Beatles FAQ

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  Ringo has always been a pragmatic musician. His first instrument was  a toy drum - given to him by a visiting nurse while he was in hospital during a childhood illness.

Abbey Road was not a happy working environment during the recording sessions for The White Album. Ringo, the least involved in the squabbling and backbiting, suffered the most from the emotional fall out: I couldn't take it any more. There was no magic and the relationships were terrible. I'd come to a bad spot in life. It could have been paranoia, but I just didn't feel good – I felt like an outsider.   Ringo, Anthology Things came to a head during a recording session for  Back in the USSR  on the 22nd of August, 1968. The precise trigger point is unknown but at some point Ringo snapped. After telling John and Paul he was leaving the group, he walked out of the studio. At first, Ringo's departure seemed to confirm the underlying reason for it. The others assumed that their drummer's 'resignation' was not seriously intended. They continued the recording session. Sardinia The next day Ringo took his family on holiday to Sardinia, where his friend Peter Seller

Richard with his mother, Elsie The then Richard Starkey experienced two major medical episodes. According to Lewisohn, Richard Starkey was 'a robust infant' but fell 'dangerously ill in the early summer of 1947'.  Rushed by ambulance to the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital, the six-year-old was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. An operation revealed that the appendix had burst causing infected peritonitis. As he was wheeled into theatre, Richard requested a cup of tea.  The nurse responded, 'When you come round,'  She kept her promise but it was ten weeks before Richard got his tea. In that time, his mother Elsie was told three times that he would not survive the night. One of these occasions was the eve of his seventh birthday. He continued to slip in and out of consciousness for several months. Even when he left hospital at the beginning of 1948, convalescence from his surgical wounds was slow and painful. There was also a set back which prolonged his

The Everton area of Liverpool, 1960 All four Beatles had what Mark Lewisohn calls ‘unvarnished working-class roots in an industrial city that had seen better days.' They grew up in different areas of Liverpool, though Paul and George attended the same secondary school and John and George (briefly) went to the same primary school. John had a difficult childhood in emotional terms, but essentially grew up in a middle class suburb with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George. Paul's first impression of his family were that they were 'very posh'. Paul and George both lived in council house (social housing) but neither considered themselves poor. Like John they went to a school with a very good reputation for academic achievement. This suited Paul but George was more disaffected. Working class hero The house where Ringo lived Copyright Pernille Eriksen — reprinted with permission —  prints available One future Beatles did experience a Dickensian childhood combining poverty, ill healt

I moved in with my auntie who lived in the suburbs in a nice semi-detached place with a small garden and doctors and lawyers and that ilk living around... not the poor slummy kind of image that was projected in all the Beatles stories. In the class system, it was about half a class higher than Paul, George and Ringo, who lived in government-subsidized housing. We owned our house and had a garden. They didn't have anything like that .  Playboy Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono: Published in January 1981  10 Admiral Grove where Ringo grew up - now owned by National Trust A slightly more accurate summary would point out that Ringo was at least  'half a class' lower than Paul and George and did not live in social housing or what the British call a council house. Dingle was one of the poorest areas of Liverpool and the Starkeys paid ten shillings (£0.50p) a week to a private landlord for 10 Admiral Grove, a terraced house without a bathroom or indoor toilet. It is also int

In June 1964, The Beatles were preparing for their first world tour. During the pre-tour photoshoot, Ringo Starr was suddenly taken ill and began vomiting violently.  The stricken drummer rushed to University College Hospital where there was good and bad news. The diagnosis was severe tonsillitis - unpleasant but not serious. The bad news was that  recovery would take an estimated ten days. This meant that Ringo would miss the first stage of the tour. Brian Epstein reacted with characteristic resourcefulness. 'We've got a temporary replacement,' he announced. 'Jimmy Nichol'. Jimmy who?  'The ex-Shubdubs drummer. Now with the Blue Flames.' The name still wasn't ringing any bells. But within a day Jimmy Nichol was getting his Beatle haircut and being measured for his Beatle suit. Read more The Beatles Teaching Pack '

The Beatles were paid the same as performers (and in repeat rights etc).

Photo by  Serena Repice Lentini  on  Unsplash I'd like to be under the sea In an octopus's garden in the shade Abbey Road was not a happy working environment during the recording sessions for The White Album. Ringo, the least involved in the squabbling and backbiting, suffered the most from the emotional fall out: I couldn't take it any more. There was no magic and the relationships were terrible. I'd come to a bad spot in life. It could have been paranoia, but I just didn't feel good – I felt like an outsider. Ringo, Anthology Things came to a head during  a recording session for  Back in the USSR on the 22nd of August, 1968. The precise trigger point is unknown but at some point Ringo snapped. After telling John and Paul he was leaving the group, he walked out of the studio. At first, Ringo's departure seemed to confirm the underlying reason for it. The others assumed that their drummer's 'resignation' was not seriously intended. The

George Martin wanted The Beatles first single to be  How Do You Do It, a Tin Pan Alley song which he felt had commercial potential.