From the Cavern to the Palladium

Among the new songs they started writing immediately was one song called “Love Me Do,” written by John and Paul. The audition on June 6, 1962, seemed to go extremely well, but they didn't hear back from George Martin immediately. In late July he contacted Brian to offer them a recording contract. But before they could record, the Beatles had to make a substantial change in their lineup: Pete Best, their drummer for two years, would have to go. Martin felt his playing wasn't solid enough for the band. It was Brian's duty to break the news to Pete. Pete later recalled the meeting: “He said George Martin wasn't too pleased with my playing. He said the boys thought I didn't fit in. But there didn't seem anything definite. At last I said, if that's the way it is, then that's it.” His replacement would be Ringo Starr, the fun-loving young drummer from one of the roughest parts of Liverpool, whom the band had met during their very first stay in Hamburg.

Ringo was born Richard Starkey on July 7, 1940. His parents were both working class, and they split when Ringo was only three. Ringo, like all of the other Beatles, hadn't been particularly interested in music as a child and had not learned any instrument. When the skiffle craze set in during his teenage years, Ringo was drawn to the drums, so his father bought him a cheap drum kit. Ringo eventually became the regular drummer for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, who, like the Beatles, had performed on Hamburg stages. It was there that Ringo first did stand-in engagements with the Beatles, and hung out with them a bit in between gigs. When the Beatles eventually offered him Pete Best's job, he was pondering an offer from another group. Luckily, the Beatles offered slightly more money, and the rest is history.