The Beatles before fame - photo thread!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Purple Jim, Sep 14, 2020.

  1. bewareofchairs

    bewareofchairs Forum Resident

    These ones were by Jurgen Vollmer. His photos tended to be very atmospheric.

    [​IMG]

    You can tell he was a George fan!
     
  2. vulcangascompany

    vulcangascompany Forum Resident

    Location:
    SW UK
    Aintree Institute - August 61

    [​IMG]
     
  3. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Is that actually Stuart?
     
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  4. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    They’re writing “Seventeen”, later to become “I Saw Her Standing There”.
     
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  5. bewareofchairs

    bewareofchairs Forum Resident

    Yep!
     
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  6. anthony_beat

    anthony_beat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pepperland
    Do you have any doubts? Suddenly
     
  7. vulcangascompany

    vulcangascompany Forum Resident

    Location:
    SW UK
    This image is often cropped to show just John & Paul - Cavern Dec 61. I love this image - one of my favourite pre fame photos - the sheer joy of the music really comes across, this is all they want to do!

    [​IMG]
     
  8. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I’m not doubting you BoC, he just looks so different in this photo. I suppose my mental image of him is the sunglasses, hair piled high etc
     
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  9. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Except that Pete looks like he’d rather be somewhere else.
     
  10. vulcangascompany

    vulcangascompany Forum Resident

    Location:
    SW UK
    Ringo's tough man East End look!

    Probably by Les Chadwick, might be outside the derelict bonded warehouse / Bally - Sept 62.

    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
  11. bewareofchairs

    bewareofchairs Forum Resident

    I know what you mean. I posted something similar. Sometimes Stuart looks very fragile, and it's hard to imagine him hanging out with the other Beatles. I guess that's why he was an easy target.
     
  12. nikh33

    nikh33 Senior Member

    Location:
    Liverpool, England
    He must have taken the sunglasses off sometimes! And of course he was the first to have The Beatles' haircut!
     
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  13. Kim Olesen

    Kim Olesen Gently weeping guitarist.

    Location:
    Odense Denmark.
    It’s NOT Paul. Wrong Quarrymen gig. This picture is taken before John and Paul met.
     
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  14. nikh33

    nikh33 Senior Member

    Location:
    Liverpool, England
    Also the guy in the glasses looks older than Paul would have been, broader and taller. But the main thing is, glasses; Paul never wore them (photo opportunities aside)
     
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  15. Orson Swells

    Orson Swells Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manchester
    Yes, it's Rosebery Street, 22 June 1957 - that's what makes the possibility that it might be Paul so interesting. There's certainly a resemblance, but I tend to think it's not him. Mainly due to him looking slightly too old.
     
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  16. bewareofchairs

    bewareofchairs Forum Resident

    He does look like Paul, but I feel like at least 90% of British boys at the time also looked like that.
     
  17. Kim Olesen

    Kim Olesen Gently weeping guitarist.

    Location:
    Odense Denmark.
    How would there even be a possibility of Paul being there, far fetched ones apart?
     
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  18. Orson Swells

    Orson Swells Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manchester
    Well, he lived in Liverpool at the time! Anyway, I seem to remember somebody saying he had a friend in the area who he used to visit.

    Anyway, not wanting to derail the thread, here is Paul that summer in Filey. (Apologies if already posted.)

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Kim Olesen

    Kim Olesen Gently weeping guitarist.

    Location:
    Odense Denmark.
    Paul never spoke of seeing the Quarrymen before Ivan Vaughan took him to see them. Ofcourse he would have spoken along the lines of “i saw this band, but didn’t speak to the singer untill the next time i saw them”, if that had happened.
     
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  20. Ken Wood

    Ken Wood Forum Resident

    I have since read a bit more and also looked at photos and so want to extend what I wrote:
    - When the Beatles returned to Liverpool after their first Hamburg trip Stu stayed behind. They found a new bass player (Chas Newby) with whom they played four gigs towards the end of 1960 but unfortunatly the guy was drafted then.
    - Sometime after this time Paul restrung his Rosetti guitar with three piano strings to make for a bass
    - Stu did rejoin the Beatles in Liverpool either in January or late February, playing bass with them again. Paul then was either singing without an instrument or playing his Rosetti, though the only photo of this does not give away wether it is restrung.
    - Stu left Liverpool again on 15 March.
    - When the Beatles went back to Hamburg at the end of March Stu rejoined them again. Paul was then either playing his Rosetti again as a 6-string guitar though it seems that he kept two of the piano strings in place.
    - The Rosetti got destroyed by them in Hamburg
    - Further photos of them with Stu on bass in Hamburg show Paul either singing without an instrument or playing piano.
    - a number of potos of them show them without Paul (!) but with his bass leaning nearby. Stu plays bass.
    - also there are the "two basses" photos
    - late April Stu writes that he leaves the band
    - towards the end of June they record with Sheridan, Paul plays bass and Stu is only a spectator.
    So it seems that Stu and Paul shared the bass role for a while until some kind of decission was made. I guess once Paul got his Höfner (despite Stu still providing bass on occassion) the role then went to Paul for good.

    It would be interesting to know how (and when) discussions in the band took place regarding the uncertain role of Stu and bass position.
     
  21. slane

    slane Forum Resident

    Location:
    Merrie England
    Actually, it is believed that Paul met John before the Woolton Fate gig on 6th July 1957, but Paul prefers to keep quiet about it. But he has apparently told Mark Lewisohn that he spoke to John on an earlier occasion outside a newsagents shop. Paul said the shop was called Abba's. Lewisohn found a shop of that name but felt the distance from Paul's house was too far. However, more recently it has been discovered that Mr. Abba previously had a shop much nearer to Paul's house (and John's), and though the shop had changed name, a lot of locals still called it after the old owner's name. I'll try to find more info.

    EDIT: Here's the story: 'There Are Places I Remember': "I could stay up half the night trying to crack your code"

    BTW, here's a photo of Paul on holiday in Filey from 1957. The jacket does look similar to the one worn by the guy in the audience of the Roseberry Sreet gig:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2020
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  22. Ken Wood

    Ken Wood Forum Resident

    Some great additional research here (taking it further from Tune In):
    'There Are Places I Remember': "I could stay up half the night trying to crack your code"
    Still don`t think this is Paul in the photo - while there is some resemblance Paul was younger than the person looks then.
     
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  23. Binni

    Binni Forum Resident

    Location:
    Iceland
    Sorry, my bad. I had recently seen a discussion on FB about this photo. Someone had convinced me (and others) that this photo was of Mike. I´ve been trying to find that post again but can´t find it again. :sigh:
     
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  24. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Very true. I just haven't seen a photo of him as up close as this one where he's sans spectacles. Astrid looks different too because she's grown her hair out.

    Then again Stu might have been like Harry Palmer - only taking his glasses off in bed.

    I'll get my coat...
     
  25. guitarman1969

    guitarman1969 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
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