22nd February 1963 – Ask Me Why: Lennon and McCartney’s Publishing Contract
24th March 1963 – Bobby Graham: Almost a Beatle – Twice
18th June 1963 – Paul McCartney’s 21st birthday, and other coincidences
1st January 1962 – The Decca Audition
24th March 1962 – The Beatles at the Barnston Women’s Institute
10th April 1962 – Stuart Sutcliffe dies in Hamburg
6th June 1962 – Parlophone: were The Beatles under contract?
6th June 1962 – The Parlophone Session
26th July 1962 – The Beatles at Cambridge Hall, Southport
27th July 1962 – Bobby Graham is asked to replace Pete Best
August 1962 – Ritchie Galvin is asked to replace Pete Best
11th August 1962 – Ringo Starr is asked to replace Pete Best
16th August 1962 – Pete Best is sacked/ dismissed from The Beatles. Or was he? New evidence revealed
16th August 1962 – Johnny Hutchinson is asked to replace Pete Best
18th August 1962 – Ringo Starr makes his debut with The Beatles
4th September 1962 – The Beatles first session at EMI Studios, Abbey Road
7th September 1962 – The Beatles at Irby Village Hall
11th September 1962 – Andy White is brought in to replace Ringo
Spring 1961 – The Beatles and Steve Calrow
Spring 1961 – John, Paul, George and Alan
24th June 1961 – Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers record “My Bonnie”
6th July 1961 – Bill Harry founds Mersey Beat
19th October 1961 – The Beatles and the Beatmakers
28th October 1961 – Raymond Jones asks for a copy of “My Bonnie”: interview with Alistair Taylor
9th November 1961 – Brian Epstein discovers The Beatles at the Cavern
10th November 1961 – Sam Leach and Operation Big Beat
24th November 1961 – The Beatles and Davy Jones
December 1961 – Tony Barrow and The Beatles
January 1960 – Stuart Sutcliffe joins the group
23rd April 1960 – The Nerk Twins: John and Paul
5th May 1960 – Allan Williams becomes The Beatles manager
May 1960 – The Black Roots of The Beatles
10th May 1960 – The Silver Beatles audition for Larry Parnes with Johnny Hutchinson
10th May 1960 – The Silver Beatles audition for Larry Parnes with Tommy Moore
14th May 1960 – The Silver Beats and Cliff Roberts
20th May 1960 – Johnny Gentle and His Group
June 1960 – The Beatles back Janice “The Stripper”
14th June 1960 – John, Paul, George, Stuart and Ronnie the “Ted”
14th June 1960 – An Undertaker dies on Stage: Jackie Lomax
18th June 1960 – John, Paul, George, Stuart and Norman Chapman
24th June 1960 – Royston Ellis: The Man on the Flaming Pie
July 1960 – The Silver Beetles at the Embassy Club
12th August 1960 – The Unknown Drummer
12th August 1960 – Pete Best is asked to join The Beatles
15th October 1960 – John, Paul, George and Ringo appear on a record for the first time
17th December 1960 – Chas Newby joins The Beatles
27th December 1960 – The Beatles, Beatlemania at Litherland Town Hall
If you want to know the key events in Beatles History, then this is the page for you. This will help you navigate the website, to find the history you need to know. Each link will take you to a different page on the site, where a post, article or interview is located. I will be constantly updating the site, so check back for the latest in Beatles history, discussing Beatles names, Beatles members, Beatles drummers and who the original Beatles were.
The information is from my three books: “Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles”, “The Fab one hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles” and “Finding the Fourth Beatle”.
To make it easier to find, there is a separate page for each year. Select the page year to find out what happened in Beatles history that year.
1956 – John Lennon forms The Quarrymen
1957 – John and Paul meet, and George joins The Quarrymen
1958 – The Quarry Men make a record; An off-duty policeman kills Julia, John Lennon’s mother
1959 – The Quarrymen open The Casbah Coffee Club
15th August 1960 – Pete Best, who joined the previous day, plays his first gig with the now-settled lineup of John, Paul, George, Stuart, and Pete with them called The Beatles.
