Well we was just 15, if you know what I mean: Rare picture of baby-faced Beatles from 1958
STRUMMING their guitars in his auntie’s front room, this is Paul McCartney with John Lennon and George Harrison in what is thought to be one of the earliest colour pictures ever taken of the Beatles.
The photograph, which has never been seen before, was unearthed by Sir Paul’s brother Mike McCartney, who took it in March 1958.
It shows Paul and George, both 15, and John, 17, rehearsing to perform at a wedding reception. George has his back to the camera, hence the name on the negative – George’s Back.
Mike stumbled across the negative while going through old files for a new book. He said he was 14 when he took the picture – along with a well-known second image, largely assumed to
Picture album: Mike’s new book be the first colour picture of the band – at his Auntie Gin’s house in Huyton, Liverpool, at the reception for her 19-year-old son, Ian Harris.
Dressed in grey jackets, white shirts and black ties, the band, then named The Quarrymen, appear to be rehearsing, with Paul open mouthed, presumably mid-song.
Mike said: ‘I came across a couple of negs and I realised that, because the other one was a better picture, I had put this one to one side. It was a lovely discovery after all these years. Sometimes negatives fade but this one was in prime condition. It’s brilliant to see their matching jackets in colour.’
His limited edition book, Mike McCartney’s Early Liverpool, is due out next year from Genesis Publications (mikemccartneybook.com). It includes unseen pictures from his very first photo taken with the family Kodak Brownie to capturing the emerging Merseybeat scene.