Early Beatles drummer Andy White has died in New Jersey aged 85.
Andy White died on November 9 following a stroke, his family announced.
The Scottish studio session musician played the drums on Love Me Do and other early tracks by The Beatles.
Andy White was chosen ahead of Ringo Starr in September 1962 to play drums on the single version of Love Me Do and its B-side, P.S. I Love You.
The musician, who was born in Glasgow in 1930, is also believed to have played on the album version of Please Please Me.
Andy White could therefore legitimately claim to be one of the so-called “Fifth Beatles”, alongside the likes of Pete Best, Stuart Sutcliffe and others.
He also played drums on Lulu’s 1964 cover of Shout and Sir Tom Jones’ 1965 single It’s Not Unusual.
Andy White went on to tour with Marlene Dietrich, Burt Bacharach and Rod Stewart and perform with the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra.
He was paid a one-off fee (£5) for his three hours with the Beatles and received no subsequent royalties.
Ringo Starr, who played drums on earlier versions of Love Me Do, can be heard playing the tambourine on the Andy White recording.
In later life Andy White moved to the US, where he married the voiceover actress Thea Ruth and became a drumming instructor.
Ringo Starr has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 19.
The former Beatles drummer was the last of the Fab Four to be inducted as a solo artist, where he was hailed as “one of the greatest and most creative drummers”.
“Finally, I’m invited and I love it,” Ringo Starr said at the ceremony.
Ringo Starr, 74, was introduced by fellow Beatle Paul McCartney and together they performed their 1967 hit, With A Little Help From My Friends.
While inducting Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney said he could always rely on his former bandmate to perform on every song.
“You don’t have to look with Ringo – he’s there,” he said.
Ringo Starr was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Beatles in 1988.
Although he was the last Beatle to be recognized for his solo efforts, Ringo Starr was the first to establish a career following the band’s split in 1970, releasing two albums and scoring two top five songs within a year.
Ringo Starr has released 18 solo studio albums, including his latest – Postcards From Paradise – released earlier this month.
Among the other honorees at the ceremony were singer Bill Withers, rock band Green Day, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and Lou Reed – who died in 2013.
Green Day were inducted in their first year of eligibility – which rules state must be 25 years after the release of an artist’s first record.
Bill Withers was inducted by Stevie Wonder.
Joan Jett – who was inducted by Miley Cyrus – opened the show with her rock hit Bad Reputation, and was joined by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl for a performance of Cherry Bomb.
Patti Smith inducted Lou Reed and thanked him for “brutally and benevolently injecting poetry into your music”.
The 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will be broadcast on HBO on May 30.
Paul McCartney will induct his former bandmate Ringo Starr into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next month in Cleveland.
Ringo Starr is the last of The Beatles receive the musical honor.
Paul McCartney will usher in the 74-year-old at the 30th annual ceremony at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum next month.
The Beatles are already in the hall as a group, as are John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison as solo artists.
Other inductees will include Green Day, Lou Reed and Bill Withers.
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Ringo Starr said it meant “recognition” of his work.
He added: “And it means, finally, the four of us are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame even though we were the biggest pop group in the land.”
Eagle Joe Walsh will perform some of Ringo Starr’s music, while Bill Withers’ music will be performed by John Legend.
It is not known if Bill Withers, who quit the music business more than 30 years ago, will sing himself.
Patti Smith will induct Lou Reed, who died in 2013, while Beck will perform the Velvet Underground singer’s music.
Joan Jett, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and the “5” Royales will also be elevated to the elite musical club at the Cleveland ceremony.
Artists become eligible to enter the Hall of Fame 25 years after their first release.
George Harrison and Ringo Starr’s jackets worn in The Beatles’ 1965 film Help! have fetched £115,000 ($179,000) at a Liverpool auction.
Ringo Starr’s cape fetched £61,000 ($95,0000), while George Harrison’s sold for £54,000 ($84,000), including buyer’s premium. Both beat separate pre-sale valuations of £20,000-30,000.
Meanwhile, a piano used by Paul McCartney and John Lennon was bought by a South American collector for £57,500 ($90,000).
Jackets worn by George Harrison and Ringo Starr in The Beatles’ 1965 film Help! have fetched £115,000 at Liverpool auction (phot Getty Images)
The 1907 Bechstein grand piano was used to compose the tracks Help! and Yesterday, according to Omega Auctions.
