Paul McCartney’s brother has confirmed an unearthed police recruitment video from 1958 could feature the first footage of the Beatles.
The Liverpool Police film, discovered recently by Peter Hodgson and posted on Facebook, appears to feature John Lennon, Paul McCartney and his brother Michael, who tells the Liverpool Echo he wouldn’t be surprised if the footage captures the boys watching the annual police parade.
“That could definitely be us,” he told the newspaper. “It was a really big occasion in Liverpool and that’s what we used to do every summer – take deck chairs and climb onto the concrete shed and watch a free show.
“I think there is every chance John would have been there that year – absolutely. His friend, Pete Shotton, was a police cadet. And George could easily have been there, too. It’s bloody mad – absolutely fascinating and unbelievable!”
Hodgson says, “They are seen, stood on top of their outside toilet roof, watching the annual police horse and dog display. I love watching old films about Liverpool on YouTube and I made the connection with Forthlin Road when I saw the Mather Avenue police show footage. Then I worked out which house was the McCartneys’ and thought, ‘Bingo!’ I nearly fell off my chair when I saw it.”
The 40-minute footage is now on YouTube. The early glimpse of the Beatles comes seven minutes from the end. The footage appears to show the McCartney brothers and Lennon on a rooftop at 20 Forthlin Road.
In author Barry Miles’ Paul McCartney biography, the rocker recalled watching the police show from the roof of his family’s back garden shed, which overlooked the Police Training College – the headquarters of the Liverpool Mounted Police.
“We used to sit on the concrete shed in the back yard and watch the police show every year for free,” Paul remembered. “One year, Jackie Collins came to open it and we were entranced at the sight of her comely young figure.”
