While on the MMT in Cornwall the Beatles friend “Spencer Davis” who had recently had a hit with the single “Keep on Running” invited a few of us to the family owned “Tywarnhayle Inn”
The cast and the crew had an exhausted days filming and decided not to come but that didn’t stop Paul and Ringo and ME going there.
Ringo on the Mandolin
We walked in and when the regulars saw Paul/ Ringo the whole pub fell quiet-and then shouted give us a Beatle song which Paul didn’t want to do. He got a pint of beer and headed straight to the piano which was in the corner, put his beer down and started to play “Knees-up Mother Brown” and Ringo picked up a an old Mandolin which was in the corner which had only one string.
Blood!
After many drinks and many songs Ringo announced that he had worn his finger away while playing and blood was all over his hand.
We left after midnight and I expect the “Tywarnhayle Inn” is still talking about the night Paul and Ringo played there!
The Beatles’ hair changed the world. As their increasingly wild, untamed manes grew, to the horror of parents everywhere, they set off a cultural revolution as the most tangible symbol of the Sixties’ psychedelic dream of peace, love and playful rebellion. In the midst of this epochal change was Leslie Cavendish, hairdresser to the Beatles and some of the greatest stars of the music and entertainment industry.
“He never varied from that tempo. He had the greatest conception of tempo I’ve ever heard in my life. I have never heard anybody play that steady in my life, and that’s a long time.”D.J. Fontana (Drummer for Elvis and many more).
Like A Clock
D.J. Fontana’s recollection of two ‘jams’ (18 and 20 minutes respectively) recorded during the sessions for Ringo’s Beacoups Of Blues LP in 1970 were later echoed by B.B. King, who referred to Ringo as keeping time ‘like a clock.’ Yet despite being lauded for his legendary ‘feel’ and idiosyncratic drumming style, Ringo Starr is still undervalued by many for that most important of drumming skills – timekeeping. That is, after all, the most important job of a drummer. So how did that skill translate into the Beatles’ recorded output?
Many of the early Beatles releases were subject to extensive edits – the piecing together of different takes – or in numerous cases the ‘tagging-on’ of edit-pieces – the addition of separately recorded sections (usually endings) to the body of the main acceptable take. It is testament to Ringo’s ‘internal clock’ that he was able to recall the exact tempo of a performance, even after a couple of minutes of chatter had elapsed.
The IIlusion of Perfect Timekeeping
Ringo was capable of keeping perfect time, but he was also the master of creating the illusion of perfect timekeeping. Occasionally he would also quite deliberately alter the timing of a performance, be it in the studio or more commonly, a live performance. Rather like gently tapping your foot on a car’s accelerator (gas) pedal, he would allow the music to shift tempo backwards and forwards, ever so slightly, as and when the song required it.
This can be quite some feat to achieve, the trick is to make the listener (or more importantly your fellow musicians) blissfully unaware of what has happened, but wondering just what has happened! When recently asked if he could pass on one piece of advice to any young, aspiring drummers, Ringo offered – “Speed up during the guitar solo!” – surely a piece of tongue in cheek advice?
Ringo Starr and the Beatles Beat
Read more about Ringo’s legendary drumming style in Ringo Starr And The Beatles Beat, Ringo’s White Album, and Ringo’s Abbey Road – available from the Beatles Book Store!
First 250 Books Will Be Numbered, Signed, and Dated!! ******** And to enjoy RIGHT NOW, listen to a chat with John’s dear friend from the Liverpool College of Art, and fashion designerHELEN ANDERSON,Jude,& Recipe Records author Lanea Stagg
The John Lennon Series – Catch Up On the First 4 Volumes
Shoulda Been There (Vol. 1) 1940 – Dec 1961
In Jude Kessler’s stunning debut narrative biography, you’ll learn the truths behind the Lennon legend. You’ll discover why the popular, rich, famous singer called himself a “Nowhere Man.” There are no hard copies left, but you can get it on Kindle by clicking here for $9.99
But for John Lennon, the hectic rise to glory failed to cure the constant Shivering Inside. He was still searching for something…or someone…to fill the hole in his heart. There are no hard copies left but you can get it on Kindle here for $9.99.
1964 in John’s life! “A Hard Day’s Night”, and created/recorded the accompanying, best-selling soundtrack; a World Tour, a Scottish sojourn, a lengthy North American Tour hitting cities all across the U.S. and Canada.
Do we really understand why a band like The Beatles is considered a unique phenomenon? For decades historians, writers, media makers, and enthusiasts have done their best to discover and explain how it was possible that four friends from the north of England conquered the world. With their approach to song writing, recording and performing. But with so much more. What makes and keeps The Beatles unique and why are we probably still talking about them a century from now?
In his recently published book “The Beatles Era: a quest for the secret of The Beatles” Peter Eijgenhuijsen shares his search for the secret of The Beatles in a clever and compact way in a hundred pages. In doing so, Eijgenhuijsen reflects on what it means to live in “The Beatles Era” We are all in that happy circumstance. Although the band stopped decades ago: many of us experienced the rise, thedecline, but also the solo years of the Fab Four. Others only hooked up in those solo years. Anyway: with two living Beatles in our midst, we still belong to what Eijgenhuijsen calls The Beatles Era. And that, of course, makes us privileged people.
