Stage where Lennon met McCartney up for sale

The stage on which John Lennon first met Paul McCartney was today going under the hammer.

The piece of pop music history could fetch as much as £50,000 in a Beatles memorabilia sale held by Fleetwood Owen auctioneers at London’s Sticky Fingers Cafe.

McCartney was in the audience when Lennon performed on the stage with his skiffle group The Quarrymen during a garden fete at St Peter’s Church Hall, Woolton, Liverpool in July 1957.

The group had shared a billing at an evening dance in the hall with the George Edwards band, which played waltzes and fox trots.

Occasional Quarryman guitarist Pete Shotton recalls the atmosphere was stony - McCartney was quite cocky and sure of himself but he and John had little to say to each other.

Nevertheless it was the start of a musical partnership that would create some of the 20th century’s best loved songs.

The stage, which survived a fire at the hall two months ago, is being sold as part of the building’s restoration.

The buyer of the structure, which features the original green-painted steps, wooden flooring, frontage and rigging, will have 21 days to remove it.

Other internal fittings from St Peter’s Church Hall are also going under the hammer.

Beatles fans will be able to buy the door that led from the hall to the cloakroom and toilets which is expected to fetch £800.

An exit sign could fetch as much as £600, while light fittings could go for up to £500.

Other Beatles memorabilia including George Harrison’s first guitar and a piano owned by Lennon will also be sold.