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Christopher Nigel Walley (born 30 June 1941) is an English former golfer and
tea-chest bass A tea chest is a type of wooden case originally produced and used to ship tea to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The conventional tea chest is a case with riveted metal edges, of approximate size . Modern tea chests (202 ...
player and manager, best known for his association with band
the Quarrymen The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the ...
, the precursor of
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
which included
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
. His surname has often been spelt incorrectly as 'Whalley' in numerous books and on web pages.


Early life

Walley's father was Chief Superintendent Harry Walley, who was the head of Liverpool's Police 'A' Division. The Walley family lived in Vale Road, Liverpool, which was at the back of Lennon's home at
251 Menlove Avenue 251 Menlove Avenue is the childhood home of the Beatles' John Lennon. Located in the Woolton suburb of Liverpool, it was named Mendips after the Mendip Hills. The Grade II listed building is preserved by the National Trust. Residence of John L ...
, belonging to his aunt and guardian,
Mimi Smith Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith (''née'' Stanley; 24 April 1906 – 6 December 1991) was a maternal aunt and the parental guardian of the English musician John Lennon. Mimi Stanley was born in Toxteth, Liverpool, England, the oldest of five dau ...
. Walley was the eldest of three other siblings, Clive, Angela & Carol. Walley and Lennon became friends at the age of five, even though Walley and
Pete Shotton Peter Shotton (4 August 1941 – 24 March 2017) was an English businessman. He was known for creating the Fatty Arbuckle's chain of restaurants and for his long friendship with John Lennon of the Beatles; he played the washboard (musical instr ...
(who also lived in Vale Road) went to Mosspits Lane Infant/Junior School, while Lennon and
Ivan Vaughan Ivan Vaughan (18 June 1942 – 16 August 1993) was an English musician and teacher best known for introducing two of his childhood friends, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, in 1957. Biography Vaughan was born in Liverpool on the same day as Mc ...
attended Dovedale Infant School. Note: Lennon had originally attended Mosspits Lane School, but was expelled for bullying another infant, Polly Hipshaw. Walley and Lennon both went on to sing in the Sunday school and church choir at St. Peter's Church, Woolton. Walley left Bluecoat Grammar School at the age of 15 years to become an apprentice golf professional at the Lee Park Golf Club, in Liverpool.