Discover more about this fascinating topic here (The first part is in Dutch, with an English translation further down the page).
The Beatles Era
Get your copy of Peter’s excellent book from the Beatles Bookstore now
“Our first appearance was in Rosebery Street. They had this party out in the street. We played from the back of a lorry. We didn’t get paid. We played at blokes’ parties after that; perhaps got a few bob, but mostly we just played for fun. We didn’t mind about not being paid.” John Lennon, 1967,Anthology
Charlie Roberts
Charlie Roberts was a friend of The Quarrymen and he booked them for this appearance. Not only that, he decided to take some photographs of his mates. Little did he know that they would become historical iconic images, as the first ever photos of John Lennon and The Quarrymen.
In his new book, “Just Like Starting Over”, Charlie recalls his friendship with John, Paul and George and the other Quarrymen too.
“Our street party was held to celebrate the 750th anniversary of King John issuing Liverpool with a Royal Charter, to give Liverpool City status. I had asked the Quarrymen if they would play at the street party, and although they were a bit hesitant because Liverpool 8 had a bad reputation, I persuaded them that they would be safe. It should be remembered at this point that some of the lads were still at school and were not streetwise or accustomed to violence. To their credit, they agreed the ‘booking’, and arranged some practice sessions a week or so before.
The Poster that Charlie Designed for the Quarrymen’s Performance
“The poster generated a lot of curiosity and interest because at the time not many people knew much about Skiffle music, and nobody in the area ever seen a live Skiffle group. Nor had anyone in the area heard of the Quarrymen before, and of course, neither had most of Liverpool.”
The Quarrymen Turn Up
It was around 3.15pm when, to their credit, the Quarrymen sheepishly turned into Rosebery Street, having just visited the Windsor Hotel aka ‘The Clock’ pub on Kingsley Road where they ‘had a few’ for a bit of Dutch courage. I could tell that they had been drinking, as I ushered them into my house at number 84, where my mum, Marjorie Roberts, plied the lads with food and drink (tea or coffee that is) and definitely no more alcohol. We were all in a jovial mood, and although rather apprehensive, the lads were eager to get started.
They had used up a lot of time during the previous week practising for their appearance at what was to become a truly historic event in the story of the Beatles.
Time was up, and the six lads filed out of 84 and went left down to 76 and the flatback wagon. The wagon belonged to Mr. Fred Tyrer, who had also provided the basic microphone that was powered from a music system in his front room. The wagon itself was not as dirty as had been suggested in some previous publications. It wasn’t a coal wagon, but was normally used to transport all manner of goods, but never coal!
The Quarrymen Set Up
The Quarrymen in Rosebery Street, photographed by Charlie Roberts
It was beginning to get noisy while the Quarrymen were setting up, with lots of excited kids waiting in anticipation. At this point, Pete said that they weren’t due to start until 5pm and it was only 4.00pm. John replied; “It makes a change for us, we’re usually late”.
As a large crowd was now gathering and after a brief discussion it was decided that they should get started. John Lennon, in his customary check shirt took centre stage with his guitar. Colin Hanton on drums, Len Garry on tea chest base, both sporting crew cuts were at the rear.
The remaining Quarrymen – Eric Griffiths on guitar, Rod Davis on banjo, and Pete Shotton on washboard – surrounded John near the front of the crowded flat-back wagon. The audience were in awe as the lads started playing a mixture of mostly Skiffle and a little Rock n’ Roll.
Read the incredible full story by Charlie Roberts in his fascinating eyewitness testimonies of hanging around with The Quarrymen for a couple of years.
Get The Book Now
Just Like Starting Over: John Lennon and The Quarrymen
When John Lennon and his group The Quarrymen stepped onto the back of a wagon in Rosebery Street on 22nd June 1957, Charlie Roberts borrowed a camera and took a few photos of the event. It was just a group of friends having fun at a street party.
What Charlie didn’t know at the time was that he was capturing a piece of Beatles history. This was the first time that John Lennon had been photographed performing with his group. Skiffle was the new music and soon, John would meet Paul McCartney who would then introduce George Harrison to John.
An article published on September 1969 in the Times Delphic by Tim Harper which was a student newspaper suggested that Paul McCartney suffered a road accident in his Aston Martin in November 1966.
Well it just so happens that I first cut McCartney’s hair in September 1966 and for some reason Jane Asher (girlfriend and living with him) and Three other Beatles had kept the secret to themselves mmm.
When you cut a client’s hair you will see how the hair falls especially on the forehead and its like a fingerprint and if it was an imposter I would have known.
I was asked by a American radio station how I could be sure if it was Paul!
I told them that when I last cut his hair it fell in the same place and if it was a William (Billy Shears) Campbell I would have known.
When I was asked to go to Paul’s house again to cut his hair I checked to see how his hair fell across his forehead just in case. Paul asked what I was doing and I said “Just checking if your dead or alive”. “So what’s the verdict ?” he asked.
“Im delighted to confirm that you are the one and only Paul McCartney”
We both started laughing and he said “Thanks I’m relieved to hear it”
