Photographic Evidence Points to September 1962

The first photo that is currently available of John Lennon's 325 in black finish was taken on September 21, 1962 during the Beatles' performance at the Tower Ballroom. This photo is shown below. John can be seen in the far right in the photo playing his harmonica with his 325 Rickenbacker painted black. The Bigsby vibrato is clearly visible on his guitar which aids in its identification. September 1962 was an exceedingly busy month for the Beatles with live performances documented on September 5-10 inclusive, 12-17 inclusive, 19 and 20th. They were in the studio recording on September 11, 1962. The only free day during this period was September 18, 1962. Assuming that the black paint would take a day to dry, it is probable that the refinishing took place on September 18th and in Liverpool as London was a 6 and a half hour drive away. The actual date of the refinishing is still unknown. The dates suggested herein may seem to some to speak to a level of precision that transcends the facts gathered thus far. There are, of course, other explanations that are feasible including an earlier refinishing on September 10 and 11, 1962 while the Beatles were in London recording.

It is clearly the case that Lennon used another guitar for a period of several days while waiting for the work to be completed on his Model 325. Indeed, in reference to Lennon, Billy Kinsley recalls "He had to wait until he bought the Gibson Jumbo before he could get the job done!" The Beatles were offically presented with their new Gibson J160E guitars by Rushworth's Music on September 11, 1962 so this narrows down the period over which the work could have been done. There are only a few photos that have surfaced during the fall of 1962 that have shown Lennon playing his Gibson on stage. One of these shown below shows Lennon with his Gibson J160E at the Tower Ballroom.

The group was certainly in demand in the fall of 1962 and the Model 325 was needed for a very long string of engagements. Given the limited time available for refinishing, the work had to be done done in haste. One can be reasonably certain that Lennon's 1958 325 Capri was finished from natural to black during a 16 day period in September 1962. That is, sometime over the period when the Dezo Hoffman studio picture was taken of the guitar in its natural finish on September 4, 1962 and its appearance in black at the Tower Ballroom on September 21, 1962. Using the September 11, 1962 date the window of opportunity for the refinishing period is narrowed to just 11 days. The photograph below of Lennon with his newly painted 1958 Rickenbacker "Capri" is from Michael McCartney's out of print book "Remember."

The information provided by Chris Wharton strenghtens the view that the refinishing probably took place in September 1962. It also emphasizes that Lennon was impatient to get the guitar back. The paint used required several days to dry and the finished product, to which others have attested, was of professional quality. The fine results certainly fits with the precision work of Charles Bantam as described by Chris Wharton. Having the work done locally allowed Lennon to keep tabs on his Rickenbacker and to arrange a deal he could afford.