Post by yerblues1968 on Jan 20, 2009 20:20:42 GMT -5
Peter Shotton with John Lennon in a childhood picture.
Peter remained one of John Lennon's best friends
throughout his life.
PETER SHOTTON (born 4 August 1941 in Liverpool)
Peter Shotton is an English businessman best known for his long friendship with John Lennon of The Beatles. Generally referred to as "Pete", he was a close boyhood friend of Lennon's, and also attended the Dovedale Infants School and Quarry Bank schools. Peter ("Pete") Shotton was a longtime friend of John Lennon, who founded The Beatles.
Peter Shotton is standing behind John Lennon
while performing in the band The Quarrymen.
EARLY LIFE
Shotton and Lennon met as boys, in their hometown of Woolton, England. Woolton is a suburb of Liverpool. The two fought at first, but soon became best friends. They went to school together, and often got into trouble together. They formed a "gang", with other boys who lived nearby.
During their teenage years, rock and roll became popular in England, as it did in America. Folk music and skiffle were also popular. Young people all over England formed skiffle bands, and played folk and rock songs. Lennon got a guitar from his mother. He and Shotton formed a band, the Quarrymen, with classmates from their school (named Quarry Bank), and other friends.
Shotton's role in the band was to play percussion on a washboard, and to sing harmony. While Lennon had genuine musical talent, Shotton did not become a skilled musician, and did not enjoy playing music. After Paul McCartney joined the Quarrymen, he and Lennon began to work together on music. McCartney was very talented, and Shotton felt out of place in the band. He waited a long time, before he finally told Lennon.
He was "fired" from the band when, after confiding in John that he really did not enjoy playing, Lennon smashed the washboard over his head at a party. All the same, they were still friends, and spent time together. When they finished high school, Lennon went on to art college, and Shotton trained to become a police officer. The Quarrymen changed from playing skiffle to playing rock and roll. They also changed names a few times, before calling themselves The Beatles.
THE BEATLES
After they became stars, Lennon and George Harrison bought a supermarket on Hayling Island, and gave it to Shotton to manage. Later, he served as manager of the Apple Boutique, then as the first managing director of Apple Corps.
Shotton regularly visited Lennon's house (Kenwood) on weekends, leaving his wife and young son at home to keep Lennon company, or escort Cynthia Lennon for a night out when her husband was busy with band matters or songwriting.
A sign on the former location of the Hayling Island
supermarket that John Lennon and George Harrison
had purchased for Peter Shotton. The sign reads,
"This building was owned by John Lennon and run by
Pete Shotton as a supermarket up to the early 1980's.
Pete helped to compose I Am The Walrus and assisted
Paul McCartney with the composition of Eleanor Rigby
as well as playing percussion on a number of the Abbey Road
tracks. Peter originally played washboard in the quarrymen,
but Lennon got drunk one night and smashed the washboard
over Pete's head. Pete decided it was time to leave the band. . . "
Shotton had a minor, but uncredited, role in the Beatles' music: He was occasionally invited to observe them recording at Abbey Road Studios, and played percussion (maracas, tambourine) on a few records. Shotton also helped Lennon with the lyrics to I Am the Walrus (remembering a nonsense rhyme they had loved as boys) and McCartney with the storyline of Eleanor Rigby (he suggested that the two lonely people in the song meet, but too late).
Later when the Beatles started their own company, Apple Corps, Shotton became its first managing director.
Apple Corps was not a successful company, and it caused problems between the Beatles, and with the people who worked with them. The problems were not Shotton's fault, but he felt as much pressure and stress as anyone. He resigned his job at Apple. Lennon tried Shotton out as a personal assistant, but this did not go well. Lennon's relationship with Yoko Ono also caused problems between Lennon and Shotton.
Shotton decided it was best to part ways with Lennon, while their friendship was still strong. He went back to running his supermarket, and he and Lennon lost touch. After Lennon and Yoko Ono moved to America, Shotton visited them in New York City, and they enjoyed seeing each other again.
Another early photo of Peter Shotton with John Lennon.
Peter is at the far left and John Lennon is next to the right.
LATER LIFE
John Lennon was murdered late in 1980. When Shotton heard the news, he drove to George Harrison's home, Friar Park, and spent the day with Harrison. Later he wrote his memoir.
Shotton is the co-author of John Lennon: In my Life (1983, republished later as The Beatles, Lennon and Me), which told the (unexpurgated) story of their friendship, from the age of six until Lennon's death in 1980.
Shotton gave up his supermarket, and began a chain of restaurants, Fatty Arbuckle's, which became a success. He later sold this business, and retired to live in Ireland. When former members of Lennon's Quarry Men re-formed in the 1990s as a nostalgia act, Shotton performed with them. He later sang Imagine at a tribute to Lennon and the Beatles in Woolton.
Beatlefan magazine cover from the 2008 Chicago, IL
FEST for The Beatles Fans convention. The magazine
cover already had Peter Shottons' autograph.
Peter Shotton in an interview taken in 1984. Peter talks about John Lennon, how the
final four members of The Beatles came together, Beatles manager Brian Epstein,
the phone call from Ed Sullivan, and making it big in America. Part 1 of 2. (3:05 minutes)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DDYbudStAc
Peter Shotton in an interview taken in 1984. Peter discusses the effects
of fame on the Beatles, drugs, the women in Lennon's life, Yoko Ono,
and reactions to learning of Lennon's death. Part 2 of 2. (9:43 minutes)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA0xQUv2QSk
Peter Shotton's book John Lennon: In My Life, later retitled as, The Beatles, Lennon, and Me may be ordered here.
www.amazon.com/Beatles-Lennon-Me-Peter-Shotton/dp/0812880722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232500972&sr=1-1
www.originalquarrymen.co.uk
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Shotton
simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Shotton
The Beatles authorized biographer Hunter Davies interviews Peter Shotton.
My Friend John by Hunter Davies (An excerpt from the book The Quarrymen)
articles.absoluteelsewhere.net/Articles/my_friend_john_davies.html
The Quarrymen by Hunter Davies may be ordered here.
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/071198526X/lennonlegacyc-20