51: The mother of all bands Part 1

OK time to justify some Beatles love..

I have recently read Hunter Davies’ official biography of The Beatles and am reading Jonathan Gould’s ‘Can’t buy me love’. Both these books have got me thinking about the role John, Paul, George and Ringo’s mothers (this includes Mimi Smith) played in their son’s musical development.

It has been noted by Gould that Liverpool has a strongly matriarchal culture (at least in the domestic arena). This is due in no small part to the fact that it is a port city. In many households the men earned their living in the shipping industry and would be at sea for long periods of time. Women would both step in the role of heads of household and breadwinners during these periods. Both Alf Lennon and Harold Harrison spend periods working in the shipping industry. In addition Liverpool has a large Irish population. Ireland has a strong domestic matriarchal culture of its own. Both Mary Mohin McCartney and Louise French Harrison were or Irish descent. However while a matriarchal culture may equate with respect for the mother within the domestic sphere it does not necessary translate to respect and equality for women generally!

Richard Starkey aka Ringo Starr was born to Richard Starkey and Elise Gleave Starkey in July 1940. Ringo was brought up in Dingle, one of the most deprived areas of Liverpool. Ringo’s father left the family when Ringo was three (He would send maintenance to Elsie). Elsie was left to raise Ringo by herself. As a result a close bond developed between Ringo and his mother. Elsie worked in a variety of jobs to make ends meet (As Ringo mentions – with respect- in Anthology she would take any down home job to ensure this) . Ringo also spent a lot of time with both his grandmothers as a child, who acted as caregivers while Elsie was working. Ringo had two serious long term illnesses as a child (peritonitis when he was six and pleurisy when he was 13, and found it difficult to settle in at school due to the long absences caused by these illnesses. Elsie got remarried to Harry Graves when Ringo was 13 and Harry and Ringo enjoyed a good relationship. Harry would actually buy Ringo his first set of drums and help Ringo find work when he left school. Ringo would buy a luxury Bungalow in Merseyside for Elsie and Harry. Elsie would live to the age of 72.

Mary Mohin McCartney was the one Beatles mother who managed to establish herself in a career as a nurse and midwife. She also married Paul’s father James at the relatively old age of 31 in 1941. She would become a health visitor upon her marriage to James She managed to combine her role as a health visitor with raising two sons Paul (born June 1942) and Michael (born 1944). She eventually returned to midwifery when Paul and Michael were older.

Mary would be a formative influence on her sons, particularly Paul. She had a strong work ethic and placed strong importance on self improvement (not least in correcting her sons scouse accents), and of being sociable. It is interesting to note the number of similarities between Mary McCartney and Mimi Smith. Mimi Smith had trained to be a nurse, aspired to be middle class and tried to get John to speak with more of a ‘received pronunciation’ accent. Tragically Mary would die of breast cancer when Paul was 14. James McCartney was left to raise two lively teenage boys and run a household by himself. The family also had a considerably reduced income without Mary’s wages. Davies relates the difficulties this period brought for James McCartney. Not least of these was having to take a mother’s role of providing emotional support to Paul and Michael. He also relates how James found it difficult to adapt to chores such as cooking. However he must have done a good job as he always enjoyed a warm and close relationship with his two sons. James McCartney perhaps provided Paul with a more rounded and nurturing version of masculinity, which would allow Paul to form a strong partnership with Linda.

Mary would be remembered with deep affection by both her sons. She is the ‘mother Mary’ of Let it be’ ‘speaking words of wisdom’ comforting her son ‘in my darkest hour’. As I noted in my post about Paul McCartney it is a sign of his particular genius that he takes such a personal experience and turns it into something universal. Paul has explained in interviews that the song was inspired by a dream he had about his mother during the stressful breakup of the Beatles. However some listeners assume that 'Mother Mary' is Mary the mother of Jesus (more about this anon).

George Harrison was not only the youngest Beatle (born February 1943) but the youngest of four children born to Harold and Louise French Harrison. Louise Harrison noted George’s independent nature, intelligence and desire for privacy at an early age. Louise was apparently a no-nonsense person who did not suffer fools gladly – traits that George inherited. Louise was the one parent out of all the Beatles parents who was encouraging towards the band in the early days. She would allow the band to rehearse in the Harrisons small home, despite the noise! James McCartney and Mimi Smith wanted Paul and John to pursue further education. Harry Harrison persuaded George to take on an apprenticeship as an electrician. He did not see a future career in music. Davies notes that the Harrisons had gone through tough times during the depression and Harold was keen to make sure his children had secure futures. Louise however was an ally. Davies writes of her ‘Unlike all the other Beatle parents, she is one of nature’s ravers’. There is a delightful picture in the recent ‘Living in the material world’ book of Louise and a teenage George enjoying a beer together at home, with George proudly showing off his guitars which proves this point.

Davies notes in his book that Louise was the one person in the Beatles circle (apart from maybe Ringo’s wife Maureen Starkey) who took an interest in answering fan mail and interacting with fans. There is a lovely story which appeared in the Guardian about the pen pal relationship that developed between Louise and Lilie Ferrari http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/mar/26/popandrock.georgeharrison?INTCMP=SRCH

The Harrisons always enjoyed the celebrity that came with being George’s parents (ironic given George’s own famous dislike of fame) unlike the other Beatles parents. This won Louise a special place in the hearts of Beatles fans.

George remained close to his parents. He would buy them a house outside Warrington in 1965. ‘Living in the Material world’, the recent documentary and book about George’s life contains extracts from several letters George wrote to his mother about his experiences while in The Beatles. In particular the letter George wrote to Louise to allay her concerns when he became involved with the Maharishi shows how much he cared about Louise’s opinion and respected her.

Louise died of a brain tumour in 1970. She was 59, not much older than George was when he himself died of a brain tumour. George helped look after Louise in her final months and was with her when she died. He wrote the song ‘Deep Blue’ about the experiences of watching her decline. There is also a song which has only ever appeared on bootleg in demo form called ‘Mother divine’ which George recorded in 1970. While it is obviously informed by George’s religious beliefs it is clearly also inspired by his grief for Louise. It is interesting that both Paul and George wrote songs about their Irish Catholic mothers that drew however unconsciously on Catholic devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus,   These songs also fit in with an Irish tradition of songs praising the mother figure, who is ususually portrayed as self sacrificing and devoted to her children (particularly male) at her own expense.

I will discuss John's relationship with his mother Julia and aunt Mimi in my next post