JOHN “DUFF” LOWE, QUARRYMEN PIANIST DIES AT 81

ByBeatles Magazine

Feb 23, 2024 #The Quarrymen

John “Duff” Lowe (1942-2024) died on 22 February 2024, at the age of 81.

His contribution to music history is undeniable. As a keyboardist in the early days of The Quarrymen, the band that would evolve into The Beatles, Lowe played a significant role in their formative years. “Duff” and Paul McCartney met in school and shared a passion for music.
He met McCartney at Liverpool Cathedral in 1953. “Over the next five years,” he wrote, “we became good friends and one morning in February 1958 he said he’d joined a friend’s group called the Quarrymen and asked me if I’d like to join them to play piano, which I did. Getting to Paul’s house on the south side of the City on Sunday afternoons for rehearsals or on Saturday evening if John or Paul had arranged a gig which was usually over their way, took about an hour as I lived in the Liverpool suburb of West Derby on the north eastern side of the city. I was too young to drive or own a car and so had to travel on two buses, changing at Penny Lane. I think this, and a complaining girlfriend, was why I eventually left the Quarrymen.”

While Duff’s time with the Quarrymen was relatively short, lasting only a year, his connection to the band remained strong.

John ‘Duff’ Lowe with his The Quarrymen record which has been named the most valuable in the world. The original acetate disc was recorded in 1958 by The Quarrymen. He tucked it away in a drawer until the early 1980s when he sold it to his old pal Paul McCartney for a rumoured £12,000. But the disc has now topped a list of the world’s top 10 most valuable records by Record Collector magazine with a price tag of £200,000.

Duff’s presence is documented in some of their early recordings, including the historic 78 RPM acetate session at Percy Phillips‘ home studio. This recording captured the very first takes of songs like “In Spite of All the Danger” by McCartney/Harrison and “That’ll Be The Day“. Lowe maintained possession of the tracks and, in 1981, sold the recordings to Paul McCartney. Their estimated value was around £12,000.
McCartney had the record remastered and the songs appear on The Beatles’ Anthology 1 album.

In 1994, John Lowe played again with the Quarrymen for the album Open for Engagements. Of the 1994 lineup, only Rod Davis (guitar) and Lowe (piano) had played for the Quarrymen in the 1950s. Lowe, despite not being classified as an official member, toured with Rod Davis, Len Garry and Colin Hanton as John Lennon‘s Original Quarrymen at Beatles events around the world until 2017.

On 22 December 2014, Lowe appeared on the BBC One programme, Would I Lie to You?, in which Ricky Tomlinson revealed that Lowe had left the Quarrymen to join the young Tomlinson’s band.

Duff’s contribution extends beyond his musical skills. He was a dedicated historian, particularly passionate about Liverpool‘s local history. This knowledge made him a valuable resource for researchers and Beatles enthusiasts, offering insights into the band’s early days and the Liverpool music scene.

John Duff Lowe’s passing was a loss to the music community and Beatles fans worldwide. Though his time in the spotlight may have been brief, his contribution to the Quarrymen and connection to The Beatles’ early years solidify his place in music history. He served as a living link to the band’s origins, sharing his memories and knowledge with the world.

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