John Charles "Duff" Lowe (13 April 1942 – 22 February 2024) was an English pianist. In the late 1950s, he played piano for The Quarrymen, the group who would evolve into The Beatles.
Known to his friends as "Duff", Lowe had known Paul McCartney since 1953, and was invited to play piano with The Quarrymen by McCartney in February 1958.[1] He was in The Quarrymen for two years, and was there when the band recorded a couple of songs for a vanity disc at Percy Phillips' home studio in Liverpool. The two tracks cut that day were "That'll Be the Day" and "In Spite of All the Danger". Lowe maintained possession of the tracks and, in 1981, sold the recordings to Paul McCartney.[2] Their estimated value was around £12,000. McCartney had the record remastered and the songs appear on the Beatles' Anthology 1 album.
Later careeredit
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 28 August 2006, the 10-inch shellac 3-track EP (33 rpm) "50 years later" was released with live versions of "Down by the riverside" by the Quarrymen's Rod Davis, Len Garry, Colin Hanton and John Duff Lowe and guest bassist Lothar Becker and guest washboard player Ednund Thielow in an edition of 10 individual pieces.[3]
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.[4]
Deathedit
Lowe died on 22 February 2024, at the age of 81.[5]
Referencesedit
^Womack, Kenneth (2014). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four. p. 585. ISBN978-0-313-39171-2.
^Sounes, Howard (2010). Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney. Hachette Books. p. 377. ISBN978-0-306-81783-0.
^WILTY? Nope! (27 July 2017), "This is my.." John - Feat. Rachel Riley, Lee Mack and Ricky Tomlinson - Would I Lie to You? [HD[, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 24 July 2018
^"John 'Duff' Lowe, Bandmate of McCartney, Lennon and Harrison in The Quarrymen, Dies".
john, lowe, musician, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, john, lowe, musician, news, newspapers, books,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John Lowe musician news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2024 Learn how and when to remove this template message John Charles Duff Lowe 13 April 1942 22 February 2024 was an English pianist In the late 1950s he played piano for The Quarrymen the group who would evolve into The Beatles John Duff LoweLowe performing with the Quarrymen in 2017Background informationBorn 1942 04 13 13 April 1942West Derby Liverpool Lancashire EnglandDied22 February 2024 2024 02 22 aged 81 GenresSkifflerock and rollOccupation s MusicianInstrument s PianokeyboardsYears active1958 1960 1994 2017Formerly ofThe Quarrymen Contents 1 Early career 2 Later career 3 Death 4 References 5 External linksEarly career editKnown to his friends as Duff Lowe had known Paul McCartney since 1953 and was invited to play piano with The Quarrymen by McCartney in February 1958 1 He was in The Quarrymen for two years and was there when the band recorded a couple of songs for a vanity disc at Percy Phillips home studio in Liverpool The two tracks cut that day were That ll Be the Day and In Spite of All the Danger Lowe maintained possession of the tracks and in 1981 sold the recordings to Paul McCartney 2 Their estimated value was around 12 000 McCartney had the record remastered and the songs appear on the Beatles Anthology 1 album Later career editIn 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 28 August 2006 the 10 inch shellac 3 track EP 33 rpm 50 years later was released with live versions of Down by the riverside by the Quarrymen s Rod Davis Len Garry Colin Hanton and John Duff Lowe and guest bassist Lothar Becker and guest washboard player Ednund Thielow in an edition of 10 individual pieces 3 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 4 Death editLowe died on 22 February 2024 at the age of 81 5 References edit Womack Kenneth 2014 The Beatles Encyclopedia Everything Fab Four p 585 ISBN 978 0 313 39171 2 Sounes Howard 2010 Fab An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney Hachette Books p 377 ISBN 978 0 306 81783 0 http www beatarchivgc de lp html WILTY Nope 27 July 2017 This is my John Feat Rachel Riley Lee Mack and Ricky Tomlinson Would I Lie to You HD archived from the original on 21 December 2021 retrieved 24 July 2018 John Duff Lowe Bandmate of McCartney Lennon and Harrison in The Quarrymen Dies External links editJohn Lowe s entry at the Quarrymen s website John Lowe discography at Discogs This article on a British pianist is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Lowe musician amp oldid 1215178392, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