1961 – The Beatles are the best group; Brian Epstein discovers The Beatles at The Cavern Club
On 10th July 1964, The Beatles arrived in Liverpool for a civic reception at Liverpool’s Town Hall, as well as holding the Northern Premiere of A Hard Day’s Night. The image of them standing on the balcony was so iconic, I decided it should grace the cover of my first book “Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles“, published in 2009.
The reception was difficult to arrange, but Brian was determined to make it happen. His letter explained it:
“Thank you very much for your charming letter of the 4th instant. As you
probably know the boys and I set forth for the United States tomorrow morning. On their return the boys have an intense filming schedule, which will take them up to the end of April. They will then be resting for most of the month of May. So therefore while I look forward very much to accepting your kind invitation, for which the boys and I are most appreciative, I think the actual date may have to be left in abeyance for the present. With many thanks and best wishes.
Yours respectfully,
Brian Epstein
On the flight home their thoughts were occupied with this visit to Liverpool. One of the travelling journalists who had accompanied the group down under was from the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo, named, ironically, George Harrison—no relation whatsoever. Harrison’s observation was astute: “Probably for the first time in their show-biz lives our world-famed troubadours are nervous. They aren’t sure how their fellow citizens will react to this home-coming triumph. The four boys are thrilled to their fringes at the honour Liverpool is bestowing upon them. But in the back of their mind is a niggling doubt”.
Harrison spoke to each of The Beatles about how they were feeling as they came closer to their return to Liverpool. Even though all the preparations had been made, Paul McCartney didn’t know if it would click with Liverpool people. “I can’t somehow see all the kids I used to go to school with from Mather Avenue and their parents, turning out to watch young Paul McCartney drive by in a big car, along the road where we used to play together. I don’t think I’d bother to go and cheer for somebody else”, McCartney said honestly, “and I’ve got a feeling that they won’t do it for us either.
“And who is going to stand outside the Town Hall just to see us arrive? Only a couple of years back hardly anybody in Liverpool had heard of us. Now this! I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that everything comes off all right, but I have butterflies in my tummy over it”.
Harrison (the reporter) observed that the manner of The Beatles was one of humility and that “there still isn’t a big head among the four of them. They just can’t believe they are important”.
John Lennon, never normally short of words, could hardly explain how he felt about the forthcoming event. “The only time I’ve ever been at the Town Hall was when they sent me from art school to draw it. Going back like this, in state, or whatever they call it, is a bit scary”. Ringo, however, was more forthcoming. “It’s a funny feeling. Makes you feel small and yet ten feet tall. I mean, all those other places in Australia and New Zealand where we went to civic receptions, they were only parties of people we didn’t know, like. But this is different”, Ringo enthused. “It’s Liverpool. Think of being in that parade from Speke to the Town Hall with some of our old mates probably looking at us and saying; ‘I knew that lot when they were poor’. And that wasn’t so long ago either, was it?” he said with a smile.
Even the “quiet” Beatle had an opinion. George spoke to his namesake with his own perspective. “It’s great that our own home town should do this for us”, he said seriously, “but deep down I have the feeling that there are a lot of Liverpool folk who deserve this honour far more than we do. After all”, he continued modestly, “what have we done? Sang some songs around the place and made money. It doesn’t seem much compared with some things
that have been done by many Liverpool men and women who’ve never been honoured”.
The above is taken from my first book “Liddypool“. Little did I know when Liddypool was published what would happen next. Now in its third edition, it has sold over 5,000 copies worldwide, and led to me publishing two further books, “The Fab one hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles” and “Finding the Fourth Beatle“, plus co-authoring “The Beatles Book” with Beatles biographer Hunter Davies. Last year, the first documentary I have consulted on was released; “Looking for Lennon”. I have visited the US a dozen times at various Beatles conventions, and been a guest at other events in Europe, and have several other projects on the go which keeps me in mischief!
