Just Plain Wrong
A Synth Post
A Different Kind of Post
As you can surely tell from the wonderful photograph of The Beatles from 1968 that accompanies this post, today I’m talking about things that are wrong. Not just a little wrong. These are some of my favorite things that have literally (a word I DO NOT use figuratively) been published in Beatles books and magazines over the years. It will be a bit different. I’m simply going to list things that have been said. I’m not going to name where the individual stories comes from. That’s not the point here. Hopefully it will prove to be entertaining and a little eye-opening about just how bad some of the information was that was being passed off about The Beatles over the years.
If you want to guess where some of the pieces come from, be my guest. I will, however, not tell you if you’re right (maybe if you’re wrong. Ha!). Also, if you have any that you’d like to add, please put them in the comments. But be prepared to provide a source for your information. Are you ready?
A Worst Wrong List
These are in no particular order, I’m not ranking them or anything. And I’m putting little comments after each in case you happen to not be familiar with something on the list.
1) Stuart Sutcliffe was The Beatles’ first drummer.
Stuart played bass guitar.
2) Stuart was killed in an accident and Ringo replaced him.
Stuart died of a brain hemorrhage in April of 1962. Ringo replaced Pete Best in August of 1962.
3) Ringo was a Beatle since the first Hamburg trip and played with them at The Indra.
Pete Best was the drummer on the first Hamburg trip.
4) Paul said the “jewellery” line at The Royal Command Performance in 1963.
It was John.
5) Pete Best joined The Beatles (or whatever name John, Paul, and George were using) in 1957.
Did I mention that Pete joined in August 1962?
6) Bill Harry was a local talent scout who convinced Brian Epstein to send The Beatles to Hamburg to open for Tony Sheridan.
Harry was a journalist and had nothing to do with sending the boys to Hamburg. Brian wasn’t their manager yet and they did not play (yet) with Tony Sheridan…
7) Paul wrote the melodies, John wrote the lyrics.
John and Paul each wrote both melodies and lyrics, together and separately.
8) John wrote “When I’m 64” and “Lovely Rita.”
Both were predominantly Paul with John adding a few lines of lyrics.
9) Meet The Beatles was their first album (I know, but it still wasn’t THE first…).
It was the first official Capitol release in the US. By the time of its release, two full- length albums had been released in the UK and one had already been released in the US, Introducing The Beatles on the Vee-Jay label.
10) “Back in the USSR” was a #1 hit single in the USSR in 1968.
The was no official release of the song as a single in the USSR.
11) Not only did Paul write “Good Night,” he was clearly the only person who could have written it.
John, apparently possessing Paul’s soul, wrote the song as a lullaby for his son, Julian.
12) Oh, and Paul also wrote “Mean Mr. Mustard.”
This was one of a number of songs written by John in India.
13) The Quarrymen, with Ken Brown as a member, played at The Casbah Coffee Club for nine months before Brown left the group, but the remaining Quarrymen continued to play there.
The Quarrymen with Ken Brown played for several weeks in 1959. They did not appear again at The Casbah until after the first Hamburg trip. They were The Beatles at that point.
14) Ken Brown was a drummer and was replaced by Pete Best during the time that The Quarrymen played at The Casbah Coffee Club.
Ken Brown played guitar. Pete did not play with The Quarrymen at all and only played at The Casbah as a member of The Beatles after the first Hamburg trip.
15) George wrote “Happiness is a Warm Gun.”
Really? It was John (sigh…)
16) “Why Don’t We Do It In the Road” contains the lyrics, “Come together right now, over me.”
Not sure I have to explain this one…
17) “The Ballad of John and Yoko” was released by The Plastic Ono Band.
UK #1 single, released by The Beatles in May 1969.
18) Ringo’s role in “The Magic Christian” was a small cameo.
He was a star of the film along with Peter Sellers.
19) George replaced Eddie Clayton in The Quarrymen.
Eddie Clayton played with Ringo but was never in The Quarrymen.
20) “Hello Little Girl” was specifically written for The Fourmost.
John wrote the song in 1957. It was given to The Fourmost in 1963.
21) Johnny Hutchinson was The Beatles’ drummer but was replaced by Tommy Moore before the group went on the Scottish tour backing Johnny Gentle.
Hutchinson sat in for part of the audition for the Scottish tour and went on to sit in with The Beatles on a few occasions after that but was never an actual member.
22) The Brian Jones that played saxophone on “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) was NOT the Brian Jones from The Rolling Stones.
Yes, it was.
23) Paul (or maybe it was George) wrote “Help!”
Or maybe Ringo? It was John with a little help from his friend…Paul.
24) The Let It Be film was made in 1967.
It was filmed in January 1969.
25) John wrote “Penny Lane.”
Well, a few of the lyrics, but it was predominantly Paul.
There are so many more…
Hope you enjoyed that! As always, thanks for being here and reading. I really do appreciate it. Please leave comments to let me know what you think and to add any relevant information to the discussion. Please follow or subscribe to
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Next up: The Fox and Hounds. Looking forward to that!
- Adamson
Photo: The Dave Clark Five; 27th of November 1964, Public Domain.
Dare I mention the "Paul is dead" rumours?
I enjoyed seeing the pic of DC5. Great group.