The Day John Met Paul
by Jim O’Donnell

“An Hour-By-Hour Account Of How The Beatles Began”

It’s a fascinating subject: what happened on the day Mick met Keef, Becker met Fagen, Verlaine met Hell or, er, Chilton met Bell. Of course, the most seismic first encounter of them all is the one that took place between John and Paul of The Beatles.

And so it was that, on 6 July 1957, probably the most significant single day in the history of rock’n’roll, the 16-year-old Lennon met the 15-year-old McCartney at Woolton Parish Church Garden Fete, Liverpool. Here, O’Donnell offers an – not the, because much of this is based on speculation, hearsay and educated guesswork – hour-byhour account of the events of this, rock’s nailbiting version of 24. It’s laid out from the fancy dress parade and police dog display, to the appearance of The Quarry Men skiffle group, led by one John Lennon, and the performance of Be-Bop-A-Lula that encouraged McCartney to go backstage and impress his future partner with a rendition of Twenty Flight Rock, which he played upside down on John’s right-handed guitar.

This is the second edition of a book first published in 1994 and now, marking a half-century since that historic meeting, it’s been updated with a new introduction and photos of numerous Liverpool landmarks.

ISBN 0415979331

Reviewed by Paul Lester
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