Quarrymen gig at Woolton Village Club

Here I am outside Woolton Village Club in the heart of the village. It was here that the Quarrymen performed on 24^th January 1959. Though they grew increasingly popular as The Silver Beatles and then The Beatles they never played here again.

Whenever I drive across to Liverpool I see the "Woolton" sign at the end of the motorway and, no matter where I’m heading in Merseyside, I usually drive there. It's got a nice feel to it. John Lennon lived here and for years I thought he'd come from a poor family but Woolton’s a desirable if not affluent area. It's a few miles from the city centre and in the fifties it was more a semi-rural part of Merseyside. In the village folk seem friendly and when I pass people they often said hello before I do. A bus passed and even the driver gave a half-hearted wave.

I looked at the village hall which hasn't been butchered by a property developer (there's still a bowling green at the back.) I just had to touch the knob of the village club as it might be the one John or Paul touched (though the lads probably humped their guitars and amps in through the back door.) They’d not come far as they lived locally - a 20 minute walk for John. It was a Saturday night when they performed - a late Christmas party (a whole month late) and the band was booked due to their availability. It was hardly worth coming really as they played some skiffle songs for about 10 minutes. It was good practice for playing live though. John was 18 and Paul was 16. Inside there's a 12" high stage which probably isn't the original one. A stone’s through from the village club is St Peter’s Church where Paul first saw John fronting The Quarrymen.

I had a stroll around Woolton village and spotted the aptly named Quarry Street nearby (however the band was named after John's Quarry Bank School.) I walked passed a barbers shop which its front door open. An old man was approaching and when he heard the rap music blaring out he said, "I'd rather my wife cut my mop than listen to that crap."