On this day: Paul McCartney meets John Lennon at an English fete

On this day in 1957, a 15-year-old Paul McCartney meets John Lennon at a church fete in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton, arguably changing the face of music forever.

John Lennon was in attendance with his band The Quarrymen, who were performing at the event. A young Paul McCartney happened to be there on the day, watching the bands perform.

“I remember coming into the fete and seeing all the sideshows. And also hearing all this great music wafting in from this little Tannoy system. It was John and the band,” explained McCartney.

“I remember I was amazed and thought, ‘Oh great’, because I was obviously into the music. I remember John singing a song called ‘Come Go With Me’. He’d heard it on the radio. He didn’t really know the verses, but he knew the chorus. The rest he just made up himself.”

“I just thought, ‘Well, he looks good, he’s singing well and he seems like a great lead singer to me.’ Of course, he had his glasses off, so he really looked suave. I remember John was good. He was really the only outstanding member, all the rest kind of slipped away.”

Striking up a friendship, the group convened afterwards, discussing music at a local pub. The band soon invited McCartney to become a rhythm guitarist, and within three years, the band had evolved into what became known as The Beatles.

Check out John Lennon in The Quarrymen’s ‘In Spite Of All The Danger’:

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