Lennon Wanted McCartney Out of Pre-Beatles Band March 24, 2001 9:43 pm EST

LONDON (Reuters) - The musical partnership between Beatles duo John Lennon and Paul McCartney almost came to an end before the legendary band was formed, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported. Lennon wanted to throw McCartney out of his original band, The Quarrymen, formed when they were teenagers, because he thought McCartney was "precocious," the paper said.

But Lennon's schoolfriend and fellow band member Eric Griffiths persuaded him not to drop McCartney, saying he thought McCartney was very talented and had a lot to contribute.

The revelations appear in "The Quarrymen," a new book about the original group written by Beatles biographer Hunter Davies, the paper said.

"I like to think that was my greatest contribution to the history of the Beatles -- not letting John chuck Paul out of the Quarrymen," Griffiths is quoted as telling Davies.

The book also discloses for the first time that Lennon had a brief affair with Brian Epstein, the homosexual manager of the Beatles.

Davies said Lennon had told him about the relationship but he didn't believe it until it was confirmed by Pete Shotton, a close friend of Lennon and a fellow-member of the Quarrymen.

"He (Lennon) told me how he had gone to Spain in April 1963 with Epstein, just after his wife, Cynthia, had given birth to their son, Julian," Davies told the Sunday Times. "He said he'd had a one-night stand with Epstein."

-- Anonymous, March 25, 2001