Everywhere I go in Liverpool, I see so many Beatles tour guides using “Liddypool” to help give tours to their visitors. I am so privileged, and cannot thank everyone enough for your support.
I love what I do; it is a labour of love. I just want to share my amazing city of Liverpool, and why it was crucial in the evolution of The Beatles; they could not have come from any other city.
You can get your copy of “Liddypool” now.
Welcome to Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles.
David Bedford
Ringo, more than any other Beatle, seems to have received criticism over the years for his ability. Is it justified? “Oh, he is just a lucky guy who was in the right place at the right time.” “You could take Ringo out of The Beatles and you would still have The Beatles.”
When we started work on “Finding the Fourth Beatle“, one of the main aims was to examine why Ringo became the drummer who made the grade with John, Paul and George. Was he just the happy-go-lucky guy who was around at the right time, or was he really a good drummer, or even a great drummer?
What I soon learned was that as a guitarist/keyboardist, I was not qualified to answer that question adequately. I have read so many authors who either compliment or condemn Pete Best or Ringo Starr because they feel like it, without offering any justification, as if their reputation as an author is good enough. Trust me, it isn’t. I have played with plenty of drummers of varying capabilities, and know the difference between a good and bad drummer, but anything more than that is beyond me.
And so, what we decided to do was to get experienced drummers to examine Ringo’s drumming (we did the same for Pete Best too) and try to work out whether he was just a lucky guy, or really was the influence that many great drummers say he was. And if he is that good, why?
So we rounded up several drummers who could examine Ringo’s style, and get their feedback. It was illuminating. First, I spoke to Gary Astridge, who is Ringo’s drum curator, and been working with him for years. Gary is also a drummer in a band, so he could explain the details behind Ringo’s kits, and how he plays. Second, I spoke to Rob Shanahan, who is Ringo’s photographer, but is also a drummer, with a similar style to Ringo.
One of the distinctive sounds created by Ringo is that he is naturally left-handed, but plays on a right-handed kit. Shanahan is also a lefty on a righty, and explains why this creates quite a unique sound, and how Ringo uses his kit. Ringo has also always kept quite a simple kit, and resisted the trend to have lots of tom-toms and other additions to his kit.
One phrase that keeps cropping up is that Ringo “plays the song”, but what does that mean? It took a while to understand it, and I did that with the help of several drummers who play in Beatles tribute bands. They are the ones who have to learn to play Ringo’s parts, and I never realised how difficult that was. Ringo plays by feel, at that moment, and that exact moment in the song, which could be different every time they recorded it.
Two drummers who are considered experts on Ringo’s drumming are Alex Cain and Terry McCusker. Their incredible book, “Ringo Starr and The Beatles Beat” examines Ringo’s style on every Beatles song, and they shared their expertise with us by analysing 10 of the songs that define Ringo’s style. It is only when you listen to Beatles songs for the drumming that you truly appreciate his contribution to The Beatles’ sound. Just go listen to songs like “Come Together”, “Rain” and “Strawberry Fields Forever”, and you will gain a new appreciation for his talent.
What Alex and Terry also point out is that Ringo, once The Beatles were getting into more complicated musical arrangements, was heavily involved in the arrangement of the song, and contributed not just drum rhythms, but percussion too. He was no ordinary drummer.
Although 3 other drummers were offered the chance to join The Beatles to replace Pete Best, it was Ringo who said yes. And that is just as well! Ringo was the perfect drummer for The Beatles at that time, and became an invaluable, and indispensable, member of the Fab Four.
As you will read in the book, “Finding the Fourth Beatle“, Ringo was, and still is, a great drummer who inspired a whole new generation of drummers who wanted to play like him. Just read the comments from other leading drummers as to how they feel about Ringo. In conjunction with our findings in “Finding the Fourth Beatle“, it is clear that Ringo is respected as a drummer, and not just because he was a Beatle.
Happy birthday Ringo, the Fourth Beatle.
