The Beatles' recording sessions Stuart Sutcliffe. From the 16 known demos made in early 1960 at McCartney's house, only three have been released. In Hamburg, Germany, during the Beatles' first stint there, Lennon, McCartney and Harrison recorded a song as the backing group for Lu Walters, the bassist from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. The Beatles' drummer, Pete Best, was not present, and Hurricanes drummer Ringo Starr played instead. It was the first time John, Paul, George and Ringo recorded music together. Sutcliffe was present at the session but did not play. The song was recorded in the small Akustik studio, in a similar
Ringo Starr ... is that we're ordinary lads." He was a source of inspiration for several songs written at the time, including Penny Valentine's "I Want To Kiss Ringo Goodbye" and Rolf Harris's "Ringo for President". In 1964, "I love Ringo" lapel pins were the bestselling Beatles merchandise. The prominent placing of the Ludwig logo on the bass drum of his American import drum kit gave the company such a burst of publicity that it became the dominant drum manufacturer in North America for the next twenty years. During live performances, the Beatles continued the "Starr Time" routine that had been popular