Just Ringo✨️

When my uncle told Lennon that I was born near Frankfurt, the son of a Jewish-American father and a German-Protestant mother, John quipped that I was lucky to belong to both the Chosen People and the Master Race. He then began peppering me with German phrases he remembered from his early days in the red-light district of Hamburg with the Beatles, for instance: “Um zweiundzwanzig Uhr müssen alle Jugendliche den Saal verlassen” – At 10:00 p.m. all minors must leave the premises – and “Ficken, lecken, blasen!” – fuck, suck, blow.

John Lennon: Living on Borrowed Time, Frederic Seaman (1991)

Pages from Klaus Voormann's ICONIC – The Graphic Novel of The Beatles Revolver Cover Artwork

I copied and pasted another article about this, fearing the lost of information, since most blogs like these lead to dead links in a few years or so

When Paul met George [article]

George Harrison did not recall his time at Liverpool Institute High School with affection. “That’s when the darkness came in. Be here, stand there, shut up, sit down. You could punch people just to get it out of your system. It was the worst time of my life.”

The ‘punch people’ reference confirms that George was not a model pupil. Paul also refers to George ‘head-butting’ an older boy a perceived slight.

Harrison & McCartney had both passed their 11+ exams, a year apart. This enabled them both to attend selective school in the city centre. The Liverpool Institute High School was a prestigious, academic school — and Harrison hated it from the start.

The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys offered a course in music. To George Harrison’s disappointment, this did not cover either guitars or rock and roll. He did not partake — a statement that could have been applied generally to his secondary education. Most classroom time he spent drawing his favourite guitars.

The school for its part was not impressed by Harrison’s disruptive behaviour. And while over at Quarrybank, John Lennon’s similar unruliness was accompanied by signs of artistic talent, George had no obvious redeeming features.

As Aunt Mimi would disapprovingly observe he presented as ‘very dose’ — in short a lower class loudmouth from Speke, then a notoriously tough area. His loathing of the Liverpool Institute was palpable and the contempt was mutual. His teachers wrote George off as someone destined for factory work, at best.

This was not its perception of Paul McCartney, who while not an academic star, showed promise. Paul (usually) did his homework and (largely) kept himself off the naughty step. He was even enthusiastic about English, though his may be overplayed in his later reflections.

Like George, Paul had no interest in studying music at school. He, too, saw no connection between the rock and roll they listened to and the dusty scores studied in music class.

In playground the age difference between Paul and George was a practical and psychological barrier to socialising. Kids hung out with kids in their year group. Other fraternising was largely reduced to brief nods when you passed your brother/cousin/next door neighbour.

Outside the school’s premises the social rules were looser. Though they lived in different areas, both boys took the same bus into town. This is where their paths would cross, as George would later explain:

he … had the same uniform and was going the same way as I was so I started hanging out with him.”

George later joked that Paul had struck him as odd

he sitting by himself & laughing! I thought we had a real nut on our hands!

Nonetheless, the two boys quickly found they shared musical tastes. Paul was then learning the trumpet his father had bought him for his birthday but not enjoying it. He swapped it for a guitar, which instantly took to.

Soon they were swapping notes, in every sense. They studied chord charts together and carefully observed other musicians trying more advanced sequences. Once they even travelled across the city to meet a man who knew a magical new chord: B7

Even at this stage, Paul was the senior partner and not just because of age. His stronger musical background and innate gifts allowed him to master an instrument intuitively. By the age of fifteen he was confident enough to approach Lennon as an equal if not superior musician.

Very soon a vacancy came up for a third guitarist Quarrymen. Paul knew just the man — or rather boy, as George was still only fourteen. Lennon hated the idea of ‘a bloody kid’ joining his band but Paul persuaded give George an audition.

This famously occurred on the deserted top-deck of a late-night bus. George played Raunchy — note perfect.

Though he may at this stage have lacked Paul’s musical creativity, George was fiercely committed. The endless practice hours of guitar practice had paid off. He was in.

How George and Paul met Being childhood friends George and Paul knew each other the longest. Meeting when they were 12 and 13. They met on the bus. They would take the same bus route into town, they both went to Liverpool Institute of High School, it wasn't common to have younger or older friends, you would stick to your own year, but on the outside it was different. This is where they’re paths would cross.

