

Debbie Greenberg remembers Ringo when he was just a shy, Ritchie
When my dad (Alf Geoghegan) bought the Cavern with Joe Davey in April 1966, we owned a chain of butcher’s shops. One of the shops which I managed was in North Hill Street, diagonally opposite Admiral Grove, where the future Ringo Starr lived, although we knew him as Richie Starkey. He was born in Madryn Street but spent most of his formative years at No 10 Admiral Grove.

His mother, Elsie, was a friendly lady who would drop by our shop every Saturday morning on her way to work, place a ten-shilling note on the counter and say. “The usual Deb. Our Richie will collect it this afternoon.”
Her order was always the same; half a leg of lamb and a quarter pound of boiled ham.
Richie would arrive late afternoon and stand by the shop door, too shy to come in. “Have you come for your mum’s meat, Richie?” I would ask. He would nod, take the parcel and the change and head home across the street.
Most Saturday evenings, after close of business, dad would treat our butcher boys to a round of drinks at the Lothian Pub near Admiral Grove. Before Richie joined The Beatles, he would sometimes sit in the pub’s small snug and my dad occasionally offered him a drink. “Thanks, I’ll have a half” he would reply.
Happy birthday Ringo.
Debbie
Debbie Greenberg is the author of Cavern Club: The Inside Story
