How did Ringo Starr join the beatles?

Answer 1

Lennon, McCartney and Harrison met Ringo Starr in Hamburg and, occasionally, Ringo would play drums for them. McCartney and, particularly, Harrison recognised that he was a better drummer than the incumbent (Pete Best) and that Ringo's personality fitted the other Beatles - Pete Best was something of a "loner" in the band. At that time, Ringo was probably the best drummer in Liverpool; he had been a professional drummer for some time.

When The Beatles auditioned for George Martin, he told the Beatles' manager (Brian Epstein) that he would have to use a session drummer for the recording sessions - if you listen to the Pete Best "version" of Please Please Me from the Anthology project, you can hear that the timing is a bit variable.

It may well have been the audition and the imminent signing of the band that prompted John, Paul and George to approach Ringo (Lennon actually called Ringo), when Ringo accepted, they told Brian Epstein to sack Pete Best.

George Harrison later said that, history shows they hadn't treated Best very well, but history also showed that they'd picked the right drummer.

Answer 2

In the late summer of 1962, after earlier drummer Pete Best failed the band's audition for Parlophone Records. Producer/A&M man George Martin wanted to sign the band, but only if another drummer could be substituted on their recordings. While Martin planned to simply hire a session drummer, the Beatles themselves decided that Best, who after two years was still an "outsider" to them, should be replaced completely. Starr had guested with them in Hamburg a few times (even playing drums for them on a one-off recording there), and he clicked with them personally like Best never had.

Answer 3

Ringo officially joined the group in 1962. But he "sat in" with them on numerous occasions in Hamburg and at the Cavern prior to joining the band.

Answer 4

Ringo was added to the lineup in August, 1962

Answer 5

He was twenty-two years old.