It was 60 years ago today...

[btb]

...John Lennon asked Ringo Starr to join The Beatles.

[Richey Edwards]

2 minutes ago, btb said:

...John Lennon asked Ringo Starr to join The Beatles.

What did he say?

[btb]

54 minutes ago, Richey Edwards said:

What did he say?

If you comb your hair forward you're in!

***************

Edit - OK, it was a combo of that and ditch the beard.

Quote

In August of 1962, drummer Ringo Starr was asked to join the band. Drummer Pete Best never joined John, Paul, and George in combing his hair in their new over-the-forehead look. His hair was too curly. When later asked why he never combed his hair into a Beatle cut, he replied, "They never asked me."

 

This bit of non-conformity, while not the entire reason, was probably one of the contributing factors when when the Beatles decided to give poor Pete the sack after two years of loyal drumming with them. At the time, Ringo not only had a greasy swept-back haircut, he also sported a stylish beard. Ringo recalled John's phone call to him, asking him to join the Beatles. "You can keep your sidies (sideburns), but lose the beard,"

 

By late 1962, the Beatle haircut was firmly established as an easily-recognizable part of the Beatles joint persona. In the early months of 1963, the band had already gotten used to being referred to as "the four moptops" by the British press.

 

Edited August 14, 2022 by btb

[BFTD]

Genuinely quite the transfer coup at the time, apparently.

Imagine what the Beatles would've been without the author of their greatest song.