The Day John Met Paul: An Hour-by-Hour Account of How the Beatles Began

194 Pages·2006·3.71 MB·English

by  Jim O'Donnell

John
the Day
met
aul
P
RT79331_C000.indd 1 08/23/2006 10:38:13 AM
John
the Day
met
aul
P
an hour-by-hour
account of how
the beatles began
Jim O’Donnell
New York London
Routledge is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
RT79331_C000.indd 2 08/23/2006 10:38:13 AM
John
the Day
met
aul
P
an hour-by-hour
account of how
the beatles began
Jim O’Donnell
New York London
Routledge is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
RT79331_C000.indd 3 08/23/2006 10:38:13 AM
Design: March Tenth, Inc.
Routledge Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group
270 Madison Avenue 2 Park Square
New York, NY 10016 Milton Park, Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4RN
© 2006 by James O’Donnell, 1994, 1996, All rights reserved.
Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
Printed in the United States of America on acid‑free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
International Standard Book Number‑10: 0‑415‑97933‑1 (Softcover)
International Standard Book Number‑13: 978‑0‑415‑97933‑7 (Softcover)
No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any informa‑
tion storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
O’Donnell, Jim.
The day John met Paul : an hour‑by‑hour account of how the Beatles began / By Jim O’Donnell.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0‑415‑97933‑1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Lennon, John, 1940‑1980. 2. McCartney, Paul. 3. Beatles‑‑History‑‑Chronology. 4. Rock
musicians‑‑England‑‑Biography. I.Title.
ML420.L45O55 2006
782.42166092’2‑‑dc22 2006002170
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
and the Routledge Web site at
http://www.routledge‑ny.com
RT79331_C000.indd 4 08/23/2006 10:38:14 AM
JOHN_PAUL_FINAL_8/3/06 8/14/06 2:22 PM Page 5
Dedicated in loving memory of my mother,
VERA M. O’DONNELL (1913–1993),
forever in our hearts,
now in God’s hands.
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CONTENTS
Introduction ............................. ix
Author’s Note ............................ xxi
THE MORNING HOURS
Part I
Early A.M. ................................ 3
Dawn .................................... 15
Morning ................................. 24
THE AFTERNOON HOURS
Part II
Noon ................................... . 49
Early Afternoon .......................... 68
Late Afternoon ........................... 84
THE NIGHT HOURS
Part III
Evening .................................. 102
Sunset ................................... 119
Night .................................... 129
Acknowledgments ........................ 139
Sources .................................. 143
Bibliography ............................. 154
Index .................................... 163
vii
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JOHN_PAUL_FINAL_8/3/06 8/14/06 2:22 PM Page 9
INTRODUCTION
T
HIS IS A BOOK about a single day—Saturday, July 6, 1957, the
date that a teenager named John Lennon met a teenager named
Paul McCartney in a place called Liverpool. Millions upon millions
would become awestruck by what started on this day. Here in 2006,
within a year of the fiftieth anniversary of that meeting, an even
younger generation is finding the magic of the mighty Beatles of
yore.
This book is the mystery Chapter One of the Beatle story. The
book opens before sunrise of that simmering summer Saturday in
northwest England, and then closes before midnight. In between,
the reader walks the cobblestones of late 1950’s Liverpool, bearing
witness to the little events that build up to the ineluctable intersec-
tion of the two teens. That is to say, you see John and Paul come
together. It was a day that would change a music that would change
a world.
While cutting this slice from the pie of time, I was too-well-
aware that the story of the Beatles is a yarn which has been told so
ix