1962 ~ Part 2

August of 1962 will forever be historic in The Beatles timeline. It may have to do with a few new additions to The Beatles family, one of them being my favorite band member.
 

After the first few sessions and recordings with EMI, George Martin brought up a major topic to The Beatles manager Brian Epstein regarding their drummer Pete Best. He commented that Best might not have been the best person and best choice to do studio recordings. Best had also refused to dress and have hair styled like the other Beatles members. It was soon agreed by John, Paul, and George that Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) from ‘Rory Storm and The Hurricanes’ would be the best replacement, having worked with him many other times before. Brian did what he was told and fired Best, and here comes Ringo!

('Rory Storm and The Hurricanes' pictured in 1961)

Many fans of The Beatles were angered and outraged by the news that Best was fired. During the time he was in The Beatles, his fan base and popularity grew more than the other members. Sadly on Ringo’s first gig at a Beatles regular spot, The Cavern Club on August 18th ended up in violent fights. Guitarist George Harrison received a black eye from a very angered fans.

(First Recording Session at Abbery Road - September 4th, 1962 - from left to right; Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison)

Soon after Ringo joined the band, fellow band member John

Lennon married his pregnant girlfriend Cynthia Powell at Liverpool’s Mount Pleasant Registry Office on August 23th, 1962. The amount of time it took the two to get married was only 5 minutes. John’s aunt Mimi Smith refused to attend and Ms. Powell was given away by her brother. Paul McCartney was John’s best man and manager Brian Epstein was kind enough to take the wedding party out for lunch that day after the ceremony. For Cynthia’s pregnancy, no alcohol was served during the meal.

(Cynthia Powell and John Lennon)

October brought along The Beatles first single. The band members strongly chose ‘Love Me Do’ as the song they should recorded for the single. George Martin wasn’t convinced fully on that song and opted more towards ‘How Do You Do It?’ by Mitch Murray, but by the end he changed his mind and went with the boys pick. Martin was also not sure about Ringo being the new drummer and hired a man named Andy White to record the drum part in the song. Ringo sat quietly in the background and played the tambourine.  ‘Love Me Do’ was officially released on October 26^th – soon reaching No. 17 on the charts. 

With new starts come sad endings. In November and December of 1962 were the last trips The Beatles ever took to Hamburg, Germany. Venturing on their own as young men when they began, times soon changed. ‘Love Me Do’ was taking them into a new direction and Hamburg was just a figment in the past.  It was time to say goodbye to The Beatles first era.


In their sights now – 1963


(Words: 484)