To get your copy of “Finding the Fourth Beatle“, order on Amazon or via our website
David Bedford
In June 1960, with no drummer, and very few gigs, Allan Williams arranged for The Beatles to back Janice the Stripper at a strip club in Upper Parliament Street, Liverpool, that Williams ran with his business partner, Lord Woodbine. Paul played drums, accompanied by John, George and Stuart on a tiny stage.
After some initial resistance, the four Silver Beetles had haggled out an equitable financial deal. Supposedly, Stuart was a tough negotiator and got them a fairly decent fee. “Why so much?”, Williams had asked them during the negotiations. Paul had replied, “For the indiginity. The bloody indignity of it all!”
Lord Woodbine recalled the club, and The Silver Beetles’ appearance, very well. “Allan Williams and I used to run some clubs together, and The Beatles used to play there. There were actually two clubs. In the first one, they used to play at dinner time (noon) until 3:00pm. The second was a striptease club in a basement, called the Cabaret Artistes Club.
Their job was to play music for the strippers. The strippers used to get them to play very slow numbers, which The Beatles did not really like. There was only one who wanted an up-tempo song. She used a hula hoop in her act. The Beatles weren’t interested in the strippers or the music. They just did it for the money.”
Paul obviously remembered the occasion very well, in a private letter to Bill Harry, for inclusion in Mersey Beat. “John, George, Stu and I used to play at a Strip Club in Upper Parliament Street,” recalled Paul, “backing Janice the Stripper. At the time we wore little lilac jackets, or purple jackets, or something. Well, we played behind Janice and naturally we looked at her, the audience looked at her, everybody looked at her, just sort of normal. At the end of the act, she would turn round and, well, we were all young lads, we’d never seen anything like it before, and all blushed, four blushing red-faced lads.
“Janice brought sheets of music for us to play all her arrangements. She gave us a bit of Beethoven and the ‘Spanish Fire Dance’. So, in the end, we said ‘We can’t read music, sorry, but instead of the ‘Spanish Fire Dance’ we can play ‘The Harry Lime Cha-Cha’, which we’ve arranged ourselves, and instead of Beethoven you can have ‘Moonglow’ or ‘September Song’. Take your pick. Instead of the ‘Sabre Dance’ we’ll give you ‘Ramrod’. So that’s what she got. She seemed quite satisfied anyway.”
And The Beatles refused to play a strip club ever again! And they didn’t; well, until they went to Hamburg two months later!
Read the full story in “The Fab one hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles“.
As Paul was the drummer that day, it wouldn’t be the last time he sat behind the drum kit. In our recent book, “Finding the Fourth Beatle“, we discuss the times he sat in with other groups, plus the tracks that Paul played drums on for The Beatles. While working in the studio on the “White Album”, Ringo walked out on the group. Needing to keep going, Paul sat behind the drumkit, playing on “Back In The USSR”, “Dear Prudence”, “Martha My Dear” and “The Ballad Of John and Yoko”.
So from backing a stripper, to back in the USSR, Macca was more than a capable drummer, though was he as good as Ringo? We discuss that in depth in “Finding the Fourth Beatle“.
David Bedford
James Paul McCartney was born on 18th June 1942, and Paul McCartney’s birthday has some interesting stories associated with it.
John Lennon’s first friend in Woolton when he moved to live with Aunt Mimi and Uncle George was Ivan Vaughan. They soon became great friends, with Ivan also going to Dovedale Primary School, though 1 year behind John. When John moved to Quarry Bank Grammar School, it was assumed that Ivan would follow the next year. However, Ivan’s parents were not happy with that. However, as “That Lennon” was so much trouble, and would get Ivan into trouble too, they decided he should go to a different school. Instead of the local Quarry Bank, he was sent all the way into town to join the Liverpool Institute.
