Welcome to the Quarrymen’s Official Website
2005:
2005 began badly for the Quarrymen with the sad death of Eric Griffiths from cancer.
The Quarrymen at the BBC
Early in 2005 BMG Records, for whose Japanese company the Quarrymen had recorded their new cd, “Songs we remember”, decid
ed to release the cd in the UK. As a result of the launch publicity the Quarrymen were invited to the BBC where they recorded several interviews for various BBC stations, including Radio Suffolk, Radio York, The Johnny Walker Show and BBC World Service. Besides reaching round the world their World Service interview was also broadcast on the Today programme.
The photo above shows Len, Colin and Rod with BBC staff.
Danny Baker Show on Radio London:
As
the Quarrymen don’t like getting up early in the morning, Rod got the job of appearing on Danny Baker’s Morning Drivetime Show on Radio London where he talked about the beginnings of the Quarrymen and the new cd and presented Danny, who is a big Beatles fan, with a genuine Quarry Bank tie, just like the one John Lennon himself wore frequently in New York.
The only problem is that now Danny will have to buy a shirt to enable him to wear the tie!
Chris Barber signs John Lennon’s
copy of “Rock Island Line”
In 1957 John Lennon must have been short of cash because he parted with his copy of Lonnie Donegan’s “Rock Island Line” 78rpm record to Rod Davis for 2/6d (two shillings and sixpence or 12p in today’s money). The hole in the centre of the record, which was m
ade of shellac and not plastic, was so chipped where John had continually slammed it onto the turntable of his old windup gramophone that Rod’s dad had to glue a piece of plastic over the hole and re-drill it to stop it sliding around under the weight of the old-fashioned pickup.
The original recording of “Rock Island Line” had been made for Decca in 1954 as part of a 10” traditional jazz LP by the Chris Barber Band, entitled “New Orleans Joys”. As Chris’s band featured their banjo player, Lonnie Donegan, playing skiffle in the interval of their live performances, Barber insisted that a couple of skiffle tracks were included on the LP, namely “John Henry” and “Rock Island Line”. Decca eventually began to put out two tracks at a time as a single in their blue label “Decca Jazz” series. When they ran out of the band numbers they put out the two skiffle numbers. “I was astounded one morning when I turned on the radio to hear ‘Rock Island Line’”, Donegan said. “I only ever earned £5 from that recording, my band session fee!” Mind you, he did get quite a career as a result.
Rod was fortunate enough to persuade Lonnie to sign the record some years ago, and he was also lucky to meet Beryl Bryden, the singer with Barber’s Band, who played washboard, but Chris Barber himself, who played string bass on the recording, had proved elusive. In March 2005 Chris and his Big Band were playing at the Beck Theatre in Hayes when Rod at last caught up with his hero and the photo shows Chris Barber with the famous record,just after he added his signature.
John Lennon Statue unveiled in La Coruña, Spain
A group of dedicated John Lennon and Beatles fans in La Coruña, Galicia on the northwestern tip of Spain, recently got together to persuade their city council to erect a statue to John Lennon, Man of Peace, on the tree-lined avenue bordering the sea.
John’s sister, Julia Baird, kindly agreed to unveil the statue, a larger-than-life figure in bronze of John sitting holding a guitar, sculpted by Jose Luis Ribas. A local choir sang Lennon compositions, Chema Rios - the prime mover of the campaign to erect the statue, the Mayor of La Coruña, and Julia herself all spoke and a videod message from Yoko Ono Lennon was played to the crowd. Other guests of honour present were Rosaura Lopez Lorenzo who had recently published a book detailing her experiences working with the Lennon family in New York and Rod Davis of the Quarrymen.
Photo at right shows Julia, with Chema Rios (centre) and Rosaura Lopez Lorenzo (blue and white coat).
That evening a grand reception was held overlooking the bay of La La Coruña, with of course, loads of John Lennon and Beatle music. Very many thanks go to all our friends in La Coruña for their great kindness and fantastic hospitality. We are sure that John’s statue will inspire the young people of La Coruña and Galicia for years to come.
The Halfmoon Putney
On Sep 10 the Quarrymen - Len Garry, Colin Hanton, John Duff Lowe and Rod Davis, together with guest bass player Frank Cairns, played their first ever London gig.
Andrew Davis from the British Beatles Fan Club was in the audience and this is his reaction.Our thanks to the BBFC for permission to reproduce this review. See our Beatles Links page for link to the BBFC website.
