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Eric Griffiths Biography

eric-griffiths
  • Born: October 31, 1940 in Denbigh, Wales
  • Years Active: 1960s
  • Member of: The Quarrymen
  • Genre: Rock & Alternative

Of the numerous fellows who drifted in and out of the Quarry Men in the late 1950s, guitarist Eric Griffiths was one of the lesser known, although he did manage to stay in the band through much of 1958. It is usually accepted that John Lennon first recruited his best friend Pete Shotton (on washboard) when he determined to form a band in 1957. In a 1997 issue of the British magazine Record Collector), Griffiths offered a different version. Griffiths, who like Lennon and Shotton went to the Quarry Bank High School for Boys, said he and Lennon tried to learn the guitar together for the purpose of playing in a group before the Quarry Men were formed. In the same article, he went on to mention that after Paul McCartney and then George Harrison joined the band, McCartney and Lennon asked Griffiths, who wasnot as musically talented as the three others, to play bass. Griffiths wasn't interested in doing so, and left the group shortly afterward, joining the Merchant Navy. He was not involved in the Quarry Men reunion recording Open for Engagements in 1994, but did play with ex-Quarry Men Rod Davis, Len Garry, Pete Shotton, and Colin Hanton on the 40th anniversary of the Quarry Men gig at which John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

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