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Rare photograph of John Lennon uncovered
Beatles fans get a rare treat tonight with the
revealing of a long-lost photograph of a young John Lennon on the Inside Out programme at 7.30pm on 91Èȱ¬ One North West.
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The extraordinary photograph of 17-year-old John Lennon was found
during a year long search by the Inside Out North West team and
remaining members of The Quarrymen, the group that went on to become The
Beatles.
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Nigel Walley, who is pictured with John in the photograph, is The
Quarrymen's former manager.
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Nigel now lives in Clacton and was brought up to Liverpool by the Inside
Out North West programme to be re-united with the photograph he had not
seen since 1958.
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"It's fantastic, really great. I can't believe how good it is, it's much
better than I expected," said Nigel, who was amazed by the quality of the
photograph which has been kept locked away in a cupboard for many years
by a Beatles collector, who wants to remain anonymous.
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Nigel could not recall the photograph being taken, at first, but then
realised it had been taken by a street photographer in Lime Street, in
Liverpool.
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"I remember it now. I think the photographer came up to us
because we were wearing those camel coats, just look at the lapels,
amazing aren't they?"
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When Nigel examined the photograph he said: "I recognise my writing on
the back of it. I've put May 5th 1958 Lime Street. I haven't a clue what
we were doing then, just a couple of lads out in town larking about
probably. But we look happy then.
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"It is a long time ago now but I seem to remember giving this photograph
and some other Beatles photos to my brother and he took them to school
where someone stole them from his desk. Goodness knows where this one
got to since then."
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Nigel added: "It's very emotional for me seeing this photo again after
all these years. John was a very good friend of mine.
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"We kept in touch
with each other after The Beatles became so famous. I would pop around
to his house and we would talk about the old days.
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"I was only speaking
to him a few days before he died. It was a great shock to hear he had
been shot. We were making plans to see each other again.
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"One thing I
know, John would have loved seeing this photograph. It's something I'll
always treasure now. I can't thank Inside Out enough."
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Rod Davis, who played guitar and banjo for The Quarrymen, says: "It's an
incredible discovery because this photo has not been seen for nearly the
last 50 years. It's been locked away and forgotten about.
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"It's a
terrific find for us because we've been looking to find photos or film
so we can celebrate the 50th anniversary year of John Lennon meeting
Paul McCartney.
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"What's so great about this photo is that John was just a face in the
crowd then but even then it's the Lennon I knew. You can see in his
face, I think, he knew he was something special even then."
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John Lennon founded The Quarrymen skiffle group in 1956 and named them
after his school Quarrybank.
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He met Paul McCartney on 6 July 1957 at
the Woolton Rose Queen Festival where The Quarrymen were playing. Ìý
Peter Trollope, Producer of Inside Out North West, said: "It's a
remarkable photograph and is a wonderful addition to the Lennon archive.
We were thrilled to find it after all these years."
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Inside Out, Wednesday 3 October 2007, 7.30pm, 91Èȱ¬
One North West
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91Èȱ¬ Manchester Press Office
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