THE QUARRYMEN
- LIVE AT THE HALF MOON, PUTNEY,
10th SEPTEMBER 2005
It took them nearly 50 years to get there, but on September 10th, the Quarrymen played their debut gig in London. The venue was the famous Half Moon in Putney, and the occasion also marked the group's live debut with John Duff Lowe, "the 1958 Quarryman", forever in our debt for preserving those marvellous original recordings, 'That'll Be The Day' and 'In Spite Of All The Danger'.
With their uniform black shirts contrasting neatly with their uniformly silvering hair, today's Quarrymen looked distinguished and professional. "This is the way we were in '57," came the jokey introduction. "We haven't improved at an awful lot over the years." Oh, but did they really need to? The intervening decades are etched on their faces; and for the most part, it looks as if they've lived good, happy lives. Tonight, spirits are high, the mood is jocular and the songs are interspersed with plenty of entertaining Scouse banter. This is not just a concert, it's an evening of stories and reminiscences too.
LEN GARRY ON LEAD VOCAL.....
Half a century on from Woolton and instead of Lennon on vocals, we've got Len — Len Garry, one-time tea-chest bassist, and now the Quarrymen's main singer, alongside Rod Davis. Rod, famously obscured in all of the vintage photographs depicting him playing with the original line-up, tonight makes his presence felt clearly, with his impressive musicianship, MC-ing the event, and providing back-up for Len.
Len Garry is an accomplished vocalist. No longer frustrated by the eclipsing presence of one John Winston Lennon, Len shines behind the microphone. Clearly inspired by Elvis, he sings with confidence and conviction. He also wears a perpetual smile, which makes him an engaging frontman.
COLIN HANTON, STILL DRUMMING AWAY.....
At the back of the stage sits Colin Hanton, the longest-serving Quarryman during the Lennon era. He provided the group's percussion from the beginning, from those embryonic performances in early 1957 all the way up to the making of that scratchy demo disc with John, Paul, George and Duff a year later. His drumming, direct and uncomplicated, transports the listener back to those heady days of skiffle and quiffs. Listening to Colin play tonight and comparing his sound to that on the earliest Quarrymen recording — Bob Molyneux's tape featuring 'Putting On The Style', made on the day John met Paul — and there's little difference between them. The atmosphere and the energy remain. Both are electric.
THE RETURN OF JOHN DUFF LOWE......
John Duff Lowe is a welcome sight on keyboards. He's been something of a mystery Quarryman, playing on the Phillips acetate, but never photographed with the group at the time. Here he now stands, happy and proud, claiming his place in history, and proving himself to be a very accomplished musician. Being the 21st Century, John is equipped with the latest technology, but the irony is not lost: Rod quips that "John's laptop is programmed to sound just like a washboard".
AND GUEST BASSIST FRANK CAIRNS....
Guest bassist tonight was Frank Cairns, not connected to the Lennon days of yore, but nonetheless an integral part of the show; and excellent he was too on his fretless bass. Tonight's proceedings were dedicated to the Quarrymen's original guitarist, Eric Griffiths, who sadly died at the beginning of the year.
The band performed 21 songs during a show of two halves. Around half were by Elvis — "the only guy I'd pay to see," says Len, with a rueful "but it's too late now". They opened with 'I Got A Woman' and later took in 'That's Alright (Mama)' and 'I Forgot To Remember To Forget' — all of which the Beatles sang right up until their radio sessions for the BBC — plus 'All Shook Up', 'Good Rocking Tonight', 'Blue Moon Of Kentucky', 'You're Right, I'm Left, She's Gone' and 'Baby Let's Play House'. This last track, lest we forget, is the second cut on the 1957 Molyneux tape, and remains tantalizingly unheard outside of the archives of EMI. As much as we are all desperate to hear that priceless recording, the surviving Quarrymen are even keener to see it released commercially before July 2007. As Rod Davis pointed out, if, and it's a big IF, it gets released after that date, the copyright will have expired and none of them will receive a penny in royalties.
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION.....
By inviting members of the audience onto the stage to play washboard and tea-chest bass, the Quarrymen reiterated both their everyman roots and the democratic nature of the music that inspired them — and John Lennon — to first pick up their instruments. These impromptu Quarrymen left the stage feeling special. We all felt special. The songs were familiar as old friends. The music was played with genuine gusto and feeling. The Quarrymen are good for a great night out.
