Stuck Inside a Vinyl Record

Baby Beatles!

The four boys were born in the north-west of England or more precisely, in the city of Liverpool, also called 'The Pool' – although Liddypool may also be suitable!

It was at a time when Britain was at war, but this did not prevent little Ringo from being born peacefully on 7 July 1940. Looking at his innocent little face, there was no hint of the mischievous troublemaker he was to become to the despair of his mum and dad.

His first amazing adventure happened quite unexpectedly. One day, he built himself a mechanical railway and found no better idea than to jump into one of the cars to escape!

- 'I will never be found'! Shouted Ringo, laughing, as he sat astride his makeshift train en route to an unknown destination!

Things were not so light-hearted for little John, who was solemnly named John Winston Lennon by his father, Alfred and his mum, Julia. He arrived on the very day when the terrible German war chief Hitnerve decided to try and annihilate Liverpool with a huge bombing campaign.

Born amidst the bombs on 9 October 1940 and visibly still troubled by the incessant noise of the explosions, instead of a first cry, John made this very early and strange remark:

- All my bones on this day are safe and sound! Hitnerve and his troops – the hitnervous – seemed to be very aggressive but the only bomb that really exploded today and which will make even more noise later was...me!

Understand this if you can because it was not really clear at all! To reassure us – and especially his parents, he added these next few words earnestly and this time full of common sense:

- Fortunately, it was a lot of fuss about nothing because I'm still in one piece (and no one is crying over me)!

In his view, this was the essential thing, and deep down, wasn't he right? Growing up, little John proved to be a creative dreamer, and if he wasn't immersed in reading a good book, he spent most of his time painting, drawing or writing poems.

John was the last born in a family of musicians who used to entertain here and there, playing cheerful tunes on their banjos. By the age of ten, John was already following in their footsteps when he blew into his precious harmonica – playing and re-playing The Happy Traveller song.9 Unfortunately for him, his school life was far from perfect as he was dismissed from kindergarten for misbehaviour and later, a line his school notebook declared 'Without hope, makes the clown in class'!

And can you guess what went through his head as he read that harsh verdict? It was the ever-optimistic thought:

- Maybe I'll be a famous clown some day!

Nothing stopped him! One day, his mum Julia (whom he only saw from time to time, as he lived with his aunt, Mimi) offered him a guitar. Very quickly, the young boy became passionate about it, playing it all day, every day, which was exasperating for his aunt who became a little desperate and kept reminding him:

- The guitar's all right John, but you'll never make a living out of it!

But these words went in one ear and immediately out of the other! It was with his head filled with dreams that he continued the practice sessions on his beloved guitar.

Not far away, in Penny Lane, Paul sat, contemplating his neighbourhood under a sunny sky, his ration of sweets clutched in his hand. It was summer, and Paul liked to stroll around. He had a lot of fun watching the jovial pastry chef who ate his own cakes! There was also the policeman who never smiled, yet everyone knew that his weapon was fake and that robbers could sleep soundly at night! And the fishmonger, with an empty bottle of wine at his feet, would loudly claim that his fish were the nicest of all because they were caught by the Titanic! He really should sell poppycock instead of fish, no? All this made Paul laugh! He saw all kinds of people come and go, greeting the various shopkeepers and he liked to watch all the strange antics in his neighbourhood involving characters that looked like colourful puppets!12 As the sun set and even if a pretty girl was crossing the street, Paul wisely headed home. Having some spare time, he began playing his sparkling new trumpet, a gift he had received for his previous birthday. However the day came when he realised:

- If I play the trumpet, I will never be able to sing at the same time!

Disappointed, because he loved to sing, he started to play the guitar – which in fact solved his problem perfectly! Soon, he was able to play and sing anything he wanted, just like John.

George, for his part, had already become a skilled musician by constantly and meticulously practising on his favourite instrument – the guitar too!

For the time being, Ringo was not on the scene, but the other three musicians had already met each other and that had been the easiest thing in the world to do... because John was Paul's friend, Paul was George's, and George quickly became John's friend! Thus, all three had become firm friends by 1957.