Except for their guitars, John Lennon 1 Paul McCartney didn’t seem to have much 2 common when they met that hot summer day in Liverpool. For one thing, John was almost two years older than Paul. He was born on October 9, 1940. Paul was born on June 18, 1942. John’s family was middle class. Paul was working class. In England at the time, these differences could mean a lot. Some people would not associate with members of a different class. There were other differences as 3 In school, Paul was a more attentive student. John 4 cut class and toss erasers, getting in trouble. By modern standards, 5 antics don’t seem very bad. At the time, however, they were serious enough to label John a troublemaker. On the 6 hand, the boys had some important things in common. Both had gone through difficult family trials. Paul’s mother died a 7 months before the pair met. John’s father abandoned John and his mother 8 after John was born.