When They Were Boys (13 page)

Ankrah also makes it clear that, in a sea of intolerance, Paul and the Beatles stood out, and stood up for him and his bandmates.

“They were very cool guys, and meeting them gave us a look at real opportunity.”

The very week that the Beatles' “Love Me Do” had made the charts in the UK, Ankrah gambled. It was October 12, 1962. The boys had just finished a concert at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton, backing up the legendary Little Richard. A day earlier, Ankrah had arranged for a meeting with Little Richard at Liverpool's Adelphi Hotel, once a bastion of hardened segregation. Ankrah, impressed with the American artist's defiance in actually staying at the Adelphi, was in awe as the two conversed about music and racism and life in Britain. Little Richard invited Ankrah, as his guest, to the Tower Ballroom a night later. Ankrah made his way to the dressing room, where he met Little Richard and was approached by John Lennon.

I
T WAS AFTER THE SHOW
, L
ARRY
. I
WAS WARMLY GREETED BY
L
ITTLE
R
ICHARD
. T
HAT SEEMED TO IMPRESS
L
ENNON, WHO ASKED ME IF
I
WAS AN ENTERTAINER
. A
ND THAT'S WHEN THE OTHER
[B
EATLES
]
BAND MEMBERS CAME AROUND
. I
EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT
I
HAD A GROUP, BUT NO BAND . . . THAT MY MUSIC WAS A CAPPELLA
. T
HEY SEEMED GENUINELY INTERESTED, ESPECIALLY
J
OHN AND
P
AUL
. I
WAS A BIT STUNNED WHEN
P
AUL INVITED ME TO THE
C
AVERN AT A LUNCHTIME SESSION AFTER THEY RETURNED FROM A
H
AMBURG GIG
. L
ITTLE
R
ICHARD SEEMED PLEASED
. T
HIS WAS SERIOUS
. I
N FACT
, P
AUL EVEN WROTE A NOTE SECURING OUR ADMISSION TO THE
C
AVERN
. H
E SAID
, “L
ET'S SEE WHAT YOU DO
.”

The following week the Chants, led by Ankrah, arrived at the Cavern at lunchtime. Fate would have it that they couldn't get in until the time the crowd was pouring out.

“I will never forget the smell of the place,” Ankrah says.

T
HE CONDENSATION AND SWEAT, PERSPIRATION WAS STICKING TO THE WALLS
. I
T WAS OVERWHELMING, A HUMAN SMELL AND VERY CONFINING, BUT IT GOT VERY EXCITING, ESPECIALLY WHEN
P
AUL WAVED FOR US TO TAKE THE STAGE.
W
E SANG
“T
HE
D
UKE OF
E
ARL
.” P
AUL'S EYES LIT UP
. G
EORGE STOOD UP, JUST STARED, AND
J
OHN RAN OVER TO THE PIANO AND STARTED BACKING US UP
. H
E MISSED A FEW BEATS, BUT HONESTLY, WHO CARED
? I
DIDN'T KNOW THEM WELL, BUT
I
KNEW, SOMEHOW, THAT A BARRIER WAS CRUMBLING
.

The future of the Chants was still cloudy at that time, but history shows that Joe Ankrah and the Chants received a formal invitation to the City Hall celebration in 1964, Liverpool's formal farewell to the boys. A token invitation in a time of change? Maybe. But it was a breakthrough, an unheard-of gesture, and it happened just two months before Paul led the way along with his bandmates to integrate the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.

It has always been fascinating that a young man surrounded by the postwar anti-Semitism and racial mores of Liverpool, a man so averse to controversy, would reach out so early in his career to strike very public blows against hatred.

In one of our earliest interviews, I broached the subject of race to Paul McCartney.

“What about the [racial] barriers being broken in the music business?” I asked.

His answer was fascinating in its simplicity and reasoning. (It should be noted again that his use of the word “Negro” was commonly accepted at the time.)