The piano and jackets were sold by Richard Lester, now 82, who directed Help! and The Beatles’ first film A Hard Day’s Night.
The auction took place at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool.
A cape, suit and sheet of handwritten lyrics belonging to Paul McCartney were withdrawn from auction after the star made a late legal challenge.
The rest of the sale went ahead on Thursday to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles’ hit Can’t Buy Me Love.
Tony Sheridan, an early supporter of The Beatles, has died aged 72.
During their early days as the Silver Beatles in Hamburg in the 1960s, they performed as Tony Sheridan’s backing band.
Ringo Starr has paid tribute to Tony Sheridan writting on his Twitter: “Goodbye to Tony Sheridan… I had a great month 1960-61, playing with him was great.”
Described as a catalyst in the Beatles’ rise to fame, they played on Tony Sheridan’s recording of My Bonnie.
After being spotted by producer Bert Kaempfert, it was their first studio session for Polydor as The Beat Brothers in June 1961.
Later that year, teenage fan Raymond Jones requested the song in Brian Epstein’s record store. Brian Epstein promised to order it and later became the Beatles’ manager, whom many still regard as the “fifth Beatle”.
Returning to Germany in 1961, the young Beatles and Tony Sheridan continued their collaboration and – at Bert Kaempfert’s instigation – recorded seven tracks.
Tony Sheridan, an early supporter of The Beatles, has died aged 72
A 1962 show at the Star Club in Hamburg, where the Liverpool band played many of their early shows, was a watershed performance – featuring Ringo Starr on drums – and helped catapult the Beatles to fame.
According to reports in the German media, Tony Sheridan died on Saturday February 16 following a long illness.
Sir Paul McCartney has issued a statement on his website saying: “Tony was a good guy who we knew and worked with from the early days in Hamburg. We regularly watched his late night performances and admired his style. He will be missed.”
In the early 1960s, the singer-songwriter toured with rock ‘n roll pioneers Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran.
Tony Sheridan had German Top 10 singles Let’s Slop and Skinny Minnie and with the Fab Four’s early commercial success, My Bonnie charted in both Britain and the US.
During his later years, Tony Sheridan lived with his third wife, Anna Sievers, in a farm house in the north of Germany. She died of cancer in 2011.
A very rare signed copy of the Beatles hit single Please Please Me is expected to make thousands of pounds at Beatles Memorabilia auction.
The seven-inch copy of Please Please Me is described as “very, very rare” and has an estimate of £7,000 to £8,000.
Beatles Memorabilia, the annual auction which takes place in the band’s home city of Liverpool, also includes a number of times belonging John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr as well as their manager Brian Epstein.
A very rare signed copy of the Beatles hit single Please Please Me is expected to make thousands of pounds at Beatles Memorabilia auction
Other highlights of this year auction are 3 rarely seen photographs of Beatles taken at Newcastle City Hall and the Sunderland Empire as Beatlemania was sweeping the world in November 1963.
The pictures were taken by Keith Perry, a freelance photographer, and the negatives were forgotten for 48 years.
Each photo is being sold with full, worldwide copyright and they are expected to attract a frenzy of bid.
A cap belonging to John Lennon is also expected to attract huge interest and carries an estimate of up to £4,000.
Among the more unusual items up for sale is a compulsory purchase order issued for the famous Cavern Club before it was filled in with concrete in the early 1970s.
The order, dated November 17 1970, carries an estimate of up to £5,500.
Other Beatles Memorabilia collected from the Mathew Street venue include a piece of the stage, which could fetch £1,600 to £1,800.
A programme of the Cavern Club reopening, carried out by then prime minister Harold Wilson in July 1966, has a guide price of £80 to £120.
The auction is also inviting bids for a telegram addressed to “Mr. G Starkex” sent by comedy star Peter Sellers to Ringo Starr and first wife Maureen on August 21 1968.
The message is to let them know that the weather is holding up for Sellers’ visit to see them.
“The annual sale, part of the Beatles Convention in Liverpool, is attracting huge levels of interest,” the organizers said.
Stephen Bailey, manager of the Liverpool Beatles Shop which is staging the sale, said:
“The memorabilia has just kept coming in and there’s a lot of excitement building.
“We have several signed singles this year and they always attract a lot of interest from fans and collectors.
“But it’s always the more unusual items which capture the imagination of the buyers.”
There are a total of 322 lots being sold in the auction, which will take place today in the Paul McCartney Auditorium at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
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