George says Paul struck him as odd. When George was getting on the bus, he thought Paul was laughing at him, but then realized Paul wasn’t laughing at anyone around him, he was giggling at his own reflection.

“Q: How did you first meet Paul?

A: On a bus coming home from school. He was sitting by himself and laughing! thought we had a real nut on our hands!”

Nowhere man: The final days of John Lennon. Robert Rosen

Prisoner of Love: Inside the Dakota with John Lennon. Peter Doggett | Release cancelled in 2021

Lennon in America. Geoffrey Giuliano

Get Back Rewatch 55 Years On: Day 17

George is so sweet to put so much effort into helping Ringo write his song and to not ask for any kind of writing credit. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, right? But also, I’d do that for Ringo too if I were him. Ringo deserves it for everything he’s given to that band and the little credit he’s received. 

“What am I playing, Richie?” “You’ll be on drooms.” If the Beatles know how to do one thing, it’s be cute. 

John, stop talking about Paul’s strong arms, you're embarrassing yourself. 

I do have to just include this here. From my Get Back book. I never heard, “was it sexually oriented?” on the nagra reels, but apparently that’s what Peter Jackson’s cleaned-up version gave him, and again, he was like, “hmm. Too gay.” 

He’s known Heather for how long? Less than a year, right? But if somebody had showed me just this footage and told me he’d raised her from a newborn, I would not blink an eye. That kind of tired but fond interaction is exactly how a dad plays with his kid. And she’s climbing all over him and bossing him around like he’s never not been in her life. It’s beautiful. 

And John, with his “are you going to eat them?” is the perfect sort of bad-example favorite uncle. The kind that would check her out of school when she’s older and go get her ears pierced when her dad had said she was too young. 

Sorry, I promise I’m not just going to be thirsting over dad Paul this whole time. I have to just make one thing clear, and this is the only thing I’ll say on the subject and then I’m done. If a man is a 3 and a good dad, he’s a 10. Paul was already an 11, so I’m literally just done-for. Okay, I’ll shut up. 

John and Paul doing their usual thing, only paying attention to each other. Talking about an Elvis gospel ending for Let it Be. George, smirking, stands up: and we’ll all kneel as you do it. If John had said it, Paul would be in stitches. But George said it, and he might as well have never opened his mouth for all the notice he gets. And it’s honestly heartbreaking, if you can take your eyes off of the insanity of John and Paul’s weird eye-contact, to watch George’s face go from excited at his own wit and hopeful for a laugh to just completely downcast. Twelve years of that. Twelve years. 

Ringo, you’re an absolute saint. He’s being so sweet to Heather, even letting her mess with his symbols, and then Paul has the audacity to tell him to “keep it lighter.” Like. Paul. Do you think that maybe the fact that he’s got a five-year-old over there “helping” him might have anything to do with how the drums are coming out? Just a thought. Anyone else would at least have something to say about it. Ringo just sort of nods along but he looks SO tired.

TFW you’re inspiring the next generation of women to be loud and free and take up space.

“Dig it” is actually insane to me. I know I’m crazy, but remember those twin dreams they had about buried treasure when they first met? “If you want it, you can dig it up.” ???

When George and Paul just jump into harmonizing together when they’re talking about The Long and Winding Road arrangement? Their voices are like magic together. I wish they would’ve had George sing that part in the final thing, actually.  

The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, 9th February 1964

Ringo: the only thing I'm guilty of is being adorable!

Ringo: and also illegal street fighting

“and you don’t stroke hands with guys”

“not unless you’re secure..”

—

ringo is so tired

“With his long hair, pointy shoes, pink shirt and yellow waistcoat, George made a habit of tagging along with John and Cynthia wherever they went.”

"It was on such days as these that John and I would leave the college portals hand in hand for an afternoon at the cinema or a bus ride to see Aunt Mimi in Woolton, just happy being in each other's company for a while. It wouldn't be for long, though. Wandering along lost to the world we would be brought down to earth with a bump by a piercing whistle or yell from behind us that could only mean one thing-

George.

