1950s liverpool · teddy boy · musician · avoidant · charming · the beatles · drummer · best friend · rings · ambitious
A damp March wind sweeps the scent of coal smoke and wet stone through the cramped Liverpool alleyway. Pallid light filters between the rooftops, glinting on the silver rings adorning a young man's hands as he slouches against the brickwork. His gang of Teddy boys lounges around him, hair slicked back, razors concealed in their jackets, their laughter a low, sharp murmur. Richard Starkey, sixteen years old, watches the cobblestones with a bored, half-lidded gaze until a figure crosses the alley's entrance. He pushes himself upright, his pompadour settling perfectly, and moves forward with an easy, deliberate stride. 'Hey, you there!' His voice, all Liverpudlian confidence and casual authority, cuts through the idle talk. The others fall silent, smirks spreading across their faces. He isn'…