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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Aaron Curran

Man who was a Beatle for two weeks but many people forget

The final line-up of the Beatles is known across the world.

However, across their time as a band, the Fab Four had several other members for short spells. One of the more well known is Pete Best, the original drummer before Ringo.

The late Stuart Sutcliffe acted as the original bassist before his death at 21. However, there is one stand-in member for the band which some may not know about.

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Before the Beatles' 1964 world tour, Ringo Starr was struck down with acute tonsillitis and pharyngitis, making him unable to play. To replace him, London drummer Jimmie Nicol was drafted in to the band.

Nicol played ten gigs with the band, plus a TV appearance during which the group mimed to their songs. He even wore Ringo Starr's suit on stage, with strategically-placed clothes pegs used to make his jacket fit.

According to reports, Jimmie Nicol was paid around £40 a week, or £640 in today's money. He was officially part of the band for 13 days, and his music career would never reach those heights again after he finished deputising.

Nicol played Beatles gigs in Denmark, Hong Kong, Australia and Holland - where Jimmie also sat-in briefly with a nightclub band. Ringo re-joined the group in Australia, allowing Jimmie to return home with a large pay-cheque and a gold watch, as a "thank you" from Brian Epstein and the boys.

Speaking about this time in Anthology, Ringo Starr said: “It was very strange, them going off without me. They’d taken Jimmie Nicol and I thought they didn’t love me any more – all that stuff went through my head.”

Nicol would later describe the experience as both the best thing and the worst thing that ever happened to him. Sadly, he would never enjoy huge success and would be later made bankrupt and is now believed to be living in Mexico.

Join our The Beatles Nostalgia group for our biggest stories about the band.

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