Written by: David Bedford and Garry Popper
Edited by Mark NaboshekDesigned and assembled by Paul Skellett Produced by: Garry Popper
Published by: tredition GmbH Halenreie 40-44 22359 Hamburg
Germany
Finding the Fourth Beatle © copyright Bedford & Popper 2014
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of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 and 2014.
All rights Reserved.
With the exception of fair trading which allows for extracts to be quoted for the purpose of academic study and research, or objective criticism or review as permitted by the Copyright, Design & Patents Acts 1988 and 2014,
no part of this book may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted in any form by any means electronic, digital, mechanical, photo or reprographic or by any other means,
or placed in any social media, information, storage or retrieval system without the prior written consent of the publisher and the authors respectively.
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This book is dedicated:
By David: to Alix Bedford; Philippa, Ryan and Noah Kilroe; Lauren, and Ashleigh Bedford, and to the memory of Colin Bedford, Judy Place and
Alexander Dowbiggin
And
By Garry: to my wife, Linda, my brother, Gordon, and my daughters, Marisa, Rosalyn and Anita for keeping me going after my stroke. Much love and kisses
4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
No author works in isolation. To do justice to a work on this scale requires
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acknowledge the friendships and associations that David and Garry share with some of
Liverpool’s legends of the Merseybeat and Beatles era.
During their rise to fame, The Beatles didn’t always give due credit to the many contributors who helped shape their success either, mostly due to Brian
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all. So we feel it’s only right to mention some here, because without them, there might not have been a Mersey scene at all, or The Beatles – or this work!
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Lee Curtis, Billy Butler, Alistair Taylor, Allan Williams, The Quarrymen,
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Beatles story. We were privileged to talk privately and record most of them over many years. Their personal insights have added so much to the making of this book.
We also could not have written this book without the research skills of Ed Jackson, who has been working with David since 2010 after Liddypool was
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Enevoldsen for his research for the Jimmie Nicol Story. Also a thank you to Jim Berkenstadt for his assistance, as well as the many family and friends of those people featured in this book, too numerous to mention here. Our expert
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Bounds, have also contributed greatly to the book.
Last, but by no means least, the two people without whom we could not have produced this book. Firstly, we owe a great debt of thanks to Mark Naboshek, whose tireless work in editing this book has been invaluable in producing Finding the Fourth Beatle. We couldn’t have done it without him. And secondly, to Paul Skellett, for his unique art and design skills in putting the book together. Thank you both.
David Bedford
David Bedford missed the longest party in music history by a whisker, but since
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the heart of Liverpool’s Dingle district where his family lived within a drum beat of Ringo’s home in Madryn Street. They were both as close to the river as it gets without falling in. It was this closeness and familiarity that drew David into the successful campaign to save Ringo’s birthplace from demolition.
The Dingle was also where he met and married his wife, Alix. She was just 17… well, you know what I mean? Today, she’s the boss and they live in Mossley
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education many years earlier.
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to join a band, go to jail, or take up writing to keep idle hands busy. But write about what? This was the question. So began what has since become a lifetime’s quest to discover as much as he could about The Beatles, Merseybeat and Liverpool.
It’s been a long and winding road since then, starting when he began writing
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The experience opened up a new career as a dedicated researcher and writer, resulting in the publication of his much applauded book, Liddypool – Birthplace of The Beatles in 2009. Its success triggered David’s passion to uncover even more about The Beatles early history, and four more years of diligent research resulted in his second mighty book, The Fab One Hundred and FourLQ +HDOVRFRDXWKRUHGThe Beatles BookZLWK+XQWHU'DYLHV6SHQFHU/HLJKDQG .HLWK%DGPDQLQ
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as well as being a highly valued historical researcher for Get Back Films and producer Garry Popper. It was this collaboration which led to a eureka moment
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Liverpool runs through David Bedford and Garry Popper’s veins like the River Mersey itself. Coming from the birthplace of The Beatles also gives them big advantages over other writers in their understanding of the nature of the city, its people and its music history, hence Finding The Fourth Beatle brings with it an
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Garry Popper was born in 1948 in Liverpool’s quiet district of Knotty Ash. Famous for its jam butty mines and comedian Ken Dodd, Knotty Ash nestles
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played host to a vast tented transit camp for American and British Empire troops in both world wars.
