It’s fair to say John Lennon in his life inspired a lot of people – whether it be the screaming crowds of the sixties who adored him in The Beatles, or those who followed his peace protest in 1969; even generations later would come to admire and be enthralled by him.

So as a young teen, pre-The Beatles, what inspired John Lennon himself? Well, in the original soundtrack to Sam Taylor Woods’ new film dedicated to Lennon’s early years, called Nowhere Boy, you get an idea.

Get ready to do some serious leg jerking and hip rocking as, unsurprisingly it’s full of classic rock and roll tunes from the late 50s, including classics from Elvis – who was one of Lennon’s biggest influences – to more unknown tunes.

First up is rebellious Jerry Lee Lewis’ ‘Wild One’ followed by everybody’s favourite ‘Mr Sandman’ by Dickie Valentine. Next up more vintage such as Presley’s ‘Shake Rattle and Roll’, horsey voiced queen of rockabilly Wanda Jackson’s ‘Hard Headed Woman’ and the original ‘I Put a Spell on You’ by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.

Nowhere Boy was written by scriptwriter Matt Greenhalgh, who was also the scriptwriter for Tony Curtis Biopic Control. Control’s soundtrack, which also featured many songs that influenced its subject, had many of its stars record their own versions of these famous songs and Nowhere Boy is no different. It has the actors who play The Quarry Men, who were Paul McCartney and Lennon’s skiffle band back in the day, perform many of the songs under the name The Nowhere Boys, what else!

They brilliantly tackle, among others, Buddy Holly’s ‘That’ll Be The Day’, Lennon and McCartney’s little known ‘In Spite of all The Danger’ and instrumentals called ‘Raunchy and Movin’ and Grovin’’, which wouldn’t be out of place in a Tarantino movie. Lead actor Aaron Johnson also gets in on the act and tackles The Beatles ‘Hello Little Girl’ very well indeed.

The only John Lennon voiced track on the whole first CD is the poignant ‘Mother’ which fits perfectly at the end to remind us this is a soundtrack of Lennon’s early life. After all, these well known songs have been compiled thousands of times in many different variations; and this compilation is just as worthy, as for Lennon fans it takes on a different context to the rest.

If you’re already excited by the thought of quiffs and the fast energetic rhythm on offer, then you’ll be pleased to know that the second CD offers 15 more tracks of 50s classics, such as Little Richard and Bill Haley.

Nowhere Boy is one of the worthier soundtracks by miles and a definite must for all those who want to know what musically inspired one of our greatest music legends. Enjoy!

Heidi Vella

Nowhere Boy is out now via Sony Music