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2003: The Quarrymen talk about Paul and the immediate influence he had on the group.
LEN: I think he was, uh, he was quite a clever lad actually. Quite good, you know, at languages and maths and stuff, he was quite bright. I think he was under an obligation if you’d like to his father Jim in a lot of ways to do well at school, because his mum passed away fairly quickly. So Jim wanted him to do well and I think he felt obligated to progress in school.
COLIN: Paul would have allowed John to feel that he was the boss anyway. Paul wouldn’t have gotten head to head with John, but Paul would have got his own way if you’d like, carefully, by maneuvering and perhaps letting John think it was his idea. I think that’s the way Paul was.
LEN: I think it was part of his characteristic, really. Part of his characteristic. You know, when we started off as The Quarrymen, we were a gang of scruffs, we could dress whatwe’d like, checked shirts, anything we would like. But I’m pretty sure it was Paul’s idea that one night at Clubmoor we dressed a bit smarter – you know, the white coats and the black ties. I think – it wouldn’t be John’s idea. John was more interested in the music and the entertainment. “We can dress what we like as long as we’re enjoying ourselves.” But I think Paul was more… I don’t know. Image-minded, you know. Worried more about the image.
COLIN: Paul was very much the diplomat. He would never get a quick answer off Paul. He would always think about what was the right answer; not what the answer should’ve been, but perhaps what you wanted to hear.