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focal point in the evenings when the Jack Jackson show and Radio Luxembourg whined to life as the tuner homed in. Weeoo.. weeoooo!. Wonderful!
Garry was also a frequent visitor to his Uncle Ed’s café, which was a haven for
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stacked with the latest chart hits from, mostly from America. The jukebox
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Music was still only a pastime, because his growing artistic talent was to take
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terraces of Gambier Terrace, directly opposite the Anglican Cathedral, the Art
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Garry’s journey into the world of art and design led to Liverpool College of
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photography, and also developed an interest in writing, inspired by his poet tutor,
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took him away from Liverpool in the 1970s, beginning as a graphic designer and
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Manager and Marketing Director before going it alone as a design consultant. During this time he also indulged in staging dance events and bought two
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Stewart, Paul McCartney’s band Wings and many others in what he fondly remembers was his own magical mystery tour!
The journey came full circle in 2010 when he returned to Liverpool to set up Get Back Films with partners John Adams and Roger Appleton, to produce the music documentary, Get Back – The Story of The City That Rocked the World in
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and producing this book, he is busy preparing the next documentary – something called Finding the Fourth Beatle.
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41. Why Did They Want to Get Rid of Pete Best? 209 42. After The Beatles: The Pete Beat Goes On 212
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Examining The Evidence 214
44. The Beatles Are Dead. Long Live The Fab Four 222
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49. Analysing Ringo Starr: Is Ringo a Great Drummer or the
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Fourth Beatle for a Fortnight 274
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Foreword by Sam Leach 7
Behind The Fourth Beatle 9
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4. Liverpool: The Fifth Beatle? 20
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with The Beatles 71
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Together for the First Time 99
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Lifting the Fog of Smoke and Mirrors 111
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CONTENTS
7
FOREWORD
by Sam Leach
Sam Leach was a legendary promoter on the Merseybeat scene, and a great friend to The Beatles. Anyone who takes a critical look back on the formative years of The Beatles will discover Sam at the very epicentre of the story. This savvy promoter was among the very first to see their potential, taking them from the smaller Liverpool clubs and booking them into the larger venues like the Tower Ballroom where their unique style of rock ‘n’ roll could be heard by a greater number of locals. Sam worked with a lot of the drummers featured in this book, and he offered us his thoughts on them in his last interview, given shortly before his death at the end of 2016. He was a dear friend, and an essential part of Beatles, and Merseybeat, history. David Bedford and Garry Popper
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and that was as close as I got to playing a drum roll!
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Liverpool bands in clubs like the Cassanova Club, the Iron Door, and of course at New Brighton’s Tower Ballroom. They told me I was mad to try and promote groups at the Tower, but I knew it could work. I laid on buses so that everyone could stay to the end, and those Operation Big Beats became the best concerts ever on Merseyside, with all the top groups.
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best drummer in Liverpool. There was nobody like him, and he could sing, too.
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Three were the best band in Liverpool. Cass had left The Cassanovas and, now as The Big Three, they honed their sound, and there was probably only Rory Storm
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had a big personality. With them all in suits, dancing in time like The Shadows, they always drew a big crowd.
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Never Walk Alone’ and, as a group, they were tight, and top performers. They were running neck and neck with The Beatles, and I promised them, once I had secured a deal for The Beatles, they would be next. Freddie Marsden was a really good drummer, and helped develop the sound of the Pacemakers, though the group was really about Gerry as the front man.
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drummer, and versatile, which a lot of people don’t realise, and the group had
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socialise with the others, and was more of an introvert. I started promoting them
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I Say’, which I remember on one occasion going on for nearly 20 minutes, before
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like Pete did, though not as dominant.
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make a record. I hired a car to impress them, and tried to get them to London, though ended up in Aldershot. At the same time, Eppy had come on the scene,
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but Brian took their raw talent, and cleaned them up. I didn’t like it at the time, but it worked, and you can’t deny that. Brian was the only one who could have
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Sam Leach
Beatles Friend and Promoter
9
BEHIND THE FOURTH BEATLE
It’s been nearly fifty years since the breakup of the most famous band in the world. Many books and
many stories about those four fab lads have emerged since then. Incredibly, in all that time, no one
has fully revealed the conflicts and clashes of personality that shaped one of the most crucial periods
of The Beatles history – their ‘dubious origins’ as Lennon put it.