-

'Hi John, Hi Cyn.' He would hurriedly catch up to us and then it would be, 'Where are you two off to? Can I come?' Neither of us would have the heart to tell this thin gangly kid in school uniform to push off. Poor George! He hadn't really got to the stage of serious girlfriends yet and was totally unaware of what it was all about, Alfie! So we would spend the lost afternoon as a jolly threesome, wondering what on earth we were going to do with ourselves."

- A Twist of Lennon by Cynthia Lennon (via thateventuality)

Beatles Resources Masterpost

I've never seen anyone collect different Beatles resources all in one place, so I thought it would be nice to create a masterpost for newer or less research savvy Beatles fans looking for where to find them and learn more

Included below are Beatles movies, autobiographies, biographies, magazines, miscellaneous files, archive sites, and much more

This is by no means a comprehensive list of Beatles resources, as there is an often overwhelming amount of sources relating to and informative about the Beatles; this is simply a post to gather more important, prominent, and larger Beatle related texts and media together, as I would love for the online Beatles fan community to be more organized in its research and archive efforts

This is an extremely long post, enjoy!

*PLEASE READ DISCLAIMERS*

This post does not include links to Beatles music videos or where to listen to their music; however, I highly recommend listening to the updated remasters of The Beatles' albums done by Giles Martin, George Martin's son (the remasters done AFTER 2009) instead of the 2009 remasters when possible

There is a plethora of misinformation online about The Beatles so PLEASE do your own research, using reliable sources

Some sources have disclaimers attached, in case I believe they may to any degree be misleading or require additional context

All sources have been listed within sections chronologically, not in order of importance

If at any point any of the hyperlinks are broken or are not working, let me know and I’ll try my best to fix or update them

Some of the literary sources here are no longer being published, which is why I’m happy to supply the links here to read them online. However, if they are still in print and you’re able, please go borrow them from your local public library! Some of the movies and documentaries linked below can also be found on streaming or bought online; they are linked below for those unable to easily access them or for whatever other reason

There are some other important sources I could not find reuploads or scans of, but are still listed below in case someone is looking for more important sources

If I come across links to said sources I will edit this post and add them as hyperlinks. Additionally, if someone finds a working, safe link for anything listed without a link or for something they believe should be listed, they can message me and I'd be happy to add it

Movies Starring The Beatles as a Group

A Hard Day's Night (1964) dir. Richard Lester

Help! (1965) dir. Richard Lester

Magical Mystery Tour (1967) dir. The Beatles, Bernard Knowles

Yellow Submarine (1968) dir. George Dunning (The Beatles themselves do not voice their cartoon selves in this film)

Fictional/Partially Fictional Movies made by and/or Starring Beatles (A short selection of the films most often mentioned by Beatles fans)

How I Won the War (1967) dir. Richard Lester

Two Virgins (1968) dir. John Lennon, Yoko Ono

Candy (1968) dir. Christian Marquand

The Magic Christian (1969) dir. Joseph McGrath

Imagine (1972) dir. John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Steve Gebhardt (Some of the aspects in this film are fictional, and some are akin to a documentary)

Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984) dir. Peter Webb

Documentaries/Docuseries

Bed Peace (1969) dir. John Lennon, Yoko Ono (Yoko Ono has since said in 2020 she and John were naïve to think that doing the Bed-Ins would change the world)

Let It Be (1970 Original) dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg

Let It Be (2024 Remaster) dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg

The Concert for Bangladesh (1972) dir. Saul Swimmer

Imagine: John Lennon (1988) dir. Andrew Solt

The Beatles Anthology (1995) dir. Geoff Wonfor, Kevin Godley, Bob Smeaton (Focuses mainly on pre-1966 Beatles history and does not cover post-breakup events)

ep. 1 ep.2 George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011) dir. Martin Scorsese

The True History of the Traveling Wilburys (2007) dir. Willy Smax

ep.1 ep.2 ep.3 Get Back (2021) dir. Peter Jackson

Yoko's Films (including films that list John Lennon as a co-director)

