New "1st Beatles Film" Discovered
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How good is your eyesight? Liverpool Beatles fans Peter Hodgson and Mark Ashworth have just teamed up to discover what must now be counted as the earliest film clip of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison together. Here's the story: The back of 20 Forthlin Road overlooked the grounds of the Police Training College, headquarters of the Liverpool Mounted Police. Paul and his brother would watch them training horses, knocking pegs out of the ground with lances just as they had done in the British Raj. "We used to sit on the concrete shed in the back yard and watch the Police Show every year for free," Paul remembered. "One year, Jackie Collins came to open it and we were entranced at the sight of her comely young figure." (Barry Miles / Paul McCartney, Many Years From Now). Peter Hodgson in true Columbo style has come up trumps here. The film was made in 1958 (not 1950 as it says on YouTube). take a look at the film, but the interesting part is around the 34.33 mark.
What you're looking at here is the 1958 Police show with the rear of Forthlin Road across the back of the field. The McCartney's home, no.20 was/is the third house to the left from the three storey flats seen on the right. What's very exciting about all this, seen more clearly on my screenshot, is that Peter has noticed several figures sitting on the roof of the outside toilet of no.20 watching the show. Today, Paul McCartney's brother Mike had a look at the footage and confirmed to a Liverpool reporter that the figures are John, Paul, George and Mike himself. -
This is really cool! What a find after all these years. The area back there is still part of the Police training grounds. When I was there in September, you could hear all the dogs barking, but the horses weren't out that morning. Sylvia the care taker there was telling us how John and Paul also sat up there and watched Pete Shotton graduate from the police academy all those years ago.
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paulfan11:
This is really cool! What a find after all these years. The area back there is still part of the Police training grounds. When I was there in September, you could hear all the dogs barking, but the horses weren't out that morning. Sylvia the care taker there was telling us how John and Paul also sat up there and watched Pete Shotton graduate from the police academy all those years ago.
Yes! So cool! I was there this past August and heard the story too about Pete! (different female caretaker I think - saw her later at the Adelphi convention and she introduced me to her husband Bob, which I remembered because that was my dad's name) ETA: She had a common name from the '40s and '50s like Kathy, Debbie, Sandy or Linda.
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If you watch closely enough, you can clearly see Paul writing down the lyrics to "When I'm 64".
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JoeySmith:
If you watch closely enough, you can clearly see Paul writing down the lyrics to "When I'm 64".
I thought it was a different song!
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oobu24:
JoeySmith:
If you watch closely enough, you can clearly see Paul writing down the lyrics to "When I'm 64".
I thought it was a different song!
Yeah, he wrote the melody to When I'm 64 when he was 14 or 15, then the lyrics when he was 24. (I know, you were just joking around!)
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It looks just like them if you have cataracts.