Strings, Spells, and the Beatleverse

Chapter 2: A Very Strange Baptism

2.1 The Band's First Steps

From that moment on, the three of them were officially a band. Their journey? A wild, criss-crossing adventure through the north of England. Tiny, smoke-filled venues? Check. Enthusiastic crowds? Not so much. The audience? A lot less "We love you!" and a lot more "Get off the stage, freaks!" If you think the fights in the audience were bad, you should've seen the brawls backstage. But hey, chaos never stopped these boys—they thrived on it.

2.2 The Misfit Bassist
Enter Stu Sutcliffe. Painter. Dreamer. Absolute disaster on the bass guitar. But none of that mattered to John.
"Better a bad bass player than no bass player at all," he'd laugh, grinning at Stu, who never quite got the joke.

Stu had recently sold a painting for a decent sum of money. Before he knew it, John had talked him into spending it all on a bass guitar. That's how Stu became a member of the band—not through skill or passion, but sheer peer pressure. His playing? Terrible. His vibes? Impeccable. And for this band, vibes mattered more than talent.

2.3 The Dream Tour Turns Nightmare
The big break they dreamed of? A tour in Nessieland, way up north. (Yes, Nessieland—because why call it Scotland when you can make it sound mythical?) John, Paul, George, and Stu had visions of movie-star glamour and screaming fans. "Why not us?" John mused, already picturing their names in lights. The others nodded like they'd cracked the code to fame and fortune.

Reality check: the tour was a nightmare. Cramped rooms, freezing nights, and meals that made airplane food look gourmet. By the end of one particularly grim night, George flopped down and groaned, "Even our pants are ruined!" And no, he didn't mean in a cool, ripped-jeans way.

But these boys weren't quitters. Whenever things got too bleak, they'd chant their mantra:
"Where are we going, lads?" John would ask.
"To the top, Johnny!" the others would yell back.
"And where's that?"
"To the toppermost of the poppermost!"

They laughed at their own ridiculousness. Sure, the phrase was corny, but it had something timeless about it. It was their little secret weapon, their rallying cry, keeping their spirits high no matter how low the odds seemed.

2.4 The Birth of The Beatles

One cold night in Nessieland, everything changed. The boys were huddled around a fire, warming their hands and trying to ignore the misery of their latest flop of a gig. Stu wasn't with them—he'd wandered off to sketch some crumbling ruin, lost in his painterly daydreams.

And then—poof—out of nowhere, it happened. A man. On a flaming pie. Yes, you read that right—a flaming pie. He didn't look like anyone they'd ever seen before, part wizard, part rock 'n' roll fever dream.

He pointed at them with a theatrical flourish. "From this day on, you are the Beatles. With an 'A.'"

The lads stared, blinking. George finally broke the silence with a dry, "Sure, mate. Whatever you say."

The man wasn't done. "You've got no drums, no beat, no pop. You're... Beatless!" He grinned like he'd just dropped the punchline of the century.

John rolled his eyes. "Mister man, the rhythm's in the guitars!" he said, smirking.

But then—bam!—a drum kit appeared, right there by the fire. As if the universe itself decided, "Let's throw them a bone." Then, just as the lads were still processing the miracle of the drums, an amplifier materialised. The kind of amp that could shake walls and make eardrums beg for mercy.

"Right," Paul said, stepping forward with a smirk. "Since you're on a roll, how about tossing in a pint and some fresh trousers while you're at it?"

The man just laughed, his eyes twinkling like he knew something they didn't. And then, before anyone could demand new shoes, he vanished. No explanation. No warning. Just the lingering smell of pie crust and the weight of something unspoken.

That night wasn't just about lucky breaks. The name "Beatles," with its quirky 'A,' wasn't just clever—it was enchanted. A spell. A seed of magic, planted into their lives.

And it would go far beyond fame or stardom. But for now, let's stick around and get to know our lads a little better—because trust me, there's plenty more to uncover.