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In the end, the Fabs made it to the toppermost of the poppermost. But, as is so often forgotten by writers and fans taking the magical music history tour, they made it literally by the skin of a drum. For that reason alone, Finding The Fourth Beatle is an important reminder about how essential to the story the crises were – far more in fact than has previously been acknowledged or written about.
10
TESTING BEATLES HISTORY: JUST GIMME SOME CON
FAB
ULATION
I’m sick and tired of hearing things... I’ve had enough of reading things...
All I want is the truth, Just gimme some truth.
John Lennon
Confabulation is a memory problem in which the individual produces false memories. When people confabulate, they either report remembering events that never occurred, or remember events as having occurred at an incorrect time or place. For example, a person who is confabulating may report a conversation that never occurred, or may report a conversation that occurred three years ago as having happened today.
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for the subject. Because of the subject matter, it is almost impossible for authors to stay impartial. An author who has taken a similar approach to us is Erin Torkelson
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promote “Love Me Do”, which is reproduced in this book. It started the pattern of telling The Beatles’ story in their own way, and as they want you to know it.
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period, it gives the boys’ own spin on Beatles history. Still, it remains a unique,
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are Michael Braun’s Love Me Do! The Beatles’ Progress, and the The Beatles Book Monthly, an incredible resource rife with interviews with key, and
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In the 1970s, John Lennon gave several lengthy interviews, including the legendary ones with Rolling Stone and PlayboyDVZHOODVOHVVHUNQRZQ
accounts like the Red Mole interviews where he went into greater detail about his political opinions. In 1980, there was a series of new interviews as he prepared to return to the public arena with his new album, Double Fantasy.
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only to be robbed of his life in such a tragic way.
In the 1980s, we had Philip Norman’s Shout!, which was the most comprehensive
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Emerick did the opposite, praising McCartney over Lennon in Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles.
Many more memoirs and personal recollections have given us the story from other personal viewpoints, which often means that there is a bias. McCartney
11
Documentary evidence is not open to speculation, though it can be misinterpreted, but the most crucial part of either the defence or prosecution is the summoning of their eyewitnesses. These people can swing a case either way, depending on their
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are telling the truth, or lying under oath. What we have done is examine not only the eyewitness testimony of those who were intimately involved in The Beatles’
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The Beatles. Of course, we know that none of us authors is infallible!
:KHUHSRVVLEOHZHKDYHLQWHUYLHZHGWKRVHNH\H\HZLWQHVVHVDJDLQ+RZHYHU EHFDXVHVRPDQ\RIWKRVH¿UVWKDQGREVHUYHUVDUHQRORQJHUZLWKXVZHKDYHWR
also apply similar tests to the authors.
We present the case for the prosecution and defence; you are the jury who will examine the evidence.
The Tests
Can the eyewitness testimony be trusted? Since it is the most vital of evidence, and can be compelling and convincing, we have used these tests:
1. Intention. Was the intention of the writer or eyewitness to accurately preserve history, or did they have an ulterior motive in presenting their testimony
LQWKLVZD\"³+HDUVD\DQGXQYHUL¿HGWHVWLPRQ\LVRIWHQPLVUHSUHVHQWHGDVIDFW´ (The Beatles and the Historians: An Analysis of Writings About the Fab Four)
2. Bias. Is there a bias by the author or eyewitness to make either themselves or those around them look better than they really were? Is it
REMHFWLYHKRQHVWDQGIDLU"³0DQ\DXWKRUVRI%HDWOHVERRNVXVHWHFKQLFDOO\
factual evidence in misleading ways – for example, by quoting a source who supports the author’s point of view while ignoring countervailing evidence...
ZKHQLQIDFWLWZDVMXVWRQHVRXUFH¶VSHUVSHFWLYHRQDJLYHQHYHQW´ (A Day in the Life - Mark Hertsgaard)
7LPLQJ+RZFORVHWRWKHHYHQWLVWKHWHVWLPRQ\JLYHQ"7KHFORVHUWKH
eyewitness testimony is to the date of the event, the less likely the possibility for legendary embellishment or development. We take into account faulty memories and wishful thinking, as well as deliberate revisionism.
