'Dear drummer... Come in for a Beatles audition. Sincerely, Paul': Letter from McCartney up for auction
The young musician looking for work wouldn’t have known it at the time, but he had just been offered a ticket to fame, fortune and a place in rock legend.
He was invited by a teenage Paul McCartney to audition for the Beatles as their drummer - surely one of the greatest pop opportunities of all time.
But it would seem he missed his moment.
From Me To You: The letter from Sir Paul was only found this year - and will have left someone kicking themselves
Fab Four: (left to right) Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison pictured in 1963. But Starr may have owed his place to a no-show from an unknown drummer
The story of the unlucky drummer has emerged thanks to a letter from McCartney found inside a book at a car boot sale in Liverpool.
It dates back to August 12, 1960 – a time when the fledgling Beatles, under first manager Allan Williams, were preparing to tour Hamburg.
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Days before they were due to depart, the band’s four members – McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Stuart Sutcliffe, the original bassist – were lacking one thing: a drummer.
By coincidence, a young musician was looking for work and had put an ad in the Liverpool Echo on August 8, reading: ‘Drummer - Young - Free.’
Man of letters: Sir Paul McCartney
In the newly discovered letter, 18-year-old McCartney replies to the ad: ‘Dear Sir…we would like to offer you an audition for the position of drummer.
‘You will, however, need to be free soon for a trip to Hamburg (expenses paid £18 per week (approx) for 2 months).’ He signs off: ‘Yours sincerely Paul McCartney of THE BEATLES.’
It is not known if an audition ever took place or the prospective drummer just didn’t make the grade.
But it has been suggested drummer Pete Best was auditioned that very evening of August 12 and offered the job.
It was always thought that Best, whom the group saw play originally at the Casbah Coffee Club, was the first-choice drummer.
However it is now clear the band were still deliberating over who should fill the post.
In 1962, as the band began to taste success, Best was fired and replaced by Ringo Starr. The handwritten letter is expected to fetch £9,000 when it is auctioned at Christie’s on November 15.
It is believed to be one of the earliest examples of the band calling themselves the Beatles – previously they had been known as The Quarrymen.
- Were you the drummer McCartney offered an audition to? Or do you know who the musician was? Call the Daily Mail on 020 7938 6372.
Lining up: The Beatles, with Pete Best on the drums, pictured performing together in Hamburg in 1960
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