Review: The Quarrymen Celebrate the Opening of "And In The End"

Review by Donna Jackson

John Duff Lowe (on piano), Len Garry and Rod Davis

To celebrate the opening of And In The End in the West End on May 7, the Quarrymen performed a special concert at the St James Theatre on Monday night.  Sadly, Colin Hanton was unable to play as he's recovering from an operation, and the BBFC would like to wish Colin a very speedy recovery!

However, Rod Davis, Len Garry and John Duff Lowe, with the support of two members of the Trembling Wilburys on drums and bass, kept the crowd enthralled as they shared their memories of the early years of the band as well as the great music that they had played all those years ago.

Len seems to be enjoying Rod's reminiscences
as much as the rest of us!

The room where the performance took place was quite small, but that only served to add to the intimate and friendly atmosphere, and the band seemed to enjoy themselves as much as the audience.

Len Garry and John Duff Lowe having fun on stage

Rod Davis 

As they often do, the Quarrymen invited members of the audience to join them for the skiffle songs.  They probably hadn't expected 'John Lennon' to be able to join them on washboard, but Valentine Pelka, who plays the part of John in And In The End couldn't resist the opportunity and was clearly delighted that he'd played alongside the members of John's first band.

Also joining in was Brian Barry (on washboard) and the writer, producer and director of And In The End, Sandy Marshall (on tea-chest bass).

Rod Davis is serving as a consultant for And In the End, and encouraged everyone to go to see it.  Well, if a Quarryman says it's worth it, then that's good enough for us!  To buy tickets, and for more information on the play, the cast and the crew visit the website at http://www.andintheend.com/

Rod Davis, Quarryman, and Consultant for And In the End

It's always a pleasure and a privilege to watch the Quarrymen perform.  When Len Garry sings "In My Life", and dedicates it to John, it's so much more poignant than when anyone else sings it because Len is singing about his school-mate and it's personal.  And perhaps that's the real magic of this group -- that for a couple of hours, they can make you feel as if you're part of the 'family' too and part of the truly magical story of John Lennon, the Quarrymen and The Beatles.

Thanks, fellas, for another very special and unforgettable night!