New/Old John Lennon photograph uncovered

John Lennon photograph uncovered

By Duncan Hooper

Last Updated: 8:42am BST 03/10/2007

Dressed in matching camelhair coats and sporting compulsory 1950s quiffs, the two young men walking down Liverpool's Lime Street in 1958 show little to set them apart from other fashion-conscious youngsters of their generation.

John Lennon (right) and Quarrymen manager Nigel Walley

Certainly none of the passers-by eager to get on with their shopping seem to pay much attention to the pair.

But the 17-year old on the right is John Lennon, who had founded The Quarrymen band a year earlier. He is accompanied by the band's manager Nigel Walley.

The photograph, which had been locked away in a cupboard for almost 50 years, was uncovered by a BBC documentary team.

Mr Walley, who now lives in Clacton, Essex, had not seen the picture since 1958. He said: " It's very emotional for me seeing this photo again after all these years. John was a very good friend of mine.

"One thing I know John would have loved, was seeing this photograph. It's something I'll always treasure now."

"I haven't a clue what we were doing then - just a couple of lads out in town larking about probably."

The pair remained close friends after the Beatles found stardom and would get together to reminisce about their youth.

Mr Walley said: "I was only speaking to him a few days before he died. It was a great shock to hear he had been shot. We were making plans to see each other again."

Lennon founded The Quarrymen skiffle group in 1957 and named them after his school Quarrybank. He met Paul McCartney at a gig in the same year and the two went on to revolutionise popular music with the Beatles.

The photo emerged after an anonymous Beatles collector who bought the image at auction came forward. The BBC Inside Out North West programme which uncovered it will be screened tonight at 7:30pm on BBC 1.