Only two days after Pete Best was fired as the drummer of the Beatles, the group performed their first official gig with Ringo.The concert took place at Hulme Hall in Birkenhead – a ferry ‘cross the Mersey away from Liverpool – on Aug. 18, 1962.
Starr, who had been poached from Rory
Storm and the Hurricanes, was no stranger to the Beatles. He met them
back in 1959 and occasionally sat in with them over the years when Best
was unable to make it. When discussion about firing Best began, it was George who lobbied for Ringo. “To me it was apparent,” he said in ‘Anthology.’
“Pete kept being sick and not showing up for gigs so we would get Ringo
to sit in with the band instead, and every time Ringo sat in, it seemed
like ‘this is it.’ Eventually we realized, ‘We should get Ringo in the
band full time.’”
Even though the Beatles had already become the first band from
Liverpool to have a recording contract, they were nonetheless in awe of
Starr. “We really started to think we needed ‘the greatest drummer in
Liverpool,’” Paul said (also in ‘Anthology’). “And the greatest drummer in our eyes was a
guy, Ringo Starr, who had changed his name before any of us, who had a
beard and was grown up and was known to have a Zephyr Zodiac.”
After a two-hour rehearsal, the band
performed at a dance sponsored by the local horticultural society. The
gig went off without incident, but by the next day, news of Best’s
firing had made its way through the city. Their evening slot at the
Cavern was marked by protests from Best’s fans — judged to be about half
the crowd — who had objected to the decision. George was even
attacked in the hallway between the band room and the stage, which gave
him a black eye.
But the controversy soon died down. During their lunchtime gig at the
Cavern on Aug. 22, the group were filmed by Granada Television
performing ‘Some Other Guy’ for their ‘Know the North’ program. The
video, which is embedded above, shows no dissent apart from someone
shouting “We want Pete” at the song’s end.
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