Hello Paul

In this month’s newsletter, we return to our main story to meet up with the young James Paul McCartney.

We’ve met John. We’ve met George. This month it’s Paul’s turn to take the spotlight. But before we get to Paul’s story there’s some…

Beatley News Updates

Beatle People

John Askew (aka Johnny Gentle) - 1936-2024

We were sad to read of the passing of John Askew on February 29th at age 87.  John was born in Liverpool and grew up in the city. He started his career with a home-built guitar touring the clubs singing Everly Brothers songs alongside a friend. This was followed by a stint singing on cruise ships before returning home and trying his hand as a solo act in various talent contests.

He eventually moved to London where in 1959, he caught the attention of promoter Larry Parnes who gave John the stage name of Johnny Gentle.

Between 20 and 28 May, 1960 Johnny Gentle toured Scotland with the ‘Silver Beetles’ as his backing band. Gentle wrote a song on the tour, I've Just Fallen For Someone, reputedly with help from John Lennon. 

You can hear more about the tour in Episode 13 of the Before They Were Beatles podcast

In 1962 he changed his stage name to Darren Young and released a single of I’ve Just Fallen For Someone, but it failed to chart.

 In 1998 John also co-wrote a book about his time with the young Beatles, Johnny Gentle & the Beatles: First Ever Tour.

We’ll be covering John Askew’s story in more detail in an upcoming episode of The Forgotten Beatles podcast series.

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The Savage Young Beatles 

Our friends The Savage Young Beatles were back in the US tour last month with a mini-tour with gigs in New York, New Haven, Albany, and Washington DC, all of which were a great success.

Here’s a few video clip that gives a little taste of the sights and sounds from the tour.

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Rock out to the BTWB Playlist

If you enjoy the early rock-n-roll years and the music that inspired the Fab Four you can now enjoy a great selection of songs from the period on the new Before They Were Beatles playlist on Spotify. If you haven’t given it a listen recently we’ve added a few new tracks over the last few months to keep up to date with the topics covered in this newsletter.

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Podcast Updates

The latest  Forgotten Beatles episode is now live and can be found on your favorite podcast platform, or directly right HERE.

 In this episode we share the stories of Beatles stand-in Vince Calandra, acapella group The Chants, and three-gig drummer Norman Chapman.

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What Else Is Alan Working On?

For more information on what else I have going on with writing, podcasting, and general slice-of-life stuff, check out my regular FREE weekly CAN’T SEE THE FOREST newsletter  -

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A Quick Reminder

Remember you can always upgrade to the Paid Subscription to access the full contents of this newsletter, 

And now on to the good stuff…

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1956 - James Paul McCartney

June 1956

Across the golf course from where John Lennon lived with his Aunt Mimi another music-mad teenager was celebrating his 14th Birthday, a certain James Paul McCartney

Young James was born on the 18th of June 1942 and in keeping with family tradition was given the same first name as his father, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather. (1)  Initially he would be James McCartney IV, but just before the formal paperwork of the birth certificate was completed, his mother decided that to avoid family confusion the new McCartney would have a middle name and that he would be referred to as Paul. (2)

His father, Jim, had at one time held musical ambitions, playing piano and trumpet. He had even led his own band, Jim Mac’s Jazz Band,’ playing many of the same dance halls around Liverpool that his son was destined to frequent in the coming years. However his dream of life in show business never really materialized.

At the outbreak of World War II, he had been working at the Napier engineering works as a lather turner and also helped fight fires left from the German bombing raids as a volunteer fireman.

Paul’s mother, Mary, had been a nursing sister in charge of the maternity wing where Paul was born, and where eighteen months later he would be joined by his younger brother, Peter Michael (also known by his middle name). She left the hospital to raise her young family and worked as a district health visitor assisting local families left destitute by the bombings.

After the war, Jim returned to his previous job as a cotton salesman, while Mary became a domiciliary midwife. But the cotton industry was in rapid decline and Jim’s earnings suffered as a result. Times were hard for the McCartney family and they often moved as time and the locations of Mary’s rounds as a midwife changed. Eventually, they ended up at 72 Western Avenue in the area of Liverpool known as Speke.