One of the biggest coincidences in Beatles history is that Ivan Vaughan was born on exactly the same day as Paul. With Paul also at the Institute, Paul and Ivan ended up in the same class. They became friends, and realised they had a mutual taste in music. It was Ivan who invited his new friend Paul to come to meet his old friend John at the Woolton fete. If it hadn’t been for Ivan, it is highly unlikely that John and Paul would have got together; no Ivan, no Lennon/ McCartney, no Beatles. Thank you Ivan! Ivan remained friends with John and Paul, though sadly died young from Parkinson’s disease. (Read more in The Fab One Hundred and Four)
Who was the Beatles’ first left-handed bass player? It wasn’t Paul McCartney! When The Beatles returned from Hamburg at the end of 1960, Stuart stayed in Hamburg with Astrid. They needed a bass player. Pete Best suggested his old bandmate Chas Newby, who had played with him in The Blackjacks, who was home from College for Christmas.
Charles “Chas” Newby was born on 18th June 1941, and so shares a birthday with Paul McCartney; it must be something to do with being left-handed?? For the four performances over the Christmas on 1960 at the Casbah (twice), Litherland Town Hall and the Grosvenor Ballroom in Wallasey, Chas was The Beatles’ bass player. Not many people had come across Chas when I first tracked him down around 2007 and interviewed him for my first book, Liddypool, where you can read the full interview.
Paul’s 21st birthday party on 18th June 1963 should have been a great celebration, but it will be remembered for something else. The party was held at Auntie Jin’s house in Dinas Lane, Liverpool. John Lennon had just returned from a short holiday in Spain with Beatles manager Brian Epstein, even though John had just become a father to Julian. At the party, John, who was not a good drunk, got himself “blitzed” and was involved in two unsavoury incidents. Bob Wooler, a great friend and help to The Beatles and many Liverpool groups, was always one for a funny phrase. However, he chose the wrong day for this one!
Everybody knew that Brian Epstein was gay, and so eyebrows were raised when John went on holiday with Epstein. Wooler couldn’t resist a joke, and said to John; “How was the honeymoon?” Lennon took great offence and, being very drunk, decided to beat up Bob Wooler. Eyewitnesses were appalled, and had to drag John off Wooler, who ended up in hospital. Thankfully for John, and The Beatles, Brian was able to appease Bob, who was a decent man too, and, after an apology, didn’t press charges.
However, that wasn’t the only incident of the night. In his drunken state, John approached Billy J Kramer’s girlfriend, and decided to make a grab for her breasts. Needless to say, according to Billy J Kramer and Billy Hatton (from The Fourmost), the girl immediately smacked John, as she was fully entitled to do. John, however, just smacked her straight back! He was not entitled to do that! Billy Hatton and others dragged John away, and put him in a taxi home. It was not his greatest day. Billy Hatton’s interview is featured in “Looking for Lennon“, the documentary feature film for which I was historian and Associate Producer. (It is out on DVD in the US, and due for release in the UK and rest of the world soon.)
Thankfully, for The Beatles, there was no such thing as social media, facebook, twitter, and living lives online! This was 18th June 1963: The Beatles were the new top group in the country, with Number 1 singles and album, and on a UK tour. Imagine if there were smartphones back then? The Beatles career would have been over before it had begun. Thankfully, the incident over Bob Wooler only made it into a small column in the Daily Mirror newspaper. They had got away with it, but only just.
Some photographs don’t need much of an explanation. The above photo of Jimmie Nicol says everything; 300,000 people screaming to sitting alone in a matter of days.
On their last few hours together, the five Beatles headed back inside for their next interview with the waiting journalists. As with the first interview, the banter between John, Paul, George and Ringo was as funny as ever, with Ringo prominent throughout. It was as if Nicol was the invisible Beatle; Ringo was back and all was good, except for Jimmie Nicol. At one point, a reporter asks him about his plans while the other Beatles are still being interviewed. He is quickly shut down.
On reflection, Nicol was asked about how he was treated and how he felt sitting in for Ringo in the biggest group on the planet. “After Ringo returned, they changed. It was like welcoming a close member of the family back. They treated me with nothing but respect as a musician. And I think they thought I was very good. John once told me I was better than Ringo but that I just missed the ship. When I was on the plane back to London, I felt like a bastard child being sent back home from a family that didn’t want me. When you have had the best, you can’t accept anything else.”
