This week marks a string of anniversaries relating to events in the Beatles‘ history which turned out to be seminal not only for the band but also the face of pop music as we know it today.
Exactly on this day in 1962, Ringo Starr played his first gig with the Beatles, which took place in Port Sunlight, England.
(Pictred: Ringo Starr around 1963)
Two days earlier, i.e. on August 16th, Ringo joined the band replacing Pete Best. Initially, the new Beatle was not received very enthusiastically by the fans. After his first appearance at The Cavern Club on the 19th, Best fans shouted: “Pete forever! Ringo never!“, George Harrison left the club with a black eye and manager Brian Epstein had his car tyres flattened.
(Pictred: The Beatles with Pete Best)
Three years later, on August 15, 1965, the Beatles played their legendary show at Shea Stadium in New York, which marked the begining of enormous stadium concerts we see today. The audience were not allowed to step onto the turf and the band played to an empty pitch and 55,000 fans on the terraces whilst their screams were drowning the PA out.
(Pictred: Ringo at Shea Stadium, 1965)
