John, Paul, George, Stuart and Norman?
Drummer Norman should have gone to Hamburg with The Beatles, but he was called up to do National Service in the army. They needed a drummer, and so Paul McCartney responded to a letter in the Liverpool Echo offering him an audition. The guy never replied. I found out who he was: Terry Hyams,a local drummer, who decided to go to the movies instead! The full story is in my book, Finding the Fourth Beatle.
This letter was found a few years ago when it fell out of a book purchased at a car boot sale! Written by Paul, it mentions The Beatles and that they could take a phone call at the Jacaranda Club.
Pete Best
However, not wishing to risk the letter not arriving in time, the group remembered a great drummer they had seen at the Casbah! That was Pete Best. Paul rang Mona Best, asked if Pete could come to Hamburg. She said yes if Pete wanted to, which he did! The following day, Pete came down to the Wyvern Club, soon to become the Blue Angel. He passed the audition, of course!
The following day, The Beatles ran through every song they knew in a rehearsal that turned into a performance in the basement of the Jacaranda, before heading off to Hamburg the following day. There is a plaque on the outside of the Jacaranda, for which I acted as the historian.
A copy of this letter is on the wall at the Jacaranda Club!
In other news, if you want to keep up with what I am doing on social media, you can find me on Instagram @liddypooldave and Facebook @liddypooldave
David
