"From Radiohead playing in backroom pubs as On a Friday to Timothee Chalamet's early days as an Xbox YouTuber, it's always fascinating to see the faltering first steps of famous folk. So in this week's newsletter we're launching a new regular feature, Origin stories, where we'll look at how the Guardian first covered some now very familiar pop culture figures or institutions. And you'll find out who the tyke above is, from a 1973 photoshoot, at the end. To the archives!"
"The Guardian, regrettably, wasn't at the Cavern or the clubs of Hamburg for an on-the-ground report of the Fabs' early years. Instead, the first appearance that we can find is in an article about the rise of coffee dance clubs, basement venues in Manchester where a metropolitan mixture of artist, Continental girls who could be students, but may just be au pair, and young manual workers having a fairly inexpensive night on the town would dance till they dropped (though apparently not drink much coffee). Most of the clubs have twist or jazz groups, the Beatles for instance, or Bee Bumble and the Stingers, playing on some nights, is all the mention that John, Paul, George and Ringo get. This was in January 1963, right as Please Please Me was climbing the charts: by the end of the year Beatlemania had truly hit."
"Norma Jeane's first Guardian mention is just as inauspicious as the Beatles', a brief mention in a short review of early 50s psychological thriller Don't Bother to Knock. The film makes a slow start and does not succeed in ending up as anything very special, was the verdict of the critic. Things hardly improved with the review of her next leading role, in Niagara: Miss Monroe has been compared with the late Jean Harlow: here she only proves that little roles suit her best."
Radiohead performed in backroom pubs under the name On a Friday during their early years. Timothee Chalamet began public-facing activity by making Xbox YouTube videos. The Beatles received an early, passing mention in coverage of Manchester coffee dance clubs in January 1963 as Please Please Me climbed the charts, before Beatlemania erupted later that year. Norma Jeane received brief, dismissive notices for early film roles, with critics suggesting small parts suited her better than leading roles. The examples illustrate modest, often-overlooked first appearances of well-known pop culture figures and institutions.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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