In My Life - George Harrison/The Beatles

Chapter Five: Drummer Boy

June 1959

Connie really loved working at the Cavern club. She wasn't really meant to be working there, considering she was still underage by a few months, but even if the managers knew, she was glad she hadn't been fired. It was hard, being a barmaid, having to constantly work with the public, most of whom were teenagers on night's out, but she loved it all the same. It was a good wage, and she got to meet so many different people.

The latter was certainly true, one Friday afternoon in June when a new band was in for a sound check before their performance that night. Her manager had told her it was a group called Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, and she'd heard of them before, John had mentioned them a couple of times. They were meant to be good, really good, part of the newly emerging rock and roll scene Liverpool seemed to be producing. Even so, she'd still heard Paul and George mention the fact that they were wary of the drummer, a guy they called Ringo Starr, though she had no idea what his real name was.

And, upon watching the band's sound check as she cleaned the bar, she also had no idea as to why her friends were so intimidated by him. He was rather cute, dressed like a teddy boy with bright blue eyes and a rather large nose, not that she paid too much attention to his appearance, being far too fascinated by his drumming to even consider how good looking he actually was. He was quite good, rather skilled, and she noticed he played backwards, as if he was left handed. By the end of their sound check, Connie had come to the conclusion that Ringo was one of the best drummers in Liverpool, far superior to the Beatles' current drummer.

"Hey love," a voice called whilst Connie was bent down wiping one of the shelves below the bar. Upon being called, she hopped back up, only to see it was the drummer she had been admiring moments ago, leaning against the bar, a friendly smile on her face. "Are you serving?"

"I'm not meant to be, but I liked your drumming, so for you... What'll it be?" Connie shrugged with a smirk, and the drummer smiled again. "It's Ringo, right?"

"Yeah that's me, and I'll have a pint, if that's alright," he said nodding, though Connie noted the caution in his voice, as if he didn't want to get her into trouble for serving him when she wasn't meant to. "What's your name?"

"Connie, though all my mates call me Lennie," she told him as she poured his drink, wearing a genuine smile that wasn't like the ones she forced on for customer service.

"You're Connie Lennon?" His eyes seemed to widen ever so slightly, and his surprise made her snort out a laugh. She was used to people recognising her cousin, but she didn't realise she also had a reputation that meant people knew her name.

"You say it as if I'm famous," she laughed, finishing off his drink and sliding it across the bar to him.

"Well, I've heard your name thrown around a bit," Ringo said before swigging his pint, his words making Connie narrow her eyes in amusement. "Not in a bad way, like, I just heard you were a nice looking bird,"

"Flattery's not gonna get you a free pint, you know," Connie raised an eyebrow at him, her comment making Ringo laugh as he paid her. "How'd you get so good at drumming, then?"

And so Connie carried on working, cleaning the glasses and the bar, all whilst Ringo remained leaning up against it, the two of them talking about music, and when they'd done with that topic, they went onto the subject of themselves. He told her all about how he'd been drumming since he was a kid, and how it was the only thing he wanted to do. She told him about how it was her dream to be a published author, since writing was always the only thing she was good at, other than fighting and singing. He mentioned about how the band were back from working the season at Butlins and were about to move off to Hamburg to work in some nightclubs. She mentioned that she was only working at the Cavern to try and save up to move to London, considering she'd spent the whole summer so far applying for internships and apprenticeships at magazine firms and newspaper presses.