Paul McCartney Thought John Lennon Was a Drunk ‘Old Man’ When They Met

When Paul McCartney and John Lennon met in 1956, they set out on a course that would eventually lead to the formation of The Beatles. Both were impressed with each other’s musical abilities, but McCartney wasn’t sure what to make of Lennon when he first approached him. At first, Lennon seemed to be a drunk “old man” to McCartney.

Paul McCartney met John Lennon at a church fest

In 1956, McCartney’s friend Ivan Vaughan invited him to a village fete to see The Quarrymen, Lennon’s band. McCartney agreed to go.

“They weren’t bad,” he said, per the book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. “John played the lead guitar. But he played it like a banjo, with banjo chords, as that was all he knew. None of the others had even as much an idea as John how to play.”

McCartney was also dedicated to playing music and decided to introduce himself to the group after their set.

Paul McCartney thought John Lennon was a drunk old man

When McCartney met up with the band, he decided to take the time to show off. 

“I went round to see them afterwards in the church hall place,” he explained. “I talked to them, just chatting and showing off. I showed them how to play ‘Twenty Flight Rock’ and told them all the words. They didn’t know it. Then I did ‘Bee Bop a Loo,’ which they didn’t know properly either. Then I did my Little Richard bit, went through me whole repertoire in fact.”

While he was playing, he noticed a drunk man wandering closer and closer.

“I remember this beery old man getting nearer and breathing down me neck as I was playing,” he said. “‘What’s this old drunk doing?’ I thought. Then he said ‘Twenty Flight Rock’ was one of his favorites. So I knew he was a connoisseur.”

It was Lennon, who was highly impressed with McCartney’s performance.

“It was John,” McCartney explained. “He’d just had a few beers. He was sixteen and I was only fourteen, so he was a big man. I showed him a few more chords he didn’t know. Ian James had taught me them really. Then I left. I felt I’d made an impression, shown them how good I was.”

Roughly a week later, The Quarrymen invited McCartney to join their band.

They both said that everything changed after they met

McCartney and Lennon eventually brought George Harrison into the band, which became The Beatles. Both Lennon and McCartney noted how important their first meeting was.

“I went off in a completely new direction from then on,” McCartney said. “Once I got to know John it all changed. He was good to know. Even though he was two years older than me and I was just a baby, we thought the same sort of things.”

Lennon said everything started moving in the right direction that day.

“That was the day,” he said, “the day that I met Paul, that it started moving.”