Nowhere Boy Page #3

It's wrong taking little Julia's bed.

Thanks for the banjo lessons.

Mum?

Mum?

Hey.

Come on.

Have you decided

where you're living nowadays?

She'll hurt you.

You know that, don't you?

I'm gonna start a rock'n'roll group.

Be like Elvis.

# Well, I'm gonna get me

some rockin' shoes

# And I'm gonna rock away

all of my blues

# I'm a rockin' daddy

# Yeah, a rockin' daddy

# I'm a rockin' daddy

from Ding Dong, Tennessee

It's just three chords.

That's rock'n'roll, it's simple.

- Do you have to be simple to like it?

- Oh, funny. Well done.

Your sarcasm worries me.

What? Not up to your high standards?

Not exactly Bach, though, is it?

- The Gallotone Champion?

- Yeah.

Bangs out a solid tune. Guaranteed

not to split and a very good price.

- What's very good about it?

- Eight pounds and four shillings.

- Ooh, that's not very good, is it?

- Borderline mediocre, if you ask me.

- Very good would be...

- Seven pounds, cash.

Oh, that's very good.

Just don't shoot, OK?

- At ease, fuckwits.

- What's up, John?

I take it we're not here

for a communal crap.

You've been picked to be in my band.

- A band?

- A band, John?

I don't know how to play.

It's a skiffle band.

You don't have to know.

What's important is I've chosen you

and we're going to be great.

But what if we're sh*t?

- Shut up, tool.

- It's a good question.

- Eric, you've got a guitar, right?

- Yeah.

- Len, tea chest bass.

- What the hell's that?

A tea chest

with a broom handle and string.

- Easy, you just do a bit of this.

- Sounds sexy. Thanks, John.

Pete, washboard, son.

Great, lovely.

- Rodders, you own a banjo, right?

- That's right. My uncle is a busker.

What about me, John?

Manager.

Now, wash your hands, you dirty bugger.

All we need now

is a drummer with his own kit.

A lad called Colin who lives behind me

has his own kit.

He's in. First practice, six. Pete's

air raid shelter in his back yard.

If you don't come,

I'll batter the lot of yous. Questions?

- My air raid shelter.

- Shut it, Spunky.

- Questions? Anyone?

- Do we have a name?

Yes, Rodders, we do.

Crazy fool.

Right, are we ready to do this, boys?

- Yeah.

- I said, are we ready to do this?

- Yeah.

- Good.

- Let's f***ing do it, then.

- Let's go.

...local youngsters

performing for the very first time.

Please give them your support,

ladies and gentlemen.

Local boys, the Quarrymen!

Go, Johnny boy!

Where have you gone? I've lost you.

Oh, no, I haven't, there you all are.

# Oh, Maggie, Maggie Mae

# They are taking her away

# And she'll never walk

down Lime Street any more

# Well, the judge, he guilty found her

# For robbing a homeward bounder

# You dirty, robbin',

no-good Maggie Mae

# Now, I was one unhappy fool

in the port of Liverpool

# Well, three pound ten a week

that was my pay

# With a pocket full of tin,

I was very soon taken in

# By a girl

with the name of Maggie Mae

# Now, the first time I saw Maggie

# She took my breath away

# She was cruising up and down

in Cannon's Place

# She had a figure so divine

# Her voice was so refined

# Well, being a sailor, I gave chase

# Now, in the morning, I awoke

# I was flat and stony broke

That was great, that was great.

You were all shitting yourself.

Hey, John. John?

Paul, a mate of mine from school.

Paul plays too.

What, with himself?

I do, all the time.

It's good for the wrist muscles.

- I'm John.

- Paul.

- Want a beer?

- I'd love a tea.

- Is there any tea left?

- There's no tea left.

No, I didn't think so.

- So, did you watch us play?

- Yeah, yeah.

- And?

- Yeah, you're alright.

We're alright?

You're alright.

Ivan likes you and he's alright.

- How alright are you on one of those?

- I'm alright.

You got that back to front,

haven't you, mate?

Any requests?

That pink carnation is very dandy.

Can I borrow it?

# Well, I've got a girl

with a rocking machine

# When it comes to rocking,

she's the queen

# We go to a dance on a Saturday night

# All alone I can hold her tight

# But she lives on the 20th floor

up town

# The elevator's broken down

# So I walk one, two flight,

three flight, four

# Five, six, seven flight,

eight flight more

# Up on the 12th, I'm starting to drag

# On the 15th floor, I'm ready to sag

# When I get to the top,

I'm too tired to rock

- How old are you?

- 15.

- When?

- Last month.

- I can do Little Richard as well.

- Sorry. Tick-tock.

Nice to meet you

but we've got to rehearse.

- Well, I've got to get off anyway...

- Ta-ta, then.

Alright.

I'd rather him in our band

than anyone else's.

John, your little friend is here.

It goes A.

But you start on D.

Bollocks! Hang on a sec.

Keep going.

- It's my Buddy Holly look.

- Good.

- D.

- Right, yeah, D.

So from D, it goes to E minor.

No, B minor, that's a banjo chord.

- So B minor, it's...

- Yeah, yeah, that's it.

To G.

G.

To A.

And then it just starts again.

B minor to G.

# Blue moon

# You saw me standing alone

# Without a dream in my heart

# Without a love of my own

That's much better acoustically. Thanks.

So, Mummy's cool about baby Paul

wanting to be Elvis?

- She would have loved it.

- Bollocks!

- She's not around any more.

- What?

Well, she...

She sort of died last year.

You know, if we're going to do this,

we should write our own stuff.

Then you don't get stiffed

by record companies.

I write stuff.

Not songs, more poetry...

you know, stories.

Add a tune and you've got a song.

- Have you written any?

- A couple.

How do you know so much?

You don't seem like

the rock'n'roll kind of guy.

You mean I don't go round smashing

things up and acting like a dick?

Yeah.

No. It's the music.

That's it, it's just music. Simple.

Where is it?

- Mimi, where's my guitar?

- I've had your report.

You promised me hard work.

Lie and cheat all you want with others.

Do so with me and expect consequences!

- Where is it?

- I've sold it.

- You can't.

- I can and I have.

- But we've got gigs.

- Oh, what a shame.

Oh, boo-hoo!

- But it's my group.

- Grow up, John.

- Stop behaving like a child.

- Well, f*** off, Mimi.

- What did you say?

- I said f*** off!

# I'm leaving town, baby

# I'm leaving town for sure

# Well, then, you won't be bothered

with me hanging round your door

# Well, that's alright

# That's alright

# That's alright now, mama

# Anyway you do

I need five quid.

# Dee, dee, de-de, dee

# Do, do, de-de, dee

# Dee, dee, de-de, dee

# Dee-da, dee-da, dee

# Easy loving, that's alright

So I got it back.

Yeah, Mum bought it for me.

- Thanks, guys.

- Thank you.

Next, the Scouse Duane Eddy

will play Moving and Grooving.

I present to you Mr Paul McCharmly.

Ta.

- Thanks, John. Kind words.

- I didn't mean them.

Whoo!

This is George.

He's a mate of mine.

- He should be in the group.

- He should be in bed.

- No, I've been to bed. Couldn't sleep.

- Go on, George, show them.

What? Magic tricks?

No, I've left my top hat at home.

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