Kaiserkeller Ist Oct - 31st Dec
At first hard going. Rory got notice because he wouldn't stay on stage. The Beatles and us wrecked the stage. Bruno sacked Rory, so Rory (can't read next word) Walter who told him in Harold's we had to pay 65 marks damages. Rory took our big poster, Bruno got police onto him.

Rory got job in Top Ten with Tony Sheridan, he worked for bed, then Beatles got job in Top Ten for two weeks, they got deported in a day because they burnt down the Kino. 

Our job was much easier, played half the time. Bruno gave me champagne for my 21st birthday. Gerry and the Pacemakers came from Liverpool, we had a Xmas dinner in Mambo.

Rory got us job at Thurshende (?) when we finish Kaiser, fab place. Went to Thurshende but we had to quit because we signed not to play within 6 months. Boys went straight away, Rory and I two days later, two girls saw us off. Rory got home free, we bluffed our way home. New band in Kaiser, no good. We picked up piles of souvenirs, mine were smashed, customs didn't open our cases at all. I was sick in boat, all over the floor, very rough.

Editor’s Note: The reference to Mrs Best’s relates to the Casbah Club in Hayman’s Green, West Derby. Mona Best had initially utilized the cellars of the house for her sons and their friends and then transformed it into a club. Lots of members of the groups also dropped around to socialize in the Best house. Mr Martin refers to the late Doug Martin, a local promoter. We referred to people older than us as Mr or Mrs in those days.

Yes, there were fights that took place at gigs from time to time, it would be interesting to hear of some more of them in greater detail.

Holyoake Hall was situated in Smithdown Road, close to Penny Lane and was a venue run by promoter Wally Hill. The Jive Hive was St. Luke’s Hall, Crosby, run by Ivormarr Promotions, a venue where Rory Storm & the Hurricanes appeared regularly.

Jack Good, of course, was the producer of the popular TV rock shows such as ‘Oh, Boy!’ and Johnny had obviously tried to interest him in booking the Hurricanes.

The N.U.R. was the club for the National Union of Railwaymen. Unions, factories, stores all have various social clubs where members could get subsidized drinks and entertainment ranging from comedians and pop groups to novelty acts of all kinds (although strippers were banned in Liverpool). There were more than 300 clubs affiliated to the Merseyside Clubs Association and artists and comedians such as Ken Dodd, Jimmy Tarbuck and Freddie Starr learned their trade in such venues.

The Corinthian was a club opposite the Jacaranda in Slater Street, although its entrance was in Seel Street.

Johnny refers to a recording at the Cavern on 20 January. Was this the recording Iris Caldwell, Rory’s sister told me about? She said she’d come across a tape of Rory Storm & the Hurricanes performing at the Cavern when Ringo was a member. I contacted Abbey Road Studios who were keen to enhance the tape, but Iris then got in contact and said that when she played it, after hearing Cavern Compere Bob Wooler introduce Rory, the rest of the performance had been wiped over by a Cliff Richard recording which her mother had taped from the radio without telling anyone.

Interesting to note that Al James also taped the Hurricanes, this time at the Jive Hive on 5 February. Then a further two half hours of their performance was taped at the same venue on 5 March. I wonder if the tapes still exist. Unlikely, as in those days people kept recording over the tapes as it was more economical than buying new tapes.

The reference to 10 May is to the auditions held at the Wyvern Club with Larry Parnes and Billy Fury, where the Silver Beetles played. Since it had been originally suggested that the auditions were for the role of Fury’s backing group, the Hurricanes didn’t appear because they already had a lead singer in Rory Storm. Nevertheless, Rory and Johnny turned up to watch.

The brief saga of Ritchie (Ringo Starr), will he-won’t he, go to Butlin’s: the May 14 entry refers to Ringo’s intention to get married in June 1961. Ritchie was engaged to Geraldine McGovern and Ringo’s grandfather gave Ritchie his own gold wedding ring to give to Gerry, as Ritchie called her.

He was to recall, “I was engaged and I did love her and she loved me, and we’d got our bottom drawer started and made all the preparations that go into marriage.”

Then Ritchie was talking into doing the Butlin’s gig and Gerry was to say, “His music always came first. He was playing most nights and if I wanted to see him I had to trail along with him to a dance. We were never able to have much time together.”

Gerry gave him an ultimatum, he had to choose between her and playing drums. “When we went off to Butlin’s I told him I didn’t want him to go. We talked it over – there was no shouting or slagging. But that was the end.”

Ritchie remembers, “That was a very poignant moment in my life. I left her one night and I got on the bus and thought, ‘Well, what happens if I don’t go back?’ and I never went back. I just wanted to play. It was more important to me.”

Johnny has been referring to Ritchie and then in the later months, begins to call him Ringo. This was because of Rory Storm’s suggestions regarding stage names for the individual members and he dubbed Ritchie Ringo Starr.

‘Alfie’ had nothing on Johnny Guitar, who seems something of a Lothario. His story would make a good gritty drama movie, like the kitchen sink dramas of the time – ‘Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, ‘A Kind of Loving’ and ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.’

This is a most important year and it’s a pity that the diary doesn’t provide more details: there was the Silver Beetles Wyvern audition, the Gene Vincent Concert at Liverpool Stadium, the Butlin’s season, the trip to Hamburg, including Wally and Ringo recording with the Beatles – legendary times!

Some years ago, when he gave me his diaries to publish, Johnny also gave me permission to use a number of photographs, some of which I have lost over the years. Researcher Chazz has provided me with three of the photos, which are included above.

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