Early Recordings Of Ringo Starr’s First Band Unearthed

People who were born after Beatlemania, a fanaticism caused by The Beatles, may find it difficult to imagine a world without the Fab Four as icons of the 1960s era. The same also applies when you imagine the Beatles without Ringo Starr.

So once you find a picture of the earlier version of The Beatles consisting of five men, with Pete Best on drums and Stuart Sutcliffe on bass, you might regard these two misfits as “imposters.” But little do some people know, John Lennon’s early skiffle group, which he founded when he was in High School, was the pupa to the future The Beatles group.

Sometime in 1957, Paul McCartney met Lennon, and then he got admitted to the group. Following that, he introduced to the band his younger friend, George Harrison. In 1960, they performed as a five-man group. During the same period, the band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes welcomed Ringo Starr.

Their performance in a certain competition paved the way for their prominence in the Liverpool music scene. Fast forward, the Rory Storm and the Hurricanes played a significant role to introduce rock ‘n’ roll to the clubs of Liverpool, one of which is The Cavern Club.

The Cavern Club was a haven for jazz fanatics at that time. Starr and his band performed at that club for the very first time in January 1960 as part of the jazz festival. In a video posted below, the band opened with “Cumberland Gap,” a skiffle song by Lonnie Donegan.

As the set unfolded, they played Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On.” This seems to amuse the audience a lot and they even throw pennies toward the band. However, since rock ‘n’ roll is strictly prohibited in the clubs there, the band needed to pay a fine for violating it.

Prior to Starr joining The Beatles, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes spent the following two years rising to the top of the Merseybeat scene.