John Lennon - From Quarry Bank to Quarrymen

John Lennon went to Quarry Bank High School from September 1952, and it was at this school were John and a few friends formed a group calling themselve The Quarrymen.

The Quarrymen was taken not from the school name, but from the Quarry Bank School song titled, 'The Song Of The Quarry' if you search on the internet you will probable get the first couple of lines which is:

John Lennon would sing this every morning assemble and it was that first line that was chosen for the band name.

"Quarry men old before our birth
straining each muscle and sinew
toiling together Mother earth
conquered the rock that was in you."

Below is the sheet music which was composed in 1924, music by D.Scott words by R.F.Bailey.

The Quarrymen were formed in 1957, featuring John, Pete Shotton, Ron Davis, Len Garry, Colin Hatton, Eric Griffiths, nobody really took the band seriouly except for John.

6th July 1957

June 1957

By July 1957, a young Paul McCartney joined The Quarrymen, followed later by George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe, by the time Stuart had arrived the band members had changed from the original line up, John Lennon was at Art College and had lost contact with most of his school friends.

Early Quarrymen  performance

Taken in 1958

There is a plague dedicated to the Quarrymen at St Peter's Church Hall commemorating the day John first met Paul, which reads:

"The Quarrymen featuring Eric Griffiths, Colin Hanton, Rod Davies, John Lennon, Pete Shotton and Len Garry performed on the afternoon of 6th July 1957 at St Peters Church Fete."

In the evening before their performance in this hall Ivan Vaughan, who sometimes played in the group, introduced his friend Paul McCartney to John Lennon. As John recalled,


"that was the day,
the day that I met Paul,
that it started moving."