The Stockport Music Story in conversation with Pete Maclaine at Stockport Museum
Johnny James, Managing Editor
Glimpse into local rock and roll history as Pete Maclaine, stalwart of the Cavern, Three Coins and Oasis clubs, features in conversation with The Stockport Music Story this December.
From Gerry and the Pacemakers to The Rolling Stones, Pete Maclaine has played with or alongside many rock n’ roll greats over the past 50 years. But there’s one band the Stockport local famously turned down, and as luck would have it, they’d go on to become the biggest band in the world.
Maclaine started his music career in 1958, when he was just 16. He soon became one of the key figures on the northern rock and roll scene, his band the Dakotas being the first Manchester outfit to play at the Cavern. Naturally, Maclaine began rubbing shoulders with four other lads who often played in that venue, frequently counting Paul, John, George and Ringo among the crowd at his shows.
After one such show, McCartney collared Maclaine and said “I just want to play you this, Pete. See what you think”. He gave a record to Cavern DJ Bob Wooler to play. It was the then-unreleased ‘Please Please Me’. “That’s very nice”, said Maclaine. “It should do well, Paul”. Before long, whenever The Beatles came to play at The Oasis in Manchester, Maclaine would throw parties for the band, naturally yielding some fascinating stories about the fab four as well as Brian Epstein.
“I used to wear these smart suits and I remember Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein asked me for some cloth once. I told him I could not get any more because it was African wild silk, which I had imported. It was really from a curtain shop in Manchester, 10 bob (50p) a yard!”.
But Pete’s own career took an unexpected turn. Brian Epstein asked the Dakotas to ditch Maclaine and link up with one of Epstein’s acts, Billy J. Kramer, a partnership which then yielded six top 20 hits. Maclaine declined Epstein’s offer of Billy J Kramer’s old backing band, the Coasters, and instead went on to form the first Pete Maclaine and The Clan – still local heroes who often play at The Dog and Partridge.
At this point, Paul McCartney, incredibly prolific at the time, suggested that he and Epstein write Maclaine some songs. Maclaine couldn’t have known the significance of this offer at the time, and he declined, preferring to furrow his own path. “I really think that I am the only person in the world who would say ‘No’ to Lennon and McCartney,” laughs Maclaine.
This decision would go onto define a certain period in Maclaine’s life and career. He even wrote a song about it, ‘Jam Side Down’. That is, of course, the way your toast falls when luck is against you. His pals, including good friend Graham Nash of The Hollies, still tease him about the old days and call him by that nickname, Jam Side Down.
But Maclaine’s also known by another name: The Man Who Said ‘No’ to The Beatles. This is the title of his book, which tells the story of his life through poetry and prose, sometimes moving, often humorous. And it’s this same story Maclaine will be telling at Stockport Museum, as he becomes the latest guest of The Stockport Music Story and their ‘In Conversation With’ series, which gives an intimate audience with music luminaries in Stockport’s musical history.
Whether you’re a Beatles fan, a Pete Maclaine fan, or just want to explore rock and roll history through a local lens, don’t miss Maclaine in conversation on 1 December.
