On June 6, 1962, at the Abbey Road studios, The Beatles passed Martin's audition with the exception of Pete Best. Then came Pete Best who was not considered by the other band members to be the greatest drummer, and they were keen to recruit Ringo as his replacement. At one point they were so desperate, that they even invited strangers from the audience to fill the position.
He wanted to leave The Hurricanes to join another group called "The Seniors."īefore Ringo, The Beatles tried several other drummers. Ringo's group was at times sharing popularity with The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. The Hurricanes topped the bill at one of Liverpool's clubs, where The Beatles also had a gig.
Rory Storm encouraged Richard to enhance his career by legally changing his name to Ringo Starr. He traveled from band to band, but he eventually landed a spot with "Raving Texans", which was a backing band for Rory Storm, later known as "Rory Storm & The Hurricanes", a popular band at that time Liverpool. Although he was self-taught, he was a good time-keeper, and developed an original beat with his signature accentuations, due to his left-handed manner of playing on the right-handed drum set. At that time he became known as Ritchie, and eventually became caught in the Liverpool's Skiffle craze. In 1957, together with Eddie Miles, he started his own band called 'Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group'. His dream came true, when his stepfather bought him a new drum kit, and Richard promised to be the best drummer ever. Ringo injured his finger on the first day of his new job, and then he decided to become a drummer.
His second job was a barman on a ferry to New Brighton, and his next was as a trainee joiner at Henry Hunt & Sons. At that time he dropped out of school and got his first job was as a delivery boy for British Rail. Meanwhile, Richard's mother Elsie had married Harry Graves, the man who her son referred to as a "step-ladder".Īt the age of 15 he could barely read or write, although he had aptitude for practical subjects such as woodwork and mechanics. A few lung complications followed, which resulted in a treatment in yet another children's hospital, this time until 1955. At age 13 he caught a cold that turned into chronic pleurisy, causing him another stay at a hospital in Liverpool. When he finally was able to go back to school, he learned that he was far behind in his studies. Shortly after he came out of the coma, he was trying to offer a toy bus to another boy in an adjoining bed, but fell and suffered from a concussion. Ringo was in a coma, and his recovery took a couple of months, during which more operations were performed, and he was known to be accident-prone. While attending Silas Infants' Schools he suffered from many afflictions that basically ruined his education: he had constant abdominal pains, was once diagnosed with a ruptured appendix that led to an inflamed peritoneum, which also led to one of his first surgeries. His parents divorced when he was three and he and his mother, Elsie, moved to another home in Liverpool. His father, Richard Starkey, was a former dockworker turned baker his mother, Elsie (Gleave) Starkey, was a bakery worker. He was born Richard Starkey on July 7, 1940, in a small two-storey house in the working class area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Ringo Starr is a British musician, actor, director, writer, and artist best known as the drummer of The Beatles who also coined the title 'A Hard day's Night' for The Beatles' first movie.