John, Paul & George indulged their intense musical interests at every turn, trying to learn every new chord they saw someone play, listening avidly to every new song (mostly American recordings of Elvis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly & Chuck Berry), and playing wherever they could - parties, weddings, talent shows & bars. As Paul tells it: “We would show up for gigs just with three guitars, and the person booking us would ask ‘Where’s the drums then?’ To cover this eventuality we would say, ‘The rhythm’s in the guitars’, stand there, smile a lot, bluff it out. There was not a lot you could say to that, and we’d make them very rhythmic to prove our point.” (A little known fact is that for a short time Paul played drums in the band). It was then that Paul & John spent much of their time writing songs together, bouncing chords & lyrics off one another in a relationship that was both competitive and supportive. Many of the songs written at this time were later to become world wide hits.

By late ‘59 an artist friend of John’s, Stuart Stutcliffe, joined the group. He’d sold a painting f

or enough money to buy a bass guitar, but couldn’t play it. Still, he had the right image, and on many performances turned his back to the crowd to conceal his lack of ability. It was Stuart & John who thought up the name “The Beatles.” As Paul tells it, “One April evening in 1960... John and Stuart announced ‘Hey, we want to call the band “The Beatles.”’ We thought "Hmm, bit creepy, isn’t it?" - It’s all right though; a double meaning."