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/ News

Honey Don't! Rockstar Records Releases Live Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, But Ringo Says "It's Not Me"

October 31, 2012 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

Among the many footnotes in Beatles lore has been Ringo Starr's tenure with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.  The group was one of the most popular acts on the early Merseybeat scene, playing Liverpool and Hamburg, and alternating sets with The Beatles at the Kaiserkeller.  Yet there's precious little recorded evidence of the band and even less of Starr's tenure as drummer.  An Oriole label single in 1963 yielded "Dr. Feelgood" b/w "I Can Tell."  Parlophone released "America" (from West Side Story) b/w "Since You Broke My Heart" in 1964, with Brian Epstein as producer.  Starr had joined the Hurricanes in 1959, but was out by August 1962, at which time he was invited to join his mates in The Beatles.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Earlier this year, Rockstar Records announced it would be making history of its own, when it announced the first-ever album by Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, featuring Ringo Starr.  The newly discovered recordings were found in the basement of Iris Caldwell, sister of Rory Storm (born Alan Caldwell in 1938) and arrived on CD late in September.  The tapes, released as Live at the Jive Hive, March 1960, reportedly document a performance at the Jive Hive club in Crosby, north of Liverpool, recorded on March 5, 1960, plus four home recordings by Storm circa the same period.  The plot thickened, however, when Ringo Starr denied that he appeared on the tapes.

"It's not me," Ringo said in a statement via his publicist shortly after the original announcement was issued by Rockstar.   "That was done after I'd left to join the Beatles. I don't know who the drummer was but I hope that Rory fans enjoy it anyway.  The only two tracks I was on were recorded while we were in Germany in 1960, when we made a two-track acetate, and for those of you in the digi world that is a-ce-tate, of 'Mailman Bring Me No More Blues,' a Buddy Holly song sang by Lou Walters, and 'Fever,' and I'd love to hear those tracks 'cause I don't have a copy."

That still hasn't ended the story of Live at the Jive Hive, however.  There's more after the jump including a track listing and order link! 

Responding to Ringo's statement, Proper Records has opined, "Since the release of this product Ringo Starr has commented that he does not appear on this recording, however this is now being checked and verified as he might well have [been] featured, and forgot?"  Ringo himself seems off on his timeline, as he hadn't yet left for The Beatles if the gig was, indeed, from March 5, 1960.  But the best answer might have come from Beatles scholar Hans Olof Gottfridsson, revealing a particularly cruel twist of fate.  The Examiner quotes Gottfridsson as saying, "The best evidence it's not Ringo playing on this recording is the diary the band member Johnny Guitar (Byrne) kept. Assuming the recording was cut at the Jive Hive (aka St. Luke's Hall, Crosby), March 5, 1960, it's very unlikely it's Ringo playing. The reason is that according to Johnny Guitar's notes Ringo had missed out on the band's gig at the same venue, three days earlier due to having the flu.  Although the diary doesn't tell when Ringo was back behind the drums the flu probably kept him in bed for more than three days. His replacement on March 3rd was a drummer named Don Singleton. It's also possible it's him, not Ringo, we can hear on the recording from March 5. Other possible contenders are Bruce Krone, Bruce Clark or Tom Moore, all listed in Johnny Guitar's address book for 1960."  So it's most likely that a live recording has finally surfaced from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes in the band's prime, when Ringo was still a member - on a rare night when he was sick and unable to perform!

You can decide for yourself.  Live at the Jive Hive offers seventeen slabs of rock and roll from the March 1960 show, including performances of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care," Roy Orbison's "Down the Line," and a little song that will undoubtedly be familiar to the Beatles fans reading this: Carl Perkins' "Honey Don't."  The disc is rounded out by four home recordings, including "Milk Cow Blues," an incomplete version of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say," "Now is the Hour" and the Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown."  Spencer Leigh provides liner notes and DJ/producer Adam F, Rory Storm's nephew, offers an introduction.  Numerous photographs are reprinted in the booklet, including some shots with the young Starr as part of the band.

Even without Ringo, Live at the Jive Hive is an energetic trip back to the days when Merseybeat ruled.  It's available now and can be ordered below!

Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, Live at the Jive Hive: March 1960 (Rockstar RSRCD033, 2012)

  1. Introduction
  2. Brand New Cadillac
  3. (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care
  4. Make Me Know You're Mine
  5. Bye Bye Love
  6. Jet Black
  7. Down the Line
  8. C'mon Everybody
  9. Don't Bug Me Baby
  10. Rip It Up
  11. Somethin' Else
  12. Train to Nowhere
  13. Since You Broke My Heart
  14. Honey Don't
  15. All American Boy
  16. Willie and the Hand Jive
  17. Closing Announcement
  18. Milk Cow Blues (Home Recording)
  19. What'd I Say (Incomplete - Home Recording)
  20. Cathy's Clown (Home Recording)
  21. Now is the Hour (Home Recording)

Categories: News Tags: Ringo Starr, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Barbara Taylor says

    February 20, 2022 at 6:31 pm

    I am a new member of Jerry Shirley’s website group, am a very long-time fan of both drummers and want to know a couple of things for the group:
    Was Ringo Starr left-handed?
    Did Ringo have any issues with playing drums when the drum set was adjusted for right-handed drummers during concerts with multiple bands? Thank you for your responses in advance!

    During our website discussion, it was mentioned that “lefties” sometimes played open or free hand in order to compensate for issues of handedness.

    Reply

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