I
N SOME OF THE WORST PLACES IN
A
MERICA
,
YOU GET
N
EGRO ENTERTAINERS MIXING IN WITH WHITE PEOPLE
. A
CTUALLY IT'S ALL STUPID BECAUSE
I
REALLY DON'T SEE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
N
EGRO AND A WHITE PERSON
. I
T'S LIKE YOU GO TO THE
S
OUTH OF
F
RANCE AND YOU GET A LITTLE TAN
. I
F YOU GO DOWN INTO
T
UNISIA YOU GET A LITTLE BIT OF A DARKER TAN
. I
F YOU GO DOWN TO THE
G
OLD
C
OAST OF
A
FRICA, YOU GET A VERY DARK TAN AND SUDDENLY YOU BECOME A
N
EGRO
. T
HAT'S ALL
. . . T
HEY HAVE A VERY DARK TAN AND NOBODY WOULD EVER THINK OF DISCRIMINATING AGAINST A MAN FROM
F
RANCE OR
T
UNISIA
,
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT QUITE
N
EGROS
. I
T'S A FUNNY THING, BUT ONCE THEY BECOME
N
EGROS . . . THEN THE DISCRIMINATION COMES IN
. J
UST CAN'T SEE IT
. I
T'S ALL STUPID TO ME
.

He made the remarks with such innocence and sincerity, and it was both a rare and reasonable explanation.

When it came to Joe Ankrah and the Chants, the young black group The Exciters, who opened for the Beatles at the Gator Bowl in 1964, and scores
of other nonwhite entertainers along the way, Paul was truly color blind, and in the early to mid-sixties, that was not an ordinary characteristic in a world filled with hate and dissent.

Paul was fully confident in his various stands against hatred. In addition to opening doors for Joe Ankrah as a teenager in Liverpool, he did the same for the young people, especially the talented singer Mary Hopkin, a few years later. He introduced me to Hopkin in the Beatles' office in London in 1968, and played me the tape of her recording, “Those Were the Days.” Paul was more confident than even Mary that the song would be a success. It was truly amazing to me that such a young man would already be in the business of mentoring, whether it was helping to give a break to a black man facing barriers, or a young woman yearning for a break.

Confidence was always a strong characteristic of Paul McCartney's existence, even on the day of a meeting that would change his life.

The meeting was not set in concrete, but it wasn't really accidental. Three people played a role. Ivan Vaughan was a mutual friend of John and Paul, and was hopeful the two would meet. Quarryman Pete Shotton advised John that the Woolton event was a good opportunity for the band. Both Shotton and Vaughan, along with Nigel Walley, the Quarrymen's teenage manager, pushed John hard to talk to the pastor and secure the engagement for the band. Separately, Vaughn had urged Paul to go, as well. There are differing accounts of who the real catalyst was, but all three played a role. The “match-makers” were hopeful that something would happen, but it was really a situation of wait and see.

Young Paul pedaled hard on his cycle journey to Woolton. In his heart, did he know what the day would bring? Do any of us know? One thing was certain—when he got there, his friend Ivan would take him to meet the leader of the band. It was a hot summer day in Liverpool, so the bicycle trip to St. Peter's Church in Woolton must have been strenuous. After all, Paul was out to impress. He was wearing a white sport coat and dark pants. He had been talking to his friends, including the official introducer, Ivan Vaughn, about
his dream of getting into a band. Would John Lennon consider it? Although hindsight shows this meeting as monumental, to Paul, in the moment, it was just a chance to join a real band.

Despite the myth and the glory of that first meeting, the reality is that Paul and John knew of each other before that meeting, albeit very little. The families had some contact, and John was aware, according to Tony Bramwell, of the death of Mary McCartney in late 1956. Within a year, both boys would have something tragic in common.

The beautiful afternoon was marked by floats, fanfare, and music. The annual crowning of the Rose Queen was an important event in the Woolton neighborhood. So many accounts remain of the day, but none as descriptive as that of Julia Baird, John's half-sister.

T
HE ENTERTAINMENT BEGAN AT TWO P.M. WITH THE OPENING PROCESSION, WHICH ENTAILED ONE OR TWO WONDERFULLY FESTOONED LORRIES CRAWLING AT A SNAIL'S PACE THROUGH THE VILLAGE ON THEIR CEREMONIOUS WAY TO THE CHURCH FIELD
. T
HE FIRST LORRY CARRIED THE
R
OSE
Q
UEEN, SEATED ON HER THRONE, SURROUNDED BY HER RETINUE, ALL DRESSED IN PINK AND WHITE SATIN, SPORTING LONG RIBBONS AND HAND-MADE ROSES IN THEIR HAIR
. T
HESE GIRLS HAD BEEN CHOSEN FROM THE
S
UNDAY SCHOOL GROUPS, ON THE BASIS OF AGE AND GOOD BEHAVIOR
.

