John, Paul, George and Jimmie?
On June 3rd, 1964 Ringo Star having collapsed with tonsillitis was hospitalized. The Beatles on the eve of their tour of Australia were in a real pickle. George Martin suggested using a stand-in dummer and he recommended Jimmie Nicol. Jimmie had been on a session that played Beatle covers titled Beatlemania so he already knew the songs and their arrangements. John and Paul accepted the idea but George out of loyalty to Ringo threatened to pull out of the tour. George: "If Ringo's not going, then neither am I. You can find two replacements." George caved. With a quick rehearsal at Abbey Road Studio, Jimmie packed his bags and 27 hours later he was on stage playing in front of 4,500 Beatle fans. Nicol was given a mop-top hairstyle, borrowed Ringo's suits and his black pearl Ludwigs (see photo). Jimmie played a total of eight shows with the Beatles. Ringo rejoined the tour on June 14th in Melbourne. Jimmie Nicol was a great drummer who came along and played Ringo's parts perfectly and then quickly faded into obscurity.