Rape (1969) dir. Yoko Ono, John Lennon

Fly (1970) dir. Yoko Ono, John Lennon

Up Your Legs Forever (1971) dir. Yoko Ono, John Lennon

Movies Made about The Beatles

The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978) dir. Eric Idle, Gary Weis (Beatles parody)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) dir. Robert Zemeckis

The Hours and Times (1991) dir. Christopher Munch (This film is speculative)

Two of Us (2000) dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg (This film is speculative)

The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (2003) dir. Eric Idle (Beatles parody)

Books Written by The Beatles

In His Own Write (1964) by John Lennon

A Spainard in the Works (1965) by John Lennon

I Me Mine (1980) by George Harrison

Skywriting by Word of Mouth (posthumous, 1986) by John Lennon (Partially autobiographical and partially fictional)

The Beatles Anthology (2000) by The Beatles (Book version of the docuseries)

Postcards from the Boys (2004) by Ringo Starr

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present (2021) by Paul McCartney

Books Written about The Beatles

A Cellarful of Noise (1964) by Brian Epstein

Yellow Submarine Comic (1968) by Paul S. Newman

The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics (1969) ed. Alan Aldridge

The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics 2 (1971) ed. Alan Aldridge

A Twist of Lennon (1978) by Cynthia Lennon

Loving John (1983) by May Pang

Rock 'N' Roll Times: The Style and Spirit of the Early Beatles and Their First Fans (1983) by Jürgen Vollmer

John (2005) by Cynthia Lennon

Wonderful Today (2007) by Pattie Boyd with Penny Junor

Miss O'Dell: my hard days and long nights with the Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the women they loved (2009) by Chris O'Dell

George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011) by Olivia Harrison

George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door (2013) by Graeme Thomson

NOTE: Many beginner Beatles fans tend to read books written by authors Mark Lewisohn and Philip Norman as introductions to the Beatles; however, both of these authors can be incredibly biased for and against certain figures in Beatle history and require often hefty amounts of context to properly analyze them in an accurate manner, Norman in particular.

Magazines

The Beatles Book (Only Original 77 Issues) (1963-1969)

Paul McCartney Playgirl (1982)

Paul McCartney Playgirl (1985)

Archive and Timeline Sites

Meet The Beatles For Real (A site with mostly paparazzi, fan, and personal photos of the Beatles and their associates, along with some transcribed interviews, fan stories, and much more)

Beatles Bible (Primarily useful for basic information surrounding The Beatles' music together and solo can be found here, such as album/single release dates, in addition to pictures, a fan forum, and other basic info; not cumulative)

DM Beatles (Basic outlined timelines for 1963-1970 and album/single releases; not cumulative)

The Beatles On Film (A collection of almost every publicly available filmed video of The Beatles, together and solo, logged for reference purposes)

Beatles Interviews Database (Not cumulative)

Harrison Archive (Actively updating archive of interviews, fan encounters, quotes, and stories from or surrounding George Harrison; fun fact: Olivia Harrison, George's widow, follows the Instagram version of this archive)

The Paul McCartney Project (Archive of Paul McCartney interviews, dates for concerts, and more)

Misc. Documents/Videos

Around the Beatles (1964) dir. Rita Gillespie

The Beatles in Rishikesh Home Videos (1968)

The Beatles in Rishikesh Archival Footage and Home Videos (1968)

The John Lennon and Yoko Ono Playboy Interviews Transcript (1980)

The John Lennon and Yoko Ono Playboy Interviews Audio (1980)

John Lennon FBI Files

The Beatles FBI File

The Beatles Accepting Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction (1988)

The Beatles/Threetles Reunion at Friar Park (1994)

The Beatles/Threetles Studio Footage (1995)

Paul and George Anthology 3 Studio Interviews for VH1 (1997)

Concert for George (2002)

Animatics and Test Footage for Scrapped Motion Capture Yellow Submarine Remake (2009)

Audio Files

Beatles Christmas Records 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969

The Beatles Artifacts (Different takes/demos of songs along with studio chatter; the link supplied simply lines out what is on all of these Artifacts, as many of them are currently unavailable on Internet Archive)

John Lennon Last Interview (1980)