A Liverpool man has told how, as a 17-year-old lorry driver, he unknowingly transported John Lennon and The Quarrymen on the back of his wagon during the July 6, 1957, procession in Woolton - leading to music history being made.
Douglas Chadwick, 86, was a teenager with a driving licence, a vehicle, and a love of the local area when he was asked to provide a wagon for the annual Rose Queen procession summer fete organised by St Peter's Church on Church Road in Woolton. He had expected to be carrying children and members of the community, but instead, a last-minute decision by the church's vicar saw a megastar in the making climb aboard.
A last-minute change of plans
Douglas, from Halewood, told the ECHO: "I turned up with the vehicle early, and the vicar, Price Jones, had a face down to the ground. He said, 'I've over-ordered. I haven't got anybody to put on the back of your wagon', and my face fell. Then he suddenly said, 'I've got a skiffle group playing in the afternoon'. I said, 'Well, who are they?' And he said, 'Well, they call themselves The Quarrymen'."
It was then decided that the young musicians would be put on the back of Douglas's wagon. At the time, he had "no inkling" how successful the group's leader would become. John Lennon was not yet a global superstar, The Beatles did not exist, and the music playing from the back of his vehicle was simply that of a local teenage skiffle group led by John, with a lot of his friends from Quarry Bank High School.
Keeping the band safe
This was the day a young Paul McCartney was introduced to a 16-year-old John, an introduction that ultimately led to the formation of The Beatles. But what Douglas remembers is the young musicians playing throughout the procession as he carefully navigated the streets of Woolton.
He said: "I had to just say to all of them, 'Just be careful, keep steady'. I had to get proper insurance for doing it and everything, and it went a dream. It went very, very well." And there was another challenge: keeping the band safe while they performed on the moving wagon. Douglas said: "It was, 'Now look, you're on the back of the vehicle. It's dangerous, there are no sides to it. I'll do my best to be careful, but you'd better be ready. If you sat down, be steady'. I gave them all the health and safety, even at my age at 17."
A memorable performance
Among those on the wagon was John Lennon, guitar in hand. Douglas remembers that the group played "all the while" as the procession made its way through Woolton. He said: "John was there with his guitar and the bass in those days was a tea chest and a single rope."
Douglas had no idea that the teenager playing guitar behind him would go on to become one of the most famous musicians in history, or that the band he was playing with would one day count among its number Paul McCartney and George Harrison, but he does remember being impressed by what he heard. He said: "I thought they were Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."
Two weeks after the fete Paul McCartney was invited to join The Quarrymen and he said he would do so after he had been to Scout camp and to Butlins on holiday with his family. He made his debut with the band that October at a Conservative club in Norris Green, and the rest is musical history.
