The original blue no back

Welcome to the Quarrymen’s Official Website

How did the Beatles begin?
It happened on July 6, 1957 "The day John met Paul"
Written by Jim O'Donnell and read by Rod Davis
3 hour double cassette

"I remember when we first met in Woolton, at the village fete. It was a beautiful summer day. I walked in there and I saw you on the stage and you were singing 'Come Go with Me' by the Del Vikings. But you didn't know the words so you made them up." - Paul McCartney at John Lennon's Induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Extract from "The day John met Paul"
"....teenager John Lennon weaves towards the glistening conical microphone that snakes out of the wooden scaffold. He stands stage centre and looks across the afternoon... since he won't wear his glasses and he's in a pint sized alcohol fog, he looks through a hazy lens at the hazy day...he says hello and introduces the band... the sound carries clearly through the two gray horn speakers... the band breaks into its first song......."

"...Paul McCartney arrives on his bike at the church field...he leans the bike against a fence... Lennon is singing a song called "Come Go with Me" by the Del Vikings...McCartney's eyes land on Lennon's fingers...he fastens his mind on the guitar player at the microphone...the rest of the band - and the world - melt into the hot afternoon......"

About the author - Jim O'Donnell
Jim O'Donnell - author and journalist - is a member of the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and has been writing on Rock 'n' Roll since 1969. Jim spent eight years researching this book during which he interviewed many people involved with the events of July 6, 1957 and turned up evidence which he has woven into this fascinating story of the day John Lennon and Paul McCartney met - a day that changed the history of popular music for ever!

"The day John met Paul" was published by Hall of Fame Book in 1994 and by Penguin in 1996. It has been translated into several languages including Japanese, Czech and French.

Jim's other rock music books include "The Rock Book", "Born to Rock" and "Wonderful Tonight."

About the reader - Rod Davis
Rod Davis - a friend of John Lennon from the age of seven, he was a fellow student at Quarry Bank School in Liverpool when he became a member of Lennon's first band, the Quarrymen when he was fifteen years old. Rod played with the band on many occasions, making several appearances at Liverpool's famous Cavern Club. He drifted out of the band in late 1957 and was replaced by Paul McCartney."The book really brought back the day for me," said Rod. "I felt like I was there again, especially riding on the lorry around the village with John and the Quarrymen."

About the Talking Book version:
Rod Davis was one of the dozens of people interviewed by Jim O'Donnell during his research and when the book was finally completed he hit upon the idea of asking Rod, as one of the band actually on stage with John Lennon and the Quarrymen on Saturday 6 July 1957, to read the talking book version.

The text of the original book has been abridged to fit on to two audio cassettes, making a total listening time of approximately three hours.

How to get your copy of the talking book version of "The day John met Paul" - all prices include postage.

WITH A CREDIT CARD:
By PAYPAL:
Pay using ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS via the PAYPAL Secure Payment System by clicking on the currency in which you wish to pay: