s twenty-one. That’s the way it’s done.” Paul asked, “Will you have patience? I’m twenty-one in June. And the day I’m twenty-one, I’ll sign the contract."

I’m not surprised and also adding that to my “wtf Jim” list. So Jim could have signed it for him but wouldn’t? Or were there other legal reasons Paul had to wait until he was twenty-one? Either way weird vibes from Jim. Like if it’s the former and he’s using that excuse for not signing for Paul I feel like that’s a flimsy cover for wanting to flex as much control as he can over Paul until he’s legally an adult. If it’s the latter situation it’s still not a good look, very much reading “I will find ways to be disappointed in this huge thing you’ve accomplished even if I have to find an extremely specific reason.”

(The whole cultural and class divide of Northern England vs London is a whole other thing that I am getting feelings about based on this info, but that’s another subject I’m not prepared to tackle.)

Paul McCartney by Mike McCartney

...smash