The Quarrymen and management

Lennon formed
The Quarrymen The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the ...
in the summer of 1956, with friends and school friends. Walley was one of four
tea-chest bass A tea chest is a type of wooden case originally produced and used to ship tea to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The conventional tea chest is a case with riveted metal edges, of approximate size . Modern tea chests (202 ...
players in the fledgling lineup of the group, the others being Vaughan, Bill Smith and Len Garry. Playing tea-chest bass with the group from 1956 to 1958, Walley lost the tea chest when he left it at a bus stop after being threatened by two aggressive local boys. He then decided to become the group's manager, at Lennon's request. On 2 July 1957, Walley and Lennon were turned down when they tried to sign on as ship's stewards (as Lennon's father had been), in the seamen's employment office at
Pier Head The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in ...
, Liverpool. Lennon's aunt was telephoned, and the plan was dismissed out of hand. Although Walley did not secure the group many paid engagements, he sent flyers to local theatres and ballrooms, put up posters designed by Lennon, paid for small advertisements in the ''
Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St. Paul's Square, Liverpool, England. It is published Monday through Sunday, and is Liverpool's da ...
'' and the ''
Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Reach plc, Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, wi ...
'', as well as business cards to be displayed in local shop windows: "COUNTRY. WESTERN. ROCK N' ROLL. SKIFFLE - THE QUARRY MEN - OPEN FOR ENGAGEMENTS - Please Call Nigel Walley, Tel.Gateacre 1715". He secured two
intermission An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a break between parts of a performance or production, such as for a play (theatre), theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with ...
concerts at the Gaumont cinema (near
Penny Lane "Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever" in February 1967. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwr ...
) on Saturday afternoons, and for the group to perform at parties and skiffle contests in the Liverpool area. Whilst playing golf with Dr. Joseph Sytner, Walley asked him if his son, Alan Sytner, could book The Quarrymen at
The Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The club beca ...
, in
Mathew Street Mathew Street is a street in Liverpool, England, notable as the location of the new Cavern Club, the Beatles having played in the original club on numerous occasions in their early career. Mathew Street is visited by thousands of tourists a ye ...
, which was one of three jazz clubs he managed. After passing on the information to his son, Sytner suggested that the group should play at the golf club first, so as to assess their talent. After playing at the golf club audition, he phoned Walley a week later and offered the group an interlude spot on 7 August 1957, playing skiffle between the performances of three jazz groups at The Cavern Club.
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
made his debut with the group on Friday, 18 October 1957, at a
Conservative Club The Conservative Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1840. In 1950 it merged with the Bath Club, and was disbanded in 1981. From 1845 until 1959, the club occupied a building at 74 St James's Street where ...
social—organised by Walley—which was held at the New Clubmoor Hall in the
Norris Green Norris Green is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, in the east of the city. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 17,784, which had fallen to 15,047 at the 2011 Census. History Historically a part of Lancashire, Norris Green's dev ...
section of Liverpool. Lennon and McCartney wore cream-coloured sports jackets, which were paid for by Walley, and he collected half a crown per week from each member until the bill was settled. McCartney later clashed with Walley about payment: "The funny thing was that whenever Paul cCartneywas around he used to say, 'Don't pay anyone who's not playing' ... He didn't really rate managers". Walley stopped managing the group after his family moved from Vale Road to New Brighton on the opposite bank of the
River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...
to Liverpool, which was too far to be practical, and because he had contracted
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. Walley kept in contact until Lennon's death in 1980: "John and I always stayed in touch after he was a Beatle – I would go round to his flat or house and we'd talk. ... He never forget any of the old gang … in fact towards the end of his life he was becoming more and more nostalgic". Walley's name has been often mistakenly written as "Whalley" in many books and on numerous web pages, but, as he has often stated, there is no 'H' in the spelling of it.


Death of Julia Lennon

On the evening of 15 July 1958, Walley went to visit Lennon at his aunt's house, finding
Julia Lennon Julia Lennon (''née'' Stanley; 12 March 1914 – 15 July 1958) was the mother of English musician John Lennon, who was born during her marriage to Alfred Lennon. After complaints to Liverpool's Social Services by her eldest sister Mimi Smi ...
(Lennon's mother) and Lennon's aunt talking by the front gate of Menlove Avenue. Unfortunately, Lennon was not there, as he was at his mother's house at 1 Blomfield Road. Walley then accompanied Lennon's mother to a bus stop further north along Menlove Avenue, with her telling jokes along the way. At about 9:30, Walley left her to walk up Vale Road and she crossed Menlove Avenue to the central reservation between two traffic lanes, which was lined with hedges that covered disused
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
tracks. Five seconds later, Walley heard "a loud thud", and turned to see her body "flying through the air"—which landed about 100 feet from where she had been hit. Lennon refused to talk to Walley for months afterwards, which left Walley with the feeling that Lennon held him responsible.


Golf professional

Walley became one of the youngest
golf pro A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...
fessionals in the U.K., working at the
Wrotham Heath Wrotham Heath is a settlement in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It is part of the civil parish of Wrotham, and is approximately south-east of the village of Wrotham, east of Sevenoaks, and west of Maidstone Maids ...
Golf Club in
Borough Green Borough Green is a civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The central area is situated on the A25 road between Maidstone and Sevenoaks, with the M26 motorway running through the centre dividing Wrotham and Borough ...
, Kent, and then in
Semmering, Austria Semmering is a town in the district of Neunkirchen in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is noted for its skiing, and has hosted the Alpine skiing World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing ...
, in 1961. Later he ran a golf club in Lima, Peru.


Notes


References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walley, Nigel 1941 births Living people Whalley, Nigel Whalley, Nigel Whalley, Nigel English male golfers Washtub bassists Musicians from Liverpool People from Woolton Golfers from Liverpool