The evening ended with 'Twenty Flight Rock'. Says Rod: "This is the song that got Paul McCartney in the band and was the beginning of the end for the rest of us poor buggers". Earlier, someone had called for a Lennon-McCartney song. "We're not a Beatle band," came the reply. Indeed they're not. They're something different entirely. They were born in those magical, mysterious moments after the birth of youth culture in Britain but before the Beatles. Without them, of course, there would have been no Beatles. Someone else shouted out, "Let's hear it for the Quarrymen, the most important band in the history of rock". Everybody cheered. With the band's very existence loaded with significance, and the crowd roaring for more, that night no one in the room could disagree.
Track listing:I Got A Woman, Rock Island Line, That's Alright (Mama), Putting On The Style, Good Rocking Tonight, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, Worried Man Blues, All Shook Up, Lost John,Memphis Tennessee, Maggie May, Come Go With Me, Blue Moon Of Kentucky, Midnight Special,In Spite Of All The Danger,You're Right, I'm Left, She's Gone,I Forgot To Remember To Forget, Baby Let's Play House, Freight Train and 20 Flight Rock.
Beatle Author and London Beatle Guide Richard Porter was also in the audience with Jenny “poppy” Preece. They report:
FIRST EVER LONDON GIG
The Quarrymen gave their first ever gig in London at the Half Moon in Putney. The Half Moon is a legendary ‘pub rock’ venue, steeped in history. It seems that anyone who's anyone has played there at some point, from Steve Marriott to Stephane Grappelli, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band to Billy Bragg, Peter Frampton to Paul Carrack and from Nick Cave to... Natasha Bedingfield. No, really. Queuing to get into the stage area we “oohed” and “aahed” at the pictures in their hall of fame and wished we could have been there for many of the past events.
The Quarrymen were of course founded by John Lennon in around 1957 and evolved into The Beatles. Most of the musicians on stage at the Half Moon were in the original band some 48 years ago!
FIRST GIG SINCE ERIC GRIFFITH’S DEATH IN JAN ‘06
Since they last played, Eric Griffiths, one of the original members, has sadly died. He has been replaced in the band’s line-up by another original Quarryman, John ‘Duff’ Lowe. He was one of the newer members – he only joined in 1958!
The band now consists of Len Garry (guitar and lead vocals), Rod Davis (guitar and vocals), John Lowe (keyboards and tea-chest bass) and Colin Hanton (drums). The line-up was augmented by guest bass player Frank Cairns for this occasion.
THE MUSIC.......
The band plays a mixture of skiffle and early rock and roll. Therefore there was a liberal helping of songs by Elvis (That's alright Mama, All shook up) and Lonnie Donegan (Rock Island Line) as well as Eddie Cochran (Twenty flight rock) and some Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins – their repertoire is very similar to how it was in the 1950s. A highlight was In spite of all the danger, a song written by Paul McCartney and George Harrison. The Quarrymen recorded this song, along with That’ll be the day, at Percy Phillips recording studio in Kensington, Liverpool. Because the band was broke only one copy of the record was made. The record got passed around the band until John Lowe got it. He lost contact with the others and kept the record until Paul McCartney bought it off him a few years ago. The song was on the Beatles Anthology CD and is now a feature of Paul McCartney’s current US tour. John Lowe and Colin Hanton were both on the original recording and it was great hearing the Quarrymen’s version.
Also performed by the Quarrymen were Elvis’s Baby Let’s Play House and Putting on the style – a hit for Lonnie Donegan. Both these songs were played by the Quarrymen at St Peter’s Church, Liverpool on July 6th 1957 – watched by a certain Paul McCartney. Luckily a friend of the band called Bob Molineux had a tape recorder with him that day and taped the band’s performance. The two songs that survived from that tape remain as a wonderful historical document of that famous occasion and the Quarrymen played great versions for us tonight.
VOLUNTEER WASHBOARD PLAYERS...
For some of the skiffle numbers the band invited members of the audience on stage to play the washboard, which was great fun.
Between songs each member of the band told stories of how they came to join the Quarrymen and about the concerts they played in the old days. Most of the songs were sung by Len Garry, who has a great voice and his extrovert personality made him a great front man. There was a wonderful rapport between the members of the band and with the audience throughout. The guys were obviously enjoying themselves and the audience had a great time too.
2007 is the band’s 50th anniversary. I hope they will still be going strong and will play a special jubilee concert. St Peter’s Church would be a good venue!