Schooling
Paul started primary school at Stockton Wood Road Primary, then later at Joseph Williams Primary when Stockton overcrowded. There Paul easily passed the Eleven Plus, and went to the Liverpool Institute - Liverpool's best known grammar school, where he was always in the tops forms. Paul once got a school prize for a short book called "Seven Queens of England," which was actually published. Kids at school called him a "f***ing college pudding." Paul did well in Latin, but after he learned that his dad wanted him to get a degree of some sort and was really proud of him, he started slacking. Paul said being a good student got "woolly," and that no one ever made it clear to him as to why he was being educated, even though Jim went on about how he needed certificates and diplomas.
Of course, Paul wasn't a perfect angel. He and his friends would steal things like ciggies, and sometimes go to the Pavilion, a local strip club. (This was when he was 12-14!) Paul says, "It was funny, letting us in at that age. But is was just good, clean, dirty fun." He and his friend would dress in white sports coats, black drainies, and have Tony Curtis haircuts. They would go out and think they were really "flash." Jim tried to keep Paul from dressing that way, but Paul always found a way around it. Whenever he got new pants, he'd bring them home for Jim to see how wide they were so he would OK them. Then Paul would take them back and have them taken in and tightened. If Jim noticed, Paul would "swear blind" that they were what they had agreed on. When sent to the barber, Paul would just come back and say that it was closed so he could keep his hair long.
When Paul was 14, his mother died of breast cancer. She had been having pains for several weeks, but doctors told her not to worry about it. Paul remembers the first thing he said after learning of his mother's death, and he still regrets saying it: "What are we going to do without her money?" After Mary's death, Paul began pouring his emotions into his music.
Musical Beginnings
Of all the Beatle's parents, Paul's father was the only one who had any musical experience. When he was little, Paul showed no interest in music. Michael and he were sent for piano lessons a couple times, but nothing came of them. Jim once made Paul join the Liverpool Cathedral choir, but he cracked his voice on purpose at the audition. Later, Paul's uncle gave him a trumpet, and he was able to pick out a few tunes on it. He asked to trade it in for a guitar because he wanted to be able to sing, too.
The rocker that made the biggest impression on Paul was Elvis. Paul said that whenever he was feeling low, he could always listen to Elvis and feel better. When he traded his trumpet in for a guitar, Paul played Elvis tunes and anything else that was popular at the time. His best impersonation was of Little Richard. When his dad saw it, he thought it was horrible because he "couldn't believe that anybody was really like that."
In 1956, a friend of both Paul and John, Ivan Vaughn, invited Paul to come watch John' group, the Quarrymen. There, Paul was introduced to John, and Paul jokingly tells how he remembers meeting John for the first time: "This beery old man getting nearer and breathing down me neck as I was playing. 'What's this old drunk doing?' I thought. Then he said, '20 Flight Rock' was one of his favorites. "It was John. He'd had a few beers. He was 16 and I was only 14, so he was a big man." About a week later, Paul was asked to join the Quarrymen, because John had been impressed with Paul's playing. John also said, "He also looked like Elvis. I dug him."
Soon after, Paul playing a few tunes that he'd written himself. John wasn't one to be outdone by anyone, so he immediately began writing, too. By this time, Ivan Vaughn and Pete Shotton had left the Quarrymen by this time, after John got mad and broke a washboard over Pete's head. Paul then started thinking of the possibility of a friend of his joining the group. His friend had started playing guitar about the same time as John and Paul, but was coming along better. He was even younger than Paul, but he thought he would bring his friend to meet John because he was so good. Ivan got annoyed when Paul did take his friend to meet John, since Ivan was the one that got Paul into the Quarrymen in the first place. Paul's friend, one George Harrison, was a complete Teddy boy, and Ivan just couldn't see why the Quarrymen would be interested in him......
