The cream sports jacket was paid for in half-crowns. Every member of the Quarry Men chipped in weekly so that John Lennon and the new boy, Paul McCartney, could look sharp on stage. It was 18 October 1957, and the group had a booking at the Conservative Club social in New Clubmoor Hall, Norris Green, Liverpool. No one knew it yet, but this was the first time the two songwriters would perform together in public.
From skiffle to the Quarry Men
The Quarry Men had started the year before as a skiffle group, formed by Lennon with school friends from Quarry Bank High School. They played parties and church fetes, including the famous garden fete at St Peter's Church, Woolton, on 6 July 1957. That afternoon, after their set, a mutual friend introduced McCartney to Lennon in a scout hut. McCartney impressed everyone by tuning a guitar and singing Eddie Cochran's 'Twenty Flight Rock'.
Lennon made up his mind quickly. Two weeks later, a bandmate passed on the invitation as McCartney rode his bike through Woolton. McCartney said yes, but only after a scout camp and a family holiday. So by October, he was in. The new stage outfits were part of the deal: cream jackets for Lennon and McCartney, white shirts with tassels and black bootlace ties for the others.
The 'Raunchy' intro that failed
McCartney had one job for the debut: play the lead guitar intro to 'Raunchy'. He practised it endlessly, driving the others mad. At the Conservative Club, he froze. The intro came out wrong, and the moment exposed the group's weakness. They had no real lead guitarist. What they did have was a growing obsession with rock 'n' roll, covering Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Larry Williams.
The skiffle roots were fading fast. The group leaned on the close harmony singing of Lennon and McCartney, and Buddy Holly's influence pushed them to write their own songs. Lennon came up with 'Hello Little Girl', McCartney with 'I Lost My Little Girl'. Each was impressed with the other's effort, and they began writing together. But the live sound still needed a proper lead guitarist.
George Harrison joins on lead guitar
McCartney knew a boy from the Liverpool Institute: George Harrison. Harrison had seen the Quarry Men play in February 1958, and McCartney pushed for him to join. Lennon resisted at first, thinking Harrison, just 15, was too young. McCartney arranged a second meeting on the top deck of a Liverpool bus, where Harrison played 'Raunchy' flawlessly. Lennon gave in, and Harrison became lead guitarist.
With Harrison on board, the Quarry Men moved further from skiffle and closer to electric rock 'n' roll. In March 1958, McCartney purchased an Elpico amplifier that had two inputs, and together with Harrison he fitted pickups onto their guitars. For the first time, the group had an electric sound. They were no longer a skiffle band with banjo chords; they were becoming a rock 'n' roll group. The group now had four guitarists, which made their sound fuller and more electric. Around that time, John Duff Lowe, another school friend of McCartney, joined on piano, adding a new dimension to their music.
The failed 'Raunchy' intro at the Conservative Club was a small humiliation that changed the course of the band. It forced McCartney to recruit Harrison, and it pushed Lennon to accept a younger, more skilled guitarist. Without that shaky debut, the Beatles might never have found their lead guitarist. The cream jacket was a symbol of ambition, but the real progress came from a missed note.
The cream jacket was a symbol of ambition, but the real progress came from a missed note.