Len Garry, a founding member of The Quarrymen who played alongside John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the years before they became The Beatles, has died at the age of 84, according to ultimateclassicrock.com.
His daughter, Jane Garry, confirmed the news on social media, stating that her father passed away peacefully at home in the early hours of Monday morning, surrounded by his family. “I am beyond devastated,” she wrote. “We are so proud of him.”
Born in Liverpool on January 6, 1942, Garry’s place in music history was cemented in the mid-1950s. While attending the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys, he befriended Paul McCartney in a German class. Through McCartney, he met John Lennon and joined The Quarrymen in 1956.
Garry was a fixture of the band’s most pivotal moments, including the group’s debut booking at Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club in 1957 and the historic performance at St Peter’s Church on July 6, 1957, the day McCartney was first introduced to Lennon.
Garry’s musical trajectory was cut short in August 1958 when he contracted tubercular meningitis. The illness resulted in a seven-month hospital stay and his eventual departure from the group as it began its evolution into The Beatles.
Following his recovery, Garry pursued a career in architecture and later moved to Somerset, where he rediscovered his musical roots as a lead singer in the rock gospel musical Come Together. In 1997, he published his memoir, John, Paul & Me: Before the Beatles, documenting the birth of the world’s most famous band from an insider’s perspective.
•Featured image: Len Garry/Bennett Raglin/WireImage
