Former Quarrymen guitarist bandmate Ken Brown dies aged 70

[BeatlesFan]

Jun 15 2010 Luke Traynor

A LIVERPOOL musician who played with the Beatles before they won worldwide fame has died.

Former Quarrymen guitarist Ken Brown, 70, was discovered at his home in Essex on Monday after a concerned relative had raised the alarm.

In 1959, Ken persuaded George Harrison to bring along John Lennon and Paul McCartney to fill a residency slot at the Casbah Coffee Club in West Derby.

The four musicians formed the Quarrymen and performed a number of gigs in Liverpool before Ken was ousted from the group in a dispute over money.

Ken next approached Pete Best and they played together in a band called The Blackjacks until the drummer was poached by the Beatles to join their crucial groundbreaking tour to Hamburg in Germany.

Source: Liverpool Echo - News - Liverpool Local News - Former Quarrymen guitarist and Lennon/McCartney bandmate Ken Brown dies aged 70

 

[BeatlesFan]

More pics of Ken Brown:

 

[Flower]

 

[BeatlesFan]

Former Quarrymen guitarist and Lennon/McCartney bandmate Ken Brown dies aged 70

Jun 15 2010

by Luke Traynor, Liverpool Echo

A LIVERPOOL musician hailed as being responsible for bringing the Beatles has died.

Former Quarrymen guitarist Ken Brown was discovered at his home in Essex on Monday after a concerned relative had raised the alarm.

Police forced their way in through his front door and found the 70-year-old, who suffered from emphysema, lying on the living room floor.

It is thought he may have died five days earlier.

Ken played an integral part, in 1959, in persuading George Harrison to introduce his two friends - Paul McCartney and John Lennon - to form a new band.

And if history had been played out slightly differently, Ken himself might have been the bass player for the world famous Beatles.

In the late summer of 1959, he had an argument with his then bandmate Les Stewart after he secured a residency for them at new West Derby coffee club, The Casbah.

When Stewart refused to play there, George Harrison - who was also in the Les Stewart quartet - left with Ken and agreed to find two other musicians to play that night.

George turned up later with Paul, John and Cynthia, Lennon’s girlfriend.

They decided to call themselves the Quarrymen, Lennon’s original band, and that night played songs including Three Cool Cats and Long Tall Sally as Ken played Hofner guitar and the group used his 10-watt amplifier.

But things turned sour when Ken one night felt a crippling pain in his leg and was asked by Casbah manager Mona Best to instead take money on the door - allowing George, Paul and John to play together for the first time.

Hearing that Ken would be receiving fifteen shillings like the other three, Paul objected.

Beatles author Bill Harry told the ECHO: “McCartney shouted, ‘All right, that’s it then!’, and they stormed off down the drive towards West Derby village, shouting that they would never play the Casbah again.”

Ousted, Ken approached Pete Best and together they formed Blackjacks who played regularly at the Casbah until the Beatles approached Pete to join them on their life-changing trip to Hamburg.

Today, Roag Best, Pete’s brother, said: “We only found out about Ken on Monday night, Pete was sobbing on the phone when he told me.

“Ken was very quick-witted, he never lost his Scouse edge. It’s very rare you can put your hand on your heart and say, ‘that guy was brilliant’, he was just a lovely guy.

“He would laugh that John Lennon once borrowed £5 off him and that he was still waiting to be paid back.

“He took a real pride in what the lads achieved.”

Ken was living on his own in Essex, after moving away from Liverpool with his family as young man - upset to be leaving the region as Merseybeat music swept the UK.

Ken’s brother had repeatedly tried to phone his brother as they were soon to attend a wedding and after a series of failed to attempts to contact him he contacted the police.

Ken had been running a snooker club in Essex and still played the guitar, making recordings in a small studio in his house. He was due to join former bandmate Pete Best in Liverpool this August to play a one-off show at the Casbah club.

Mr Roag added: “Without Ken, the Beatles would not have been formed.

“And I’m sure if he had remained in Liverpool Ken would have been a household name. He was at the forefront of the music scene.”

The last time that Ken saw the group was on March 16, 1963, when he was phoned to be told the Beatles had run out of money and were due to appear in Sheffield the next night – could he lend them £20?

Ken once said: “Eventually, I agreed and they all turned up at our flat. Marcia {his fiancee} and I went down to the van to see the boys. I handed over the money, which they repaid six weeks later.”

Source: Liverpool Echo - Entertainment - The Beatles - Beatles News - Shock death of Ken Brown - the man who brought the Beatles together

 

[BeatlesFan]

I didn't know the song, 'I Saw Her Standing There' was created during The Quarrymen.
It makes the part about her being just 17 less pervy.

 

[Magic]

Another musician dead. Golly the death toll is pretty bad for 2010.

 

[Flower]

I didn't know the song, 'I Saw Her Standing There' was created during The Quarrymen.
It makes the part about her being just 17 less pervy.

History:

•Written by Paul when still a schoolboy at the Liverpool Institute for Boys, the original version -- a first verse and chorus written on a schoolbook -- was titled "Seventeen." Supposedly it was written for Iris Caldwell, the sister of fellow Merseybeat musician Rory Storm (of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, which at one time featured Ringo on drums).

•John helped Paul finish the song, either during a day the boys played hookey from school or while on tour in Hamburg. Aside from helping construct a bridge, John's major input was in suggesting that Paul change the second line of the song from "Never been a beauty queen" to the more bluesy "You know what I mean." Though Paul claims the new line has no real meaning, his salacious delivery suggests otherwise.

•The bass line from this song was lifted almost directly from Chuck Berry's "I'm Talking About You."

•The famous count-off that opens the song was actually from a different take -- take 9, which found Paul increasingly frustrated, leading to the almost angry quality of the opening. (Ironically, the final mix was made from Take 1 after all, with the opening spliced in and handclaps overdubbed.)

Live versions: December 25, 28, 31, 1962 (Star Club, Hamburg, Germany), February 11, 1964 (Washington Coliseum, Washington, D.C), February 12, 1964 (Carnegie Hall, New York), February 16, 1964 (Deauville Hotel, Miami, FL, for broadcast on The Ed Sullivan Show), June 4, 1964 (K.B. Hallen Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark), June 6, 1964 (Blokker, Amsterdam, Holland), June 12-13, 1964 (Centennial Hall, Adelaide, Australia), June 15-17, 1964 (Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia)

BBC radio versions: 11 (for the BBC radio programs From Us To You, Saturday Club, Side By Side, Steppin' Out, Pop Goes The Beatles, and Easy Beat)

Trivia:
•John performed this onstage with Elton John at Madison Square Garden on November 28, 1974, effectively making it his last public performance. Lennon introduced the song as written by "an old estranged fiancee of mine named Paul."
Covered by: The Chipmunks, The Crickets, Jerry Garcia, Elton John, Daniel Johnston, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, George Martin, Moon Martin, Anthony Newley, Cliff Richard, Tiffany, The Tubes, Bob Welch, J. Frank Wilson

The Beatles -- I Saw Her Standing There -- History and Information from the Oldies Guide at About.com

 

[METALPRIEST]

Awww.........I met him.....so sad to hear

 

[ladyislingering]

Golly. O____o

This is saddening. Death is on a freaking rampage this year.

 

[TheFeldster]

Oh no, not another one.

RIP Ken Brown, you were a founding member of music's greatest legacy.