John Lennon's First Group the Quarrymen Tell Tales Out of School

When the less-renowned members of the Quarrymen -- the Liverpool group that nurtured three young rock 'n' rollers named John, Paul and George -- reunited in 1997 for a 40th anniversary celebration, a local radio program asked a man on the street to review their performance.

"Terrible!" the guy griped, as recalled by Quarrymen singer-guitarist Rod Davis. "These guys haven't improved in 40 years."

Well, exactly, thought the band members. Now 13 years into their reunion, Davis, fellow frontman Len Garry and drummer Colin Hanton are still playing the skiffle and old-time rock 'n' roll they played when 16-year-old John Lennon first brought them together. Lennon, who would have been 70 years old on Oct. 9, is the subject of the 30th annual John Lennon Tribute, taking place Friday, Nov. 12, with guests including Patti Smith, Jackson Browne and Aimee Mann at the Beacon Theatre in New York.

At a recent appearance on a stage near Boston following a screening of the new Lennon film 'Nowhere Boy,' the surviving Quarrymen played Ray Charles' 'I Got a Woman,' Buddy Holly's 'That'll Be the Day' and two songs Beatles fans know from the 'Let It Be' album: 'Maggie Mae' and 'One After 909,' among others. They also played 'In Spite of All the Danger,' the early Paul McCartney-George Harrison composition that gets a spotlight in the film.

Watch the Quarrymen's Live 'In Spite of All the Danger' Video

The songs, however, were almost secondary. The group's rapt audiences want to hear a few well-worn tales of their brief role in the formation of the world's greatest rock group.

"We put it into context," explained Davis, whose flat Liverpudlian voice sounds a bit like Ringo Starr's, backstage before the set. The Quarrymen reminisce and tell jokes, he said.

"Otherwise, we're just a whole lot of old guys playing a whole lot of old tunes. I believe the American term is shtick."

Just like the Beatles themselves, the original Quarrymen tease and banter freely with each other. When Garry, a droll wit who could have had a second career as a member of Monty Python, calls the revived group's act "a unique niche," Hanton shoots back, "Is that like a quiche?"

'Nowhere Boy' takes plenty of liberties with the Quarrymen story, the bandmates say. Not that they're complaining. "It's not a documentary -- there's lots of glaring mistakes," said Hanton, who made his career in the upholstery business. "But generally, the overall feeling of the film -- we thought they did a pretty good job."

In addition to Hanton, Davis and Garry, the Quarrymen reunion originally featured Lennon's close boyhood friend Pete Shotton (who played washboard) and Eric Griffiths, who played guitar and banjo. Shotton quit the road due to health concerns, and Griffiths died in 2005, leaving the current Quarrymen a trio.

Unlike Hanton, the bearded Davis remained active in music, joining the folk revival of the 1960s and playing bluegrass, Tex-Mex and other styles over the years. Garry, too, continued to make music, at one point taking the lead role in a touring production of 'Come Together,' a Christian rock musical that originally featured Pat Boone.

"Len and I weren't quite so rusty as the other guys" when they first reunited, said Davis.

When the Quarrymen became the Beatles, Davis, Hanton and Garry lost touch with their teenage bandmates. Given their working-class backgrounds, the Beatles' eventual status as counterculture heroes grew far removed from their own lives, they said.

"My mum was very angry with what John did to his black Rolls-Royce," recalled Davis. "It had no hubcaps, and he never cleaned it. She was absolutely incensed."

Yet the men all agreed that the internationally famous images of the Beatles were accurate extensions of the rosy-cheeked boys they once knew. Lennon was, in fact, the cynical one, the clever one. McCartney was gregarious, a little goofy, a diplomat. And Harrison was reserved, contemplative.

"Spot-on," said Garry.

At the time, there was no way to know how big their friends would become, said Hanton. "We knew they were reasonably good, but there were dozens, if not hundreds, of groups around Merseyside.

"Basically, we're bathing in reflected glory. If it wasn't for the Beatles, we wouldn't be sitting in this cold, grubby backstage!"

Watch the Quarrymen's Live 'Maggie Mae' Video