Len Garry

From Wikipedia:

Leonard Charles Garry (6 January 1942 – 2 March 2026) was an English musician, best known for being a member of the Quarrymen, a band who would later evolve into the Beatles.

Early life

Garry was born at 77 Lance Lane, Wavertree, Liverpool on 6 January 1942. His father, Henry, worked as a compositor at the Liverpool Daily Post, and his mother, Phyllis, was a housewife. His older brother, Walter, was born three years earlier. Garry attended Mosspits Lane Primary School, which included future Quarrymen members Pete Shotton and Nigel Walley, and briefly, John Lennon. He learned how to play the piano as a child.

The Quarrymen

1957–1958

In 1953, Garry was attending Liverpool Institute High School for Boys, when he met Ivan Vaughan. Vaughan would introduce Garry to Paul McCartney. The two briefly knew each other, as they were in the same German class. Two years later, Garry met John Lennon. In 1956, the Quarrymen were formed. The Quarrymen’s original tea-chest bassist, Bill Smith, stopped showing up for practices shortly after, and so, Garry stepped in as the new tea-chest bassist for the Quarrymen. The group, consisting of John Lennon, Eric Griffiths, Pete Shotton, Garry, Colin Hanton, and Rod Davis, formed the first stable line-up of the group.

Garry performed with the group at two of their most historical performances, on Rosebery Street, on 22 June 1957, and at their first performance at The Cavern Club. Garry remained for a few months, when he had to back out after falling severely ill with tubercular meningitis. He would not return to the group after returning:

In 1955 I finally met John Lennon when Ivan Vaughan invited him to Woolton, where I bumped into Lennon, Shotton, Ivan and Nigel walking along Vale Road. I soon became “one of the gang” who would hang around Calderstones Park. In 1956 a lad called George Lee, a friend of Eric Griffiths and John Lennon at Quarry Bank School, suggested to John that he form his own group. This was at the height of the skiffle craze, and sure enough in the autumn of 1956 the band that was to become the Quarrymen took shape, with another Quarry Bank lad called Bill Smith on tea chest bass. Bill however, never turned up for practices and so I soon stepped into his shoes and became a permanent member of the band, staying with the group until August 1958 when I fell seriously ill with tubercular meningitis, spending some 7 months in hospital.

A few months after Len’s departure, the band recorded their first singles; “That’ll Be the Day” and “In Spite of All the Danger“. Garry was one of two members of the Quarrymen who didn’t attend Quarry Bank High School (which the band was named after), the other being Nigel Walley. Garry was in the same room as John Lennon, when he and McCartney first met on 6 July 1957:

I remember Paul coming along that night at St Peter’s Church Hall, picking up a guitar – I didn’t even know he was left-handed – and playing a couple of chords. I think he was trying to audition for us. John always wanted someone to support him, no matter what he did, and Paul came along at the right time. It wasn’t just about playing guitar together or singing, it was about composing as well.

1994–2026

In 1997, Garry reunited with the then-surviving members of the Quarrymen to perform a concert, to commemorate 40 years since the group’s formation. […]

My dear old mate from the Quarrymen, Len Garry, has passed away. He was a lovely guy and I’m sad to see him go but glad that we had so many fun times together. Rest in Peace Len, Love Paul

Paul McCartney – From Paul McCartey on Facebook, March 2026

In 1953 I went to the Liverpool Institute High School, where I became a close friend of Ivan Vaughan, where we both shared a zany sense of humour. It was here I got to know Paul McCartney, who was a fellow member of my German class. In 1955 I finally met John Lennon when Ivan Vaughan invited him to Woolton, where I bumped into Lennon, Shotton, Ivan and Nigel walking along Vale Road. I soon became “one of the gang” who would hang around Calderstones Park. In 1956 a lad called George Lee, a friend of Eric Griffiths and John Lennon at Quarry Bank School, suggested to John that he form his own group. This was at the height of the skiffle craze, and sure enough in the autumn of 1956 the band that was to become the Quarrymen took shape, with another Quarry Bank lad called Bill Smith on tea chest bass. Bill however, never turned up for practices and so I soon stepped into his shoes and became a permanent member of the band, staying with the group until August 1958 when I fell seriously ill with tubercular meningitis, spending some 7 months in hospital.

Some of my notable appearances with the Quarrymen included our first ever booking at the “Cavern” in early 1957, on the back of the lorry at Rosebery Street, and probably our best known gig at the St. Peter’s Church Rose Queen on 5 July 1957, the day Ivan Vaughan brought his friend Paul McCartney to hear John Lennon’s band!

Len Garry – from the Quarrymen’s official website

From McCartney Times:

Garry‘s time in the Quarry Men ended in 1958 when, at the age of 16, he contracted tubercular meningitis and was hospitalized, lapsing into a coma and almost dying. In truth his time in the band was probably nearly up anyway, not only because Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison were closing ranks, but also because as skiffle faded in popularity, so did the need for and desirability of a tea chest bass.