The Beatles were under curfew, instigated by Brian, and overseen by Derek Taylor and Mal Evans. However, it was Nicol’s last night in Australia, and he wasn’t going to abide by any curfew. After all, he had sneaked out before and had fun, going mostly unrecognised. This time, it was different. He had only been out for a short time when Taylor and Evans turned up at the bar, grabbed Nicol and took him back to the hotel. After all, he was still a Beatle! Everything had changed, because not only had Ringo arrived, but Brian Epstein as well. Nicol’s short career with The Beatles ended not in a blaze of glory, but a mild whimper.
On 15th June 1964, Brian took Jimmie to the airport before he could even say goodbye to the Fab Four, who were still in bed. If ever there was a photograph that needed no caption, it was the one of Jimmie sitting all alone in a near empty airport with nobody paying any attention to him. How things had changed in just a matter of days. When asked about that photograph, and if he felt lonely, Nicol said: “That’s a beautiful picture. Well, if you look at that photograph, that answers your question.” (Evert Vermeer) No words were needed.
However, a TV reporter spotted him, and Nicol gave his final interview as a Beatle, reflecting on his exploits in Australia. He was asked, in a different way, the same question about what he would do next. “Well I hope to do something that I want to do. Now there might be a possibility that I might be able to do something….maybe earn enough money to study in America. That is what I want to do, is study drums in America and American music. And learn to arrange.” (The Beatle Who Vanished)
With Brian sitting nearby, the television interviewer brings him into shot to say an awkward ‘thank you’ on camera to Nicol. “I’d just like to say to you Jimmie that The Beatles and I are very, very grateful for everything you have done. You carried out a fine job for us and we’re very, very pleased. We hope you have a great trip back to London and every success to you in the future.” Jimmie’s response? “Thank you very much Brian.” It looked and sounded staged, broadcasting an obvious lack of emotion between the two men. In front of the camera, they were both professional, but Nicol, like so many people who featured in the story of The Beatles, had his part to play and then retired to virtual anonymity.
In his interview with Teutsch, Nicol reflected on his time with The Beatles.
T: “Did you ever see them after the tour?”
JN: “I had a band (The Shubdubs) and Brian put us on the same bill with The Beatles and the Fourmost one night (12 July 1964 at the Hippodrome Theatre in Brighton). Backstage, we talked, but the wind had changed since we last saw each other. They were pleasant.”
T: “Why do you think you were forgotten after all this?”
JN: “When the fans forget, they forget forever. After the Beatles thing was over for me, I played around for a few years then got away from the music scene. I mean, when you’ve played with the best, the rest is just, well, the rest.”
T: “Any regrets?”
JN: “None. Oh, after the money ran low, I thought of cashing in in some way to other. But the timing wasn’t right. And I didn’t want to step on The Beatles’ toes. They had been damn good for me and to me.”
When he returned home, he formed a band, The Shubdubs, who had a couple of singles, but not much success. He joined Swedish group The Spotniks, who had international hit albums and tours, when he ended up, after a disagreement, stranded in Mexico, where he stayed for a while, working on a number of projects, before coming out of hiding in 1984 in a Beatles Unlimited show in Holland. It was 20 years since Jimmie had played there with The Beatles. Nicol got up on stage with a local group, and promised a book would follow. It never did.
This is an excerpt from “Finding the Fourth Beatle”
How did The Beatles remember Jimmie? His phrase on tour with them, when they asked how he was doing, replied; “Getting Better”, as commemorated in the Beatles song.
And Jimmie has disappeared. Jim Berkenstadt, author of The Beatle Who Vanished, is now taking Jimmie’s story to the big screen, which is some story; looking forward to that!
However, if you know where Jimmie Nicol is, let us all know please??????
David Bedford
Get your copy of Finding the Fourth Beatle at www.thefourthbeatle.com
