Colin Hanton & Colin Hall - ‘Pre:Fab!: The Story of One Man, His Drums, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison’

Colin Hanton is one of the original Quarry Men - that is, he was in John Lennon's band pre-Paul McCartney and George Harrison - he was there on the day when John met Paul, and played behind the changing lineup of John Lennon's The Quarry Men until 1959.

In this book, he tells his story; of the boy who grew up in immediate post-war Liverpool, who fell in love with the drums and then rock 'n' roll, and who then met and played with some of the best musicians in history. It is a phenomenal tale, and one that only a select few can tell; the remaining Quarry Men being the others.

The book is co-authored by Colin Hall, who was a music critic for many years, and who is now the custodian of Mendips, John Lennon's childhood home: it seems that there could be no better person to write a book with about time spent with John Lennon pre-Beatles fame.

Pre:Fab!: The Story of One Man, His Drums, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison is a fantastic read which, despite starting off a little slower than I like, quickly picked up the pace and got to the point which, I am sorry to say, Mr Hanton, most people want to get to - when John Lennon comes into the picture, and Colin Hanton joins The Quarry Men and begins to spend more time with its members.

There are some grammatical and spelling errors within the book, which really irked me because I am a complete sucker for these things; it made the book less professional and harder to read in places, though these were fairly minor and probably only numbered about twenty throughout the whole thing.

At some points in the book, particularly after George Harrison joins and Colin Hanton starts to feel left out by the Fab Three, it becomes bittersweet. This was because whilst you feel extremely bad and sorry for Colin Hanton as a character within the story, there is a bit of joy and excitement in the back of your mind because you know what the three of them are becoming, and will become... these are the early days which, as previously mentioned, not many people can say they witnessed and were a part of.

Overall, the book is presented in easily readable, enjoyable way, and the information in it is as reliable as I believe it could be because no Quarry Man kept a diary of specific shows which were played on what dates - however the memory of Colin Hanton and research of Colin Hall has meant that this is perhaps as complete of a guide as there will ever be. Colin Hanton also does his best to correct any mistruths which have cropped up in The Quarry Men story over the years, which is invaluable for those of us who have a particular interest in the early years and the pre-Beatles, which is not so well documented.