T
HE FOLLOWING LORRY CARRIED VARIOUS ENTERTAINERS, INCLUDING THE
Q
UARRYMEN
. T
HE BOYS WERE UP THERE ON THE BACK OF THE MOVING LORRY, TRYING TO STAY UPRIGHT AND PLAY THEIR INSTRUMENTS AT THE SAME TIME
. J
OHN GAVE UP BATTLING WITH BALANCE AND SAT WITH HIS LEGS HANGING OVER THE EDGE, PLAYING HIS GUITAR AND SINGING
. H
E CONTINUED ALL THROUGH THE SLOW, SLOW JOURNEY AS THE LORRY PUTTERED ITS WAY ALONG
. J
ACKIE AND
I
LEAPED ALONGSIDE THE LORRY, WITH OUR MOTHER LAUGHING AND WAVING AT
J
OHN, MAKING HIM LAUGH
. H
E SEEMED TO BE THE ONLY ONE WHO WAS REALLY TRYING TO PLAY AND WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO PUT HIM OFF!

Baird does not mention her nemesis in life and in death, Aunt Mimi, although she, too, was present. Mimi arrived on the church grounds while
John and the Quarrymen were performing in the afternoon. John, startled by the presence of the square-jawed and intense aunt, was nervous. He tried to beat the nerves by starting to sing the words, “Oh, Mimi. Oh, Mimi is coming down the path. . . . Oh, Mimi.” Mimi, some neighbors later recalled, was aghast at John's outfit, especially the shocking jeans—skintight and all that. Not far away from Mimi was Paul, who watched intently as the Quarrymen entertained the crowd.

Drummer Colin Hanton played at the legendary Rose Queen concert in the afternoon but was not there for the evening concert in the church hall when Paul was introduced to John by mutual friend Vaughn. But two weeks later, after Paul joined the Quarrymen, Hanton became very impressed with two aspects of the life of the fifteen-year-old.

“Paul was a very nice young man, very well spoken,” Hanton recalls. “Paul was like a schoolboy, preppy, more refined, if you will. Yes, he was pretty much more middle class, or climbing up the ladder.”

Although Paul would be forever known for his songwriting and vocal skills, Hanton remembers his work on the strings.

I
REMEMBER THAT HE WAS AN EXCELLENT GUITAR PLAYER
. H
E WAS A GOOD TALENT
. T
HAT IS WHY HE IMPRESSED
J
OHN SO MUCH
. T
HAT IS WHY
J
OHN THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE HIM IN THE GROUP
. I D
ON'T REMEMBER HEARING HIS SINGING IN THOSE DAYS SO MUCH AS HIS GUITAR SKILLS
. J
OHN DIDN'T REALLY PLAY GUITAR SO WELL—HE DIDN'T PLAY CHORDS—HE STRUMMED IT IN MORE OF A BANJO STYLE
. H
E HADN'T LEARNED TO PLAY THE GUITAR PROPERLY AT THAT TIME
. P
AUL ALSO TAUGHT HIM HOW TO TUNE A GUITAR
. H
E WAS CHARMING WAY BEYOND HIS YEARS, AND VERY HELPFUL
.

Paul's bicycle trip to the church included what appeared to be a mini-audition. His charm had already impressed John, but the turning point was his rendition, so electrifying, of a song cowritten by Richard Wayne Penniman, aka Little Richard. Yes, that same Little Richard idolized by Joe Ankrah and millions of Americans. It was “Long Tall Sally” and, coincidentally, it would become the final song in the Beatles' dynamic set of their 1964 American concerts. I was amazed at Paul's rhythm and energy on the
song during those concerts, which began with John on the lead on another rock 'n' roll giant, “Twist and Shout,” originally recorded by the Isley Brothers. It is fascinating that the two most prolific songwriters in recorded history opened and closed their historic North American concerts with two contemporary classics written by others. It was always unique that John and Paul were never afraid to shine the light on other top performers, but also an irony that, because of their knockdown stage performances, the Beatles were credited with making songs hits—Paul with “Long Tall Sally,” John with “Twist and Shout.”

So, on the night of the meeting at the church, if Paul's style, helpful nature, and embracing personality had already impacted on the always skeptical John Lennon, it was his version of “Long Tall Sally” later that did the trick.

Hanton stayed with the band through late 1958, eventually being replaced, after alternating with a series of part-time drummers, by Pete Best. He continued with his studies, and had no regrets when John and Paul recruited Pete to take over. The master upholsterer, and obsessive football fan, remembers, “No, I wasn't good at all. Very amateurish. I was the bottom of the pile. I really wasn't very good at all. I think McCartney knew it. But he was too nice to say anything to me.”