James Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942 at the private Walton clinic in Liverpool. His family was a working middle class family and it was during the war. His mother, Mary Patricia had once been a nurse at the clinic but quit to marry Paulīs father Jim McCartney. When Jim first saw his newborn son at the clinic he thought Paul looked like "a piece of raw meat". But he got better with every day, and I think he turned out quite well.

Paul started at Stockton Wood Road Primary School and so did his younger brother Michael a few years later. They were both very kind boys, and Paul always avoided fights. When the school got bigger they were moved to another school close by, Joseph Williams Primary School at Gateacre. Paul did well in school and got in at the Liverpool Institute.

The McCartneys moved to Allerton when Paul was 13 years old, and that is where he spent the rest of his boyhood years. They had only lived there for a year when Pauls mother was diagnozed with cancer. She was operated on but died. This must have been a very hard time for the family. Jim worked a lot and the boys had to help out at home as best they could. Jimīs two sisters often came by to clean.

But I believe that something good came out of it, because just after his mothers death Paul became obsessed with playing the guitar, it was like his escape from reality. He got a guitar but couldnīt play it. Then he understood that he needed a left hand guitar, so he took it back and got it remade. He started to immitate Little Richard, and did it really well.

Paul can very well remember the summer of ī56 when Ivan told him he was going to listen to the group he sometimes played with. Paul said he wanted to come and listen. -It wasnīt that bad, Paul said. John played the guitar, but he played it like a banjo with banjo chords. And the songs had different lyrics, John had written them himself because he didnīt know the real lyrics. Afterwards Paul went to meet them, trying to make a good impression. He taught them all the words to a song called "Twenty Flight Rock", and he taught John some new, real guitar chords. After this historical meeting John had to make up his mind about Paul. He was very impressed with Paul, but he was worried. Up to then John had always been the best musician in the group. Paul was as least as good a musician, and in my opinion an even better musician, than John. But thankfully John decided to let Paul in.

Paulīs first performance with The Quarry Men was at a dance. Afterwards he played some songs that he had written himself to John. Ever since heīd gotten his guitar he had written songs. After this John too began to write his own songs, he couldnīt let Paul be the better musician. But neither of their songs were very good. It was first when they came togeather that the songs turned out.

During the following months John and Paul got to know each other. They spent all their time together. They would cut classes and go to Paulīs house and learn guitar chords. But Paul is left-handed so John had to go home and stand in front of the mirror to get the chords right.

Later Paul began to bring his friends by. And soon he brought a younger boy named George Harrison....