The Beatles member who frightened the rest of the band: “We were all scared of you”
Throughout The Beatles’ turbulent decade of musical dominance, there were always two very clear leaders in the group: John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
The songwriting duo took on the role of de facto management when they came to rehearsals and studio sessions with all of the songs. George Harrison and Ringo Starr would quietly abide by the unspoken hierarchy because, for so long, it worked with furious success as the unlikely lads from Liverpool became the biggest band the world has ever seen.
It worked until it didn’t, when, in the late 1960s, rumblings of a mutiny surfaced, largely from Harrison, who had become something of a songwriter himself. But even then, McCartney and Lennon still assumed the leadership roles and struck fear into the hearts of their bandmates with a stern stare or a dismissive remark about one another’s ideas.
Lennon was likely the most intimidating of the bunch. He spoke plainly and compromised very little towards those who saw the world differently from him, which was never his bandmates, but in moments of tense creative friction, it could feel as though they might have fallen into that category.
But rather surprisingly, there was a time when the puppy dog of the group, Ringo Starr, frightened his bandmates to death. Back in the innocent days of The Cavern Club, Starr was just another crowd member, after opening up shows for the original Beatles line-up and then spending the rest of the evening getting pissed, watching his future bandmates.
“Their vibe was so tight and great,” he remembered. “But I would just sit in front of the club and it would empty out because they were on until four in the morning. And I’d request songs… I don’t remember one song I requested, you have to call Paul.”
Of all the people The Beatles played to throughout their career, Ringo was arguably the first critic. Watching with a beer in his hand and testing their ability to handle heckling. He didn’t know it then, but he was hardening a line up who would soon protect him from the front of stage.
He continued, “When I joined the band, John was talking to me one day. He says, ‘you know, we used to be really scared of you.’ Cause I’d be that guy. I’d be that drunken heckler in the back. But yeah, something warmed my heart when I saw them. And when I would play for them, when Pete couldn’t make it, it just worked, it was great to play with. It just was good for me, you know and in the end, look where you end up.”
Once they got to know Ringo a little better, they quickly realised he was nothing to be intimidated by. He had the innocent charm that offset the intensity of Lennon and brought levity to the band when they most needed it. Maybe, beneath the veneer of intimidation, they saw that in him, an ability to bring charm and unseriousness to the group that would help endear them to the world when they eventually took it over.
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