4. Is there multiple, corroborative, independent attestation? What other eyewitness accounts or physical evidence is there that can corroborate the
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more reliable it is, and the more likely it is to be accurate. It doesn’t mean that a single source should be discounted, but a higher level of scrutiny is required.
³(\HZLWQHVVWHVWLPRQ\WKDWODFNVYHUL¿FDWLRQIURPRWKHULQGHSHQGHQWVRXUFHV ZLOO EH UHJDUGHG DV YDOXDEOH EXW QRW XQTXHVWLRQDEOH +RZHYHU H\HZLWQHVV WHVWLPRQ\ZLOOEHJUDQWHGPRUHZHLJKWWKDQVHFRQGKDQGDFFRXQWVRUKHDUVD\´ (The Beatles and the Historians:An Analysis of Writings About the Fab Four)
2UDO+LVWRU\+DYHWKHDFFRXQWVEHHQSDVVHGGRZQVRPDQ\WLPHVWKDW HUURUVFUHHSLQUHVXOWLQJLQDQDFFLGHQWDO³WUXWK´EHLQJSHUSHWXDWHG",WKDVEHHQ ZRUNHGZLWK%DUU\0LOHVRQDELRJUDSK\Many Years From NowDVKHVRXJKWWR
put over his story, and George published I Me Mine to tell his version of Beatles history.
Ringo, the subject of surprisingly few biographies, would tell his story through the songs he recorded from 2008 onward.
Unfortunately, the facts woven into many Beatles books have seldom been
FKDOOHQJHG³7KH\ZHUHUHSHDWHGLQELRJUDSK\DIWHUELRJUDSK\DQGIURPnarrative to narrative until they became accepted wisdom. Numerous Beatles authors also apply a blatant moral double standard: absolving or omitting the FKDUDFWHUDQG PXVLFDOÀDZVRIWKHLUIDYRXULWH%HDWOHZKLOHHPSKDVL]LQJRU LQYHQWLQJ WKRVH RI WKH JURXS¶V RWKHU PHPEHUV´(The Beatles and the Historians: An Analysis of Writings About the Fab Four)
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gave us Anthology in the 1990s, including archival interviews from John.The documentary and book were promoted as The Beatles’ own story, told in their own words. But as historian and author Erin Torkelson Weber wrote: ³:LWK IRXU YRLFHV R൵HULQJ WKHLU RZQ SHUVRQDO YLHZ RI 7KH %HDWOHV¶ VWRU\ GL൵HUHQW PHPRULHV RI HYHQWV HPHUJHG PRVW RIWHQ EHWZHHQ 0F&DUWQH\ DQG +DUULVRQ %RWKPHQ¶VDFFRXQWVDUHVHOIVHUYLQJ´(The Beatles and the Historians: An Analysis of Writings About the Fab Four)
A new breed of Beatles author emerged in Mark Lewisohn, who had been heavily involved in the AnthologySURMHFW+LVRXWVWDQGLQJERRNV±The Beatles Live!, A Day In The Life, The Beatles Chronicles and The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions±VKRXOGEHLQHYHU\VHULRXV%HDWOHIDQ¶VFROOHFWLRQ+RZHYHU
Tune InKLV¿UVWYROXPHLQDWULORJ\PHDQWWRFUHDWHWKHEHVWDQGPRVWFRPSOHWH KLVWRU\RI7KH%HDWOHVLVGL൵HUHQWWRKLVHDUOLHUZRUNVDVLWLVDELRJUDSK\QRW
a reference book, and should be tested in the same way as other books. ³7KRVH Beatles writers who dispute Lewisohn’s interpretations will be faced with two FKRLFHV,QRUGHUWRHVWDEOLVKDFRXQWHUQDUUDWLYHWKH\FDQHLWKHUXVH/HZLVRKQ¶V VRXUFHVDQGLQWHUSUHWWKHPLQGL൵HUHQWZD\VRUGLVFRYHUQHZHTXDOO\FUHGLEOH VRXUFHVZKLFKFRQWUDGLFW/HZLVRKQ¶V´(The Beatles and the Historians: An Analysis of Writings About the Fab Four)
We have therefore decided to examine every aspect of the Fourth Beatle story
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replaced Pete, without bias to either, and giving credit where it is due. We have applied standard tests used by historians to examine the evidence and every account of these events, and have shown at each relevant stage what tests we have applied, as well as our conclusions based on the evidence. If there is not
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then we have also made that clear. We have also included the relevant source in the text, whether author interview or other source.
