LOT #42063 |
Sold on Jul 8, 2023 for: Not Sold
Ringo Starr Autograph Letter Signed on Joining the Beatles....
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Description
The Final Piece of the Fab Four - Ringo Starr Joins The Beatles!
Stunning and monumentally important letter penned by Ringo discussing his hectic and exciting first few months after joining The Beatles, just as the band was catching fire
"...I got a phone call asking me would I join the Beatles and I said yes... I am doing verry [sic] well with the new group we have a record out I hope you have herd [sic] it..."
Ringo Starr Autograph Letter Signed on Joining the Beatles.
10 Admiral Grove, Liverpool; no date [but likely Monday, October
29, 1962, or thereabouts]. Three pages on three sheets with a
hand-addressed envelope, mailed from Liverpool on Wednesday
morning, October 31, 1962. Written to girlfriend Doreen Walker,
with whom Ringo corresponded for years, signed simply,
"Ringo", with seven kisses.He starts the letter by telling her, quite casually, "I got a phone call asking me would I join the Beatles and I said yes..." The incredible content does not end there; the letter is littered with "firsts" for the drummer and his new band. He mentions the band's first record, "I am doing very well with the new group we have a record out...", referring to Love Me Do / P. S. I Love You and goes on to mention that it is playing on "Luxemburg [sic]" - Radio Luxembourg - the powerful "pirate" radio station that was the first radio station in the world to play the Beatles first record on October 5, 1962, just a few weeks before this letter was written. He mentions a number of television appearances, including the Beatles first-ever television appearance, "we done the T.V. show," likely the October 17 People and Places Granada TV show in Manchester, recorded between gigs at the Cavern Club. He continues by mentioning "also the 5oclock show" - the Beatles recorded an appearance on the BBC's Here We Go radio program at the Playhouse Theatre in Manchester on October 25 that was broadcast at 5 pm on October 26 - and tells Doreen, "we are on People and Places again on this Friday."
The letter continues with future plans for the drummer and the Beatles, with Ringo writing Doreen of future tours, "We are going to Hamburg for two weeks on Wednesday" - this was Ringo's first trip to Hamburg as a member of the Beatles. He writes to her of two more tours, "We are doing a tour with Helen Shepero [sic] and Eden Kane" - the Beatles played fourteen shows between February 2 - March 3, where the band was billed fourth of eleven acts - and "we have a one night stand with Frank Ifield" - Ifield was a British-Australian country star with four Number One hits between 1962-1962, and with whom the Beatles performed at Embassy Cinema in Peterborough on December 2, 1962.
The name-dropping continues, with Ringo telling Doreen about their performance at the prestigious Empire Theatre on October 28, 1962, "we were also on the Liverpool Empire with Little Richard Jet Harris Kennie Linch [sic] Craih [sic] Douglas..." The Beatles had opened for Little Richard previously and would soon open for him again in Hamburg. He also mentions (and misspells) Kenny Lynch - the British singer, songwriter, and actor - who was the first artist to cover a Beatles song when he covered Misery in 1963.
He ends the letter by mentioning some upcoming performances in Manchester - "we are playing at a club called the Oasis sometime when we come back from Germany" - and hopes Doreen will come meet him for "a coffy or something..."
A simply stunning account of the first few months of Ringo Starr as a member of The Beatles, from the drummer himself.
The letter reads, in full (with all spelling and grammatical errors faithfully transcribed):
10 Admiral Grove
L/Pool 8
Dear Doreen
Thanks for the letter a lot has happened since I last rote [sic] to you I went to Butlins when we came home from France I was there ten weeks when I got a phone call asking me would I join the Beatles and I said yes and I left Rory.
I am doing verry [sic] well with the new group we have a record out [Love Me Do / P.S. I Love You] I hope you have herd [sic] it it is on Luxemburg [sic] every night (allso [sic] don't forget to buy it) we done the T.V. show also the 5oclock show and we are on People and Places again on this Friday
We are going to Hamburg for two weeks on Wednesday come home for one month and go back for another two weeks
We are doing a tour with Helen Shepero [sic] and Eden Kane and we have a one night stand with Frank Ifield
We were also on the Liverpool Empire with Little Richard Jet Harris Kennie Linch [sic] Craih Douglas [sic] whom we backed after our spot last Sunday
I was in Manchester today Monday doing the P and P telly recording
We are playing at a club caled [sic] the Oasis sometime when we come back from Germany in Manchester so if you cold [sic] find it it is by the town squar [sic] we cold [sic] go for a coffy [sic] or something when we finish well thats all for now Look after yourself
Love and Luck
Ringo
xxxx
xxx
Condition: Sheets with minor creases along old folds. Envelope with minor, expected wear and a few small stains. Fine.
Provenance: Bonhams, London, Knightsbridge, June 25, 2014, lot 319.
Note to all prospective bidders: The successful buyer of this Ringo Starr letter can retain physical possession of the letter solely in the United Kingdom. If the buyer wishes to remove the letter from the UK, the buyer will have to apply for an export license from the British Arts Council. The letter cannot be removed from the UK without an export license.
Auction Info
2023 July 8 Historical Platinum Signature® Auction #6275 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
July, 2023
8th
Saturday
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