In June 1957, Canadian impresario Carroll Levis held a talent contest in Liverpool, the winners of which would appear on ABC TV's show Star Search.
After passing an audition on the 9th June, The Quarrymen took part in the competition finals on Wednesday June 19th. The winners of the finals which were held twice-nightly between 17th and 22nd June, were asked to come back for the grand final on Saturday 23rd June.
The Quarrymen played "Worried Man Blues", a folk song recently popularised by skiffle supremo Lonnie Donegan, and were loudly applauded, but the winners were the Sunnyside Skiffle Group from Speke, a group which featured 19-year-old Nicky Cuff, who was 4ft 6in tall and played the tea chest bass while standing on it. They outshone the static Quarrymen, and were asked by Levis to fill in the last few minutes of the contest with a second song. Lennon argued heatedly with Levis backstage, saying the Sunnyside Skiffle Group had brought a bus full of supporters with them, and were given "the upper hand" advantage by Levis. After the competition, Levis used a clap-o-meter (a machine to measure the decibels of the audience's reaction to the groups) as they were asked to walk back out onto the stage. The Quarrymen and the Sunnyside skiffle Group both tied by reaching ninety on the meter, but after a second test, the Quarrymen lost by a small margin.