McCartney Times

In addition to the talents of George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, many others played a role in the Beatles’ success. Names such as Brian Epstein, George Martin, and Derek Taylor immediately leap to mind, but what about Charlie Roberts, Ian James, and Geoff Nugent?The lesser-known friends, family and musicians who influenced the Beatles finally receive their due in David Bedford’s Fab One Hundred and Four: The Evolution of the Beatles from the Quarrymen to the Fab Four 1956-1962. A Liverpool native and author of Liddypool (an exhaustive history of the city), Bedford provides complete histories of figures who played large or small parts in Beatles history, many relatively obscure until now.Through photographs and, where appropriate, interviews, Bedford describes how each person — 104 in total — influenced the group during their formative years. James, a classmate of McCartney’s at the Liverpool Institute, taught Paul McCartney how to play “Twenty Flight Rock” — a significant contribution, as McCartney’s performance of that song earned him admission into the Quarrymen. Until 2006, Ian James also owned a very special instrument: the first guitar Paul McCartney likely ever played.

Source: ‘The Fab One Hundred and Four,’ by David Bedford (2016): Books