In this episode of Music Maps we finally talk about The Beatles as we welcome writer Ian Leslie to discuss his new book on Faber: 'John & Paul: A Love Story In Songs'. We focus on their early years from meeting at Woolton Village Fete in July 1957, with Paul McCartney joining the Quarrymen shortly after. The dynamic in the Quarrymen changed after Paul joined with John Lennon no longer the total leader as before - the pair bonded over their shared love of imported rock & roll from America. Before long they were writing songs as a duo. John & Paul both lost their mothers as teenagers & became an unspoken bond between the two & their friendship deepens as their songwriting blossoms. George Harrison joins the band but rather than coming between John & Paul, his presence actually reinforces their bond. Stuart Sutcliffe & Pete Best also join before The Beatles head to Hamburg for the first time in August 1960. They come of age in Hamburg both in terms of stagecraft and musicianship - playing 6 hours a night on the Reeperbahn. Upon returning to Liverpool, the Beatles soon turn from unknowns into the leaders of the beat scene in the city & they make their debut at The Cavern in February of 1961. Paul McCartney moves to bass following the departure of Stuart Sutcliffe & Brian Epstein comes in to manage the band at the end of 1961. Following a failed audition at Decca Records, the band come to the attention of George Martin at EMI & their debut release Love Me Do follows in October 1962. It takes anything from 5 to 40 hours to prepare each episode of Music Maps - if you’d like to make a contribution to help us cover the costs & time of producing these episodes for you, you can do so at this link: ko-fi.com/musicmaps It is hugely important for us to get positive reviews & star ratings - if you have enjoyed Music Maps & can spare the time to do either we would hugely appreciate it. You can see our upcoming live events here: https://rocknrollbookclub.co.uk/live/ Instagram: @rocknrollbookclube17 Blue Sky: @musicmaps.bsky.social X: @simonmusicmaps Facebook: E17rockbookclub Hosted by Mark Hart & Simon Cardwell Written & Produced by Simon Cardwell Edited, mixed & spruced up by Andy Maxwell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
