THE BEATLESTHE MAKING OF THE BAND
...friends sharing an interest in music. On Aug. 29, 1958 George was accepted into “The Quarry Men.” The band now had seven members. The Quarry Men broke up in 1959 because they could not get enough gigs. Later George joined another group that soon disbanded and then him and fellow group member, Ken Brown, partnered with John and Paul to play at the “Casbah Club.” The gigs at the “Casbah Club” only lasted seven weeks and Ken joined Pete Best and left the trio of John, Paul, and George to start a band they called "Johnny and the Moondogs". In early 1960 John invited a friend of his to play with them as the lead bass. They named themselves “The Beetles” but then changed it to “The Silver Beetles.” They slightly modified their name to “The Silver Beatles.” Allan Williams became their manager. In the spring of 1960 Tommy Moore joined them as a drummer. They began a tour in Scotland backing Johnny Gentle. Tommy left the band after the nine-day tour because of financial reasons. In July “The Silver Beatles” discovered Norman Chapman and he joined the band as the drummer. Soon after, Norman left the band when he was called out for national service duty. Pete Best then played as their drummer at a few gigs. He became their permanent drummer on August 6, 1960. Allan Williams heard that Hamburg, Germany was a great place for some of the groups he managed and he set “The Silver Beatles” up with gigs there. On August 8, 1960, “The Silver Beatles” began playing gigs in Hamburg Germany. John changed the name of the band to “The Beatles.” The Beatles stayed in Hamburg until early December and returned at times until February 1962. The Beatles were now much different and had more experience but still had many problems. The band was composed of five members including, George Harrison (lead/ vocals), John Lennon (rhythm/ vocals), Paul McCartney (rhythm/ vocals), Stuart Sutcliffe (bass/vocals), and Pete Best (drums). Stuart left the group when he became engaged to Astrid Kirchherr, a photographer. The Beatles broke up but got back together after only a month. Pete Best stirred jealousy among the group when he became the sex symbol of The Beatles. On April 1, 1961 they returned to Hamburg to perform at the “Top Ten” club. They performed at the “Top Ten” club until July 2, 1961. Allan gave up his position as manager of The Beatles, after a disagreement about what percent of profit he should earn. Producer Bert Kampfert approached the Beatles after a performance at the “Top Ten” club and he asked if they would like to record with Tony Sheridan. The Beatles were then signed to a Polydor recording contract. A young record storeowner named Brian Epstein thought The Beatles were charismatic and he decided to become their manager on January 24, 1962. He convinced them to clean up their tough image ...