Eyewitnesses
In any legal hearing or trial, there is the case for the defence and the case for the prosecution. Both sides will attempt to provide proof, beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused is either innocent or guilty.
12
said that if you tell a lie often enough and loud enough, people believe it is true.
That is why we have approached this book with an open mind, accepting nothing and challenging everything.
&RQVLVWHQF\Do all the accounts concur, or are there discrepancies?
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the truth? As historians, the truth is often unattainable, but we must gather as much evidence as possible, and get as close as we can to the truth.
Documentary Evidence
There are many documents available for inspection. Printed materials like letters, contracts, posters, tickets and programs help us clearly corroborate the events and support, or refute, eyewitness testimonies.
Experts
Weber says that when analysing The Beatles’ music and musicianship, we should
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particularly those with no musical training, to bestow or withhold the title of
JHQLXVRQPXVLFLDQV´(The Beatles and the Historians: An Analysis of Writings About the Fab Four)
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abilities of Pete Best and Ringo Starr, we have consulted independent experts
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humble opinion as uninformed authors. When combined with the musical evidence and opinion of these experts, we will present the case and leave it to you to make your judgement.
For parts of The Beatles story, we have had to take independent legal advice as to the status of various contracts and agreements that underpin the relationship the group had with record companies and manager Brian Epstein. This has helped us to understand the events more clearly.
Evidence and Proof
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J. Warner Wallace – Cold Case Christianity ± VD\V WKDW ³ZKLOH HYLGHQFH LV D
matter of objective truth, proof is in the mind of the evaluator, and many of us
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evidence like eyewitness testimony and documents all day long, but you have to have an open mind to examine it, and decide if the evidence supports the facts
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Evidence: 7KHIDFWVZHR൵HUWRVXSSRUWRXUFODLPVRIWUXWKProof:
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Abductive Reasoning
When examining testimony and evidence, we sometimes have to consider the implications of what has been revealed. There are several ways of doing this,
and one of the most dangerous is speculation, which can be constructed to suit
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reasoning approach, which is a form of logical conclusion, which starts with
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explanation. It is important, therefore, to keep away from supposition, speculation and presumption where no evidence exists, and we have endeavoured to follow the evidence. We have therefore ensured that we have shown our sources within
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You Decide
Don’t just take our word, or the words of any author, based solely on who we are, our reputations, or previous works, but on the facts and evidence put before you. The truth is what you make of it, based on the evidence, not the writer. To counter an argument made with evidence, you need to provide rebuttal evidence. To quote Daniel Patrick Moynihan;
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion,
but not his own facts.”
As John Lennon said:
MEET THE BEATLES
When “Love Me Do” was issued in October 1962, Parlophone released a press release that for the first
time, told the story of The Beatles.
2
As you will read, even with The Beatles themselves providing the information, the myths have begun, and have been repeated so many times. It is because of this that we have examined every account of The Beatles’ history, from this press release, through Beatles Book Monthly +XQWHU 'DYLHV¶ DXWKRULVHG ELRJUDSK\
The Beatles, their own Anthology and up to and including Tune In.
On page three of the press release, we are told of the “background story of Britain’s most exciting new vocal and instrumental R & B quartet.”
This is their version of Beatles history: how many errors can you spot?
CHURCH HALL HOPS AND A CHINATOWN STRIP JOINT
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of maturing musical notions and solid practical experience which has taken them
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quartet.
Hamburgers and Beatles
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increasingly important venues on each occasion.
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release of a disc featuring The Beatles with vocalist Tony Sheridan.
Mersey BEAT
-ALLS
Meanwhile, back at the Mersey ranch, The Beatles had gathered such a faithful following of fans that capacity crowds were commonplace wherever the dynamic foursome played.
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DIGGING MOGULS
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Epstein decided that the time was ripe for his talented quartet to make itself
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eventually made himself and his precious bundle of tapes heard to recording manager George Martin. George was enthusiastic enough to schedule a swift
recording session for The Beatles and two of the group’s most popular
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17
OUR DRUM EXPERTS
In a book about drummers, as neither author is a drummer himself, we felt that it
was appropriate to bring in experts to analyse the drummers being discussed.
