318CENTRAL.COM’s SIZZLIN’ SUMMER READ:

First, the Rock and Roll Detective, Jim Berkenstadt, talks to us about his best-selling book The Beatle
Who Vanished which is currently being made into a feature film! It’s the gripping story of a talented
young musician who was actually a Beatle for 13 days at the height of their popularity! Then, he
vanished! Quite intriguing.

Additionally, we have a brand-new offering by Berkenstadt, who carefully and meticulously uncovers the
truth about Manson and The Beach Boys, the hidden clues in Nirvana’s Nevermind, Bob Marley’s arrest,
the (gasp!) the FBI’s investigation into the lyrics of “Louie Louie,” and so much more! All of these quandaries are revealed in Berkenstadt’s book  Mysteries in the Music: Case Closed. And it’s a winner! Known for his unfailing quest for the truth, Berkenstadt finally puts to rest rumors that we’ve wondered about for years.

I sat down with The Rock and Roll Detective® a few weeks ago to conduct this interview. But if you’d like
to hear Jim talk about his work in person, here’s a link to an interview that Lanea Stagg of  The Recipe
Records Series of rock’n’roll cookbooks and I did with Jim on our “She Said She Said” podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mysteries-in-the-music-with-jim-berkenstadt/id1458824183?i=1000553495789

Berkenstadt: Thanks, Jude. It’s an honor to be speaking with John Lennon’s preeminent biographer. I always enjoy our chats. I can’t wait for your incisive questions.

Kessler: Well, Jim, thanks to your extremely thorough scholarship and detective work! You always “get it right.” Before we jump into your new book, Mysteries in the Music: Case Closed, I want to congratulate you on having your best-seller, The Beatle Who Vanished, made into a feature film! Please tell us a little about the central figure in that book, Jimmie Nicol, the talented drummer who substituted for Ringo during the first 13 days of The Beatles’ 1964 World Tour. Why Nicol was called upon to “sit in” for Starr … and why Jimmie was chosen?

Berkenstadt: Back in the middle Sixties, a World Tour was completely unheard of in the pop music world. The legal and insurance industries had yet to anticipate issues related to tour cancellations. Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein had spent a year corresponding with promoters to arrange deals for multiple concerts across the globe. It was all done via mail correspondence. All the merchandise was on the shelves; new Beatles 45 RPM singles were ready for release in each country of the tour. Scores of plane flights, hotels, equipment rentals, and warm-up bands were set to go in each city. There were no “out” clauses in legal concert agreements. If The Beatles had cancelled their World Tour, due to Ringo’s sudden illness, they would have been sued by promoters worldwide who had already pre-sold tickets for hundreds of thousands of dollars. They would have likely lost thousands more in cancelled hotel and airplane bookings. Most significantly, their reputation would have been ruined, before they’d even had a chance to conquer the world as the greatest pop band ever! Thus, the phrase, “The show must go on.”

Jimmie Nicol was not the first drummer asked to sub in for Ringo. And he wasn’t even the second! I will leave the details of that frantic search (with less than 24-hours until the tour) to readers of the book. However, Bobby Graham, a session drummer, suggested Nicol to Beatles manager Epstein. Brian Epstein had been to a Decca session a few months earlier, and had seen Jimmie Nicol’s professionalism in the studio. Epstein called George Martin and asked him to call Jimmie. Why Jimmie was chosen was more luck than anything. However, what The Beatles, Epstein, and Martin did not realize, was how lucky they were to choose Jimmie. As readers will discover, Nicol already knew Ringo Starr’s drum parts for all of the songs in The Beatles’ concert set. He was ready to go on tour. How? It’s all detailed in the book!

Kessler: So, despite remarkable days with The Beatles in The Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Australia, Ringo did return to the World Tour Tour in Melbourne to relieve Jimmie and to resume his rightful place in the band. What happened to Jimmie Nicol at that point, Jim?

Berkenstadt: When Ringo returned to the band, it was like the group of “brothers” quickly closed ranks, and Jimmie felt like he was now on the outside looking in. Jimmie promptly realized that his dreams of joining the band were crushed.

Nicol returned to London highly confident. He had a record deal to record and release songs under his group Jimmy Nicol and the Shubdubs. (Note: Nicol spelled his name Jimmie. However, record labels and the media incorrectly spelled it Jimmy.) He paid his session buddies to join his band on tour. Their first gig was an extended top-of-the-bill show series replacing the Dave Clark Five, as Dave had also gone into the hospital. In 1965, he formed another band called, The Sound of Jimmy Nicol. By the middle of 1965, however, Nicol had no label deal, was bankrupt, unemployed and getting a divorce. It was at this point that he vanished … but not for the last time.

Kessler: Well, “having read the book” (Beatles fans will “get” that allusion), I know the end of the story … and it’s quite amazing. But I won’t give the end of Jimmie’s disappearance away. People will just have to read the book and go see the film when it comes out. Tell us a little about the movie, Jim.