Never Let Me Go

Chapter 3 - There's a Shadow

[This chapter takes place the day 'From Me To You' hit number one in the UK, the 4th of May, 1963. 6 months after the recording of 'Please Please Me'.]

"Go home boys, celebrate!", Epstein told John, Paul, George and Ringo, as they stood in the sitting room of their manager's Liverpool family home. "Or go to the pub, go and party even. Enjoy it, I might come and join you all in a minute!".

The Beatles' second single, From Me To You, had just reached number one in the UK charts. They were ecstatic, bouncing off the walls, smiles all 'round. Now they were going out to celebrate. After all, they didn't know if they were ever going to get another number one.

"See ya!"
"Bye Eppy!"
"Bye!"
"Take care!"
"Cheerio boys!"

The four bandmates exited the house, John first, then Paul, then George, and finally Ringo. Brian waved them off, like a proud, happy parent.

"So, where are we goin'?", George inquired.

"The Cavern, of course", John answered. He was so ready to get hammered. And he knew they'd get free drinks there. They were kind of a big deal in Liverpool now.

"Sounds good to me", chirped Ringo. "Who's on tonight?"

"I don't know", John replied. He knew it was probably a jazz band or something. They had them on sometimes in the Cavern. He didn't mind them, but he was a rock 'n' roller. He'd prefer to get merry to some Elvis over Charles Mingus or whatever. Still, the Cavern had a good atmosphere to it. It was a second home to them.

When they arrived, the club was packed. There were teenage girls here, there and everywhere, all turning their heads and squealing when they noticed all four Beatles entering. To John's surprise, up on the stage was Gerry and the Pacemakers, another Brian Epstein managed scouse band. Gerry Marsden, their front man, smiled and nodded at John and the others as they stood against the wall at the back. Some girls got up and ran to them, eager to meet their young idols. The Beatles made a fuss of them all, signing any miscellaneous pieces of material the girls could find.

~~~

Soon, The Pacemakers' evening spot was finished. Gerry and the others thanked the rowdy crowd, before going backstage, and appearing by the bar not long later. They sat next to the Beatles, who were far from their first drink of the evening. John had right arm around Paul and a glass of beer in his left hand. "We loved your set, Ger, some real rockers in there", he said, slightly slurring his words. "Yeah, it was gear", added Paul. He took a sip from his own glass of beer. The Pacemakers had just played the Cavern's last set of the day. All their instruments were still on the stage.

Suddenly, Paul had an idea. "John, do you reckon we could play some songs?"

"I guess no one's stopping us", John replied, as he layed down his now empty glass on the counter and stood up, making his way to the stage. Before long, all four Beatles were up on the stage, sloppily sound-checking their instruments, making all sorts of noise. They looked onto an almost empty Cavern Club. Only two groups of girls remained, as well as a gang of boys in the corner, and Gerry and the Pacemakers sat at the bar.

"Right, can you all hear me?", John piped up. All the girls shouted 'yes!', and the boys yelled 'no!', thinking they were funny. John snarkily laughed it off. "This one's a real rocker, so, uh, get ready to shake your bums!"

The opening notes of 'Twist and Shout' bounced off the dense walls of the cellar, followed by John messily screaming the words, fumbling them together and switching them 'round in places. It would have been the worst performance they'd ever done, but they didn't care. They'd just got their first number one. When they finished Twist and Shout, everyone clapped, the boys whistled, and the girls squealed excitedly, still in disbelief.

The four Beatles conversed quietly with eachother about what song they were gonna sing next. They racked their brains for a song that didn't take up any energy to play, or sing. They eventually dispersed, playing random chords, trying to remember the progression for the song they were about to play. Paul stumbled up to the mic. "The next number we're gonna play is a slow one, it's one by Elvis Presley, uh, and it's called 'Love Me Tender!'

The first chord was gently strummed by George, leading Paul to start singing.

🎶 "Love me tender,
Love me sweet,
never let me go"

"You have made my life complete,
and I love you so". 🎶

Stu softly sang, backed by Paul on piano, John on bass, and George on guitar and Pete on drums as usual. The Indra Club, Hamburg, was packed out with all sorts of people - young and old - all captivated and unusually quiet. They all had their eyes on Stu, who was easing his way through his Elvis Presley number, 'Love Me Tender'. He fixated his eyes on his love Astrid, a beautiful, blue-eyed photographer,who stared at him back. John acknowledged this. He saw the pure love that radiated from Stu's voice and eyes. He loved Stu. Stu loved Astrid.

🎶 "Love me tender, love me dear,
tell me you are mine". 🎶

John stared at Stu as he sang.

🎶 "I'll be yours through all the years,
'till the end of time". 🎶

John stared at Paul as he sang. Even though he was drunk, he sang so beautifully.

🎶 "Love me tender, love me true
All my dreams fulfilled.
For my darlin', I love you
And I always will"

"For my darlin', I love you
And I always will". 🎶

The whole of the club clapped and roared enthusiastically as Stu gave a little bow, a huge smile spreading across his face.

~~~

Notes

Fun fact: Stu really did sing 'Love Me Tender' in Hamburg, and his cover apparently got more applause than any of the other songs the Beatles played there.

Also, this story's title is taken from this song!

Feel free to leave a comment if you're enjoying this story!! :)