3
Analysing Pete Best
When analysing the early Beatles, especially the various recording sessions with
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to the recordings and give us their objective feedback. None of them had listened to these studio recordings before. When analysing the Decca audition, we also enlisted the help of experienced record producer Steve Levine, whose unique insight helps us understand what Decca was likely looking for, what he would have been looking for, and how The Beatles would have fared with other record companies.
Analysing Ringo
To analyse Ringo’s recordings, we recruited two experienced drummers who have been studying his recording career for their book, Ringo Starr andThe Beatles Beat. Alex Cain and Terry McCusker have 80 years drumming experience between them and, in their book, have critically analysed every song The Beatles recorded. We also enlisted the help of two drummers who work closely with Ringo: Gary Astridge and Rob Shanahan. Producer Steve Levine was also asked for his observations on Ringo, having worked with him when producing The Beach Boys. Finally, we wanted to have the input of drummers who have been trying to play
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Ringo’s drumming for years, and provide unique insight into the often complex drum patterns that Ringo created, and the challenges they faced trying to get that
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Our drummers are:
Gary Astridge
A drummer and collector of replicas of Ringo’s drum kits, Gary has now assumed
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Alex Cain
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on Channel 4’s Brookside and Hollyoaks, plus numerous productions for BBC,
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documentary of another of his heroes, Dennis Wilson – The Real Beach Boy.
Derek Hinton
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is a Beatles fan.
Andrew Hinton
Andrew, Derek’s son, is an excellent drummer, bassist and lead guitarist.
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18
19
Phil Kelly
Phil has been playing drums in various Beatles tribute bands for many years now, and has spent many hours studying Ringo’s drum style and performances so that he can recreate them as closely as possible when he plays.
Mitch Kozera
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bands in Michigan since the 1980s.
Lou Longobardi
A lifelong Beatles fan who saw The Beatles at Shea, Lou is also a drummer
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studied the music of The Beatles for many years.
Terry McCusker
Terry worked in the same building as the Cavern and became a regular at the
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bands he had watched, and became a freelancer, performing all over Europe, America and the Middle East. Terry has been studying the drumming of Ringo
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Mike Rice
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Best and Ringo Starr, and saw both drum with The Beatles.
Rob Shanahan
Rob has been photographing Ringo – and most of the top rock stars on the planet
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drumming technique.
Drummers? You Can’t Beat Them
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subjective and you may or may not agree with these drummers. That is why we have created the Finding the Fourth Beatle Album with over 40 tracks featuring
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the Tony Sheridan recording, Decca audition, Parlophone audition and the two September sessions at EMI Studios. Read the opinions of the drummers, listen to the tracks, and see whether or not you agree.
20
LIVERPOOL: THE FIFTH BEATLE?
It’s clichéd, but yes, The Beatles phenomenon really did change everything, especially in Liverpool. More than being the most famous band in music history,
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revolution, we owe it to the memory of many people who also played their part to put an end to the myths and deliberate misinformation. Liverpool’s musical tidal wave didn’t begin or end with The Beatles alone.
They were only one of hundreds of bands in the city, and this is still the case today! For serious music lovers and Beatles fans to fully appreciate the essence
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heritage provided the essential seed bed for their characters to develop and grow. Just as important is the need to appreciate that, despite revisionist nonsense, London wasn’t, and still isn’t, at the epicentre of everything that happens in
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London’s now legendary 2i’s Café, the capital made no direct contribution to the birth of the Merseybeat revolution – a true teenage phenomenon which
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nonexistent until the cream of Liverpool talent was forced to head south to the record label’s studios
Scouse, Not English
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geographically disconnected from London. It’s as much a state of mind as
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of their ancestor’s struggle for independence.
It’s not surprising that Liverpool is referred to as the capital of Ireland. The cry
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underlying nature.
Like many northern towns, the port has always had a strong sense of close community spirit. Fiercely communal in outlook, the port has a powerful matriarchal heartbeat at its core, borne from centuries of developed inner
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weeks or months at a time. There’s an old saying in Liverpool that men rule the roost but it’s the women who decide what they think – and when! An example can be seen in John Lennon’s close maternal family, the Stanleys, where attitudes
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Maritime Influences
Until recent times, Liverpool was Britain’s second biggest maritime gateway
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and export link to the Americas. This led the newly independent American