Early Days
The four boys from Liverpool were all born during the Second World War. Life in the northern city wasn't always easy after the war. Most people lived in small houses and many were poor. But like many ports, Liverpool was open to new ideas. Sometimes ships brought something that other places in Britain couldn't get - rock and roll records from the US! For the young people of Liverpool in the 1950s, the exciting sound of rock and roll was an escape from their daily lives. Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) was born in 1940 and grew up in one of Liverpool's poorest areas. He was often ill, and he first played drums in hospital. He bought his first drum around 1956 - just one big drum! He played with a few local bands. Then he joined Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Around this time, Richard took a new name - 'Ringo' - because of all the rings on his hands. George Harrison, the youngest Beatle, was born in 1943. His father was a bus driver, but before that he worked on ships. George loved his father's records from the US. At school, he sat in class drawing pictures of guitars. When he did get his guitar, he practiced all the time.
Paul McCartney was born in 1942, the son of a nurse and a cotton salesman. The family loved music. When Paul was old enough, his father bought him a trumpet. But Paul couldn't play the trumpet and sing at the same time. So he changed the trumpet for a guitar. He sometimes talked about music with a younger boy at his school - George Harrison.
John Lennon was born in 1940. After his father left, his mother sent the four-year-old boy to his Aunt Mimi and her husband's big house in a pleasant part of Liverpool. John loved rock and roll. He remembered seeing an Elvis Presley film. When the audience screamed, he thought, 'That's a good job!' John's mother loved music too - and she taught her son well. He started a band, the Quarry Men. The name came from his school, Quarry Bank.
One afternoon in July 1957, a friend took Paul to see the Quarry Men at a church garden party. John was singing, but he couldn't remember all the words. This didn't stop him - he sang new words. After the concert, Paul played a song on his guitar for John. Years later, John remembered the meeting. Paul was better than the people in the band, but John was a little worried. What was more important: his own strong position in the group, or a stronger group? He chose the group. Lennon and McCartney were together.
