Editing John Lennon (section)

===Formation, fame and touring: 1956–1966===
[[File:The Beatles i Hötorgscity 1963.jpg|thumb|[[Ringo Starr]], [[George Harrison]], Lennon and [[Paul McCartney]] in 1963]]
At the age of 15, Lennon formed a [[skiffle group]], the Quarrymen. Named after Quarry Bank High School, the group was established by Lennon in September 1956.{{sfn|Harry|2000b|p=738}} By the summer of 1957, the Quarrymen played a "spirited set of songs" made up of half skiffle and half [[rock and roll]].{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=95}} Lennon first met Paul McCartney at the Quarrymen's second performance, which was held in Woolton on 6 July at the [[St Peter's Church, Woolton, Liverpool|St Peter's Church]] garden fête. Lennon then asked McCartney to join the band.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|pp=93–99}}

McCartney said that Aunt Mimi "was very aware that John's friends were lower class", and would often patronise him when he arrived to visit Lennon.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=44}} According to McCartney's brother [[Mike McGear|Mike]], their father similarly disapproved of Lennon, declaring that Lennon would get his son "into trouble".{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=32}} McCartney's father nevertheless allowed the fledgling band to rehearse in the family's front room at [[20 Forthlin Road|20{{nbsp}}Forthlin Road]].{{sfn|Miles|1997|pp=38–39}}{{sfn|Lennon|2005|p=47}} During this time Lennon wrote his first song, "[[Hello Little Girl]]", which became a UK top 10 hit for [[the Fourmost]] in 1963.{{sfn|Harry|2000b|pp=337–338}}

McCartney recommended that his friend [[George Harrison]] become the lead guitarist.{{sfn|Miles|1997|pp=47, 50}} Lennon thought that Harrison, then 14 years old, was too young. McCartney engineered an audition on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, where Harrison played "[[Raunchy (instrumental)|Raunchy]]" for Lennon and was asked to join.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=47}} [[Stuart Sutcliffe]], Lennon's friend from art school, later joined as bassist.{{sfn|Lennon|2005|p=64}} Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Sutcliffe became "The Beatles" in early 1960. In August that year, the Beatles were engaged for a 48-night [[The Beatles in Hamburg|residency in Hamburg]], in West Germany, and were desperately in need of a drummer. They asked [[Pete Best]] to join them.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=57}} Lennon's aunt, horrified when he told her about the trip, pleaded with Lennon to continue his art studies instead.{{sfn|Lennon|2005|p=53}} After the first Hamburg residency, the band accepted another in April 1961, and a third in April 1962. As with the other band members, Lennon was introduced to [[Preludin]] while in Hamburg,{{sfn|Miles|1997|pp=66–67}} and regularly took the drug as a stimulant during their long, overnight performances.{{sfn|Lennon|2005|p=57}}
[[File:John Lennon on The Ed Sullivan Show.jpg|thumb|242x242px|Lennon in 1964]]
[[Brian Epstein]] managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. He had no previous experience managing artists, but he had a strong influence on the group's dress code and attitude on stage.{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=67}} Lennon initially resisted his attempts to encourage the band to present a professional appearance, but eventually complied, saying "I'll wear a bloody balloon if somebody's going to pay me."{{sfn|Frankel|2007}} McCartney took over on bass after Sutcliffe decided to stay in Hamburg, and Best was replaced with drummer [[Ringo Starr]]; this completed the four-piece line-up that would remain until the group's break-up in 1970. The band's first single, "[[Love Me Do]]", was released in October 1962 and reached No. 17 on the British charts. They recorded their debut album, ''[[Please Please Me]]'', in under 10 hours on 11 February 1963,{{sfn|Harry|2000b|p=721}} a day when Lennon was suffering the effects of a cold,{{sfn|Lewisohn |1988|pp=24–26: "Twist and Shout, which had to be recorded last because John Lennon had a particularly bad cold"}} which is evident in the vocal on the last song to be recorded that day, "[[Twist and Shout]]".{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=376: "He had been struggling all day to reach notes, but this was different, this hurt"}} The Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership yielded eight of its fourteen tracks. With a few exceptions, one being the album title itself, Lennon had yet to bring his love of wordplay to bear on his song lyrics, saying: "We were just writing songs{{nbsp}}... pop songs with no more thought of them than that – to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant".{{sfn|Harry|2000b|p=721}} In a 1987 interview, McCartney said that the other Beatles idolised Lennon: "He was like our own little Elvis{{nbsp}}... We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader; he was the quickest wit and the smartest."{{sfn|Doggett|2010|p=33}}

The Beatles achieved mainstream success in the UK early in 1963. Lennon was on tour when his first son, [[Julian Lennon|Julian]], was born in April. During their [[Royal Variety Show]] performance, which was attended by the Queen Mother and other British royalty, Lennon poked fun at the audience: "For our next song, I'd like to ask for your help. For the people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands{{nbsp}}... and the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewellery."{{sfn|Shennan|2007}} After a year of [[Beatlemania in the United Kingdom|Beatlemania in the UK]], the group's historic February 1964 US debut appearance on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' marked their breakthrough to international stardom. A two-year period of constant touring, filmmaking, and songwriting followed, during which Lennon wrote two books, ''[[In His Own Write]]'' and ''[[A Spaniard in the Works]]''.{{sfn|Coleman|1984a|pp=239–240}} The Beatles received recognition from the British establishment when they were appointed [[Order of the British Empire|Members of the Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[1965 Birthday Honours|1965 Queen's Birthday Honours]].{{sfn|London Gazette|1965|pp=5487–5489}}

[[File:Paul, George & John.png|thumb|McCartney, Harrison and Lennon, 1964]]Lennon grew concerned that fans who attended Beatles concerts were unable to hear the music above the screaming of fans, and that the band's musicianship was beginning to suffer as a result.{{sfn|Coleman|1984a|p=288}} Lennon's "[[Help! (song)|Help!]]" expressed his own feelings in 1965: "I ''meant'' it{{nbsp}}... It was me singing 'help{{'"}}.{{sfn|Gould|2008|p=268}} He had put on weight (he would later refer to this as his "Fat Elvis" period),{{sfn|Lawrence|2005|p=62}} and felt he was subconsciously seeking change.{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=171}} In March that year he and Harrison were unknowingly introduced to [[LSD]] when a dentist, hosting a dinner party attended by the two musicians and their partners, spiked the guests' coffee with the drug.{{sfn|Rodriguez|2012|pp=51–52}} When they wanted to leave, their host revealed what they had taken, and strongly advised them not to leave the house because of the likely effects. Later, in a lift at a nightclub, they all believed it was on fire; Lennon recalled: "We were all screaming{{nbsp}}... hot and hysterical."{{sfn|Harry|2000b|p=570}}
{{Anchor|BiggerThanJesus}} In March 1966, during an interview with ''Evening Standard'' reporter [[Maureen Cleave]], Lennon remarked, "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink{{nbsp}}... We're more popular than Jesus now – I don't know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity."{{sfn|Cleave|2007}} The comment went virtually unnoticed in England but caused [[More popular than Jesus|great offence in the US]] when quoted by a magazine there five months later. The furore that followed, which included the burning of Beatles records, [[Ku Klux Klan]] activity and threats against Lennon, contributed to the band's decision to stop touring.{{sfn|Gould|2008|pp=5–6, 249, 281, 347}}