“Love of the Loved” was one of Paul McCartney’s earliest compositions and the Beatles performed it in their live act in their early years. The band recorded the song during their 1962 audition for Decca Records, but it has never been included in any of their official releases. It was even left off of 1995′s Anthology 1 (compilation CDs that covered 1958-1964), supposedly vetoed from inclusion by McCartney.

On stage, Jimmy wore Ringo’s suit after some alterations. From June 4-13, 1964, Nicol played ten shows in six locations with The Beatles in Denmark, Holland, Hong Kong, and Australia. On June 14, Starr returned to the band in Melbourne, Australia. Nicol said he was “praying he [Starr] would get well at the same time I was hoping he would not want to come back.” For his efforts, Brian Epstein presented him with a check and a gold Eternamatic wrist watch inscribed: “From The Beatles and Brian Epstein to Jimmy – with appreciation and gratitude.”

In later years, it was rumored that Jimmy Nicol had died in 1988, but a 2005 report by the Daily Mail confirmed that he was actually still alive and living as a recluse in London.

“Good Night” is the last song on their 1968 album ‘The Beatles’ (much better known as ‘The White Album’).

The songs came about because the German division of EMI, Electrola Gesellschaft, thought that the only way to sell Beatles records in their country was if they were in German. The Beatles thought the idea was stupid, but George Martin convinced them to do it anyway. The tracks were a big hit in Germany, but as it turns out, today their English versions are much better known there.

The original two-track tape of “She Loves You” had been destroyed by EMI, so they had to re-record the instruments from scratch for “Sie Liebt Dich”. After 13 takes they had the backing track and then overdubbed their vocals in a single take.

Click the Play button to listen to “Sie Leibt Dich”:
[See post to listen to audio]

Two years later, on August 16, 1962, he was dismissed from the group but was never given a satisfactory explanation why. The only reason manager Brian Epstein gave was, “The lads don’t want you in the group anymore”. Although there were probably a few reasons why the lads were wanting to replace him, Pete’s fate was sealed when producer George Martin indicated that he wanted to use a session drummer instead of Best for their studio recordings. The other three Beatles asked Epstein to fire him and replace him with Ringo Starr, who had occasionally sat in with the band when Pete was unavailable.

— Here’s a few quotes from the Beatles about Best’s firing:

“We were always going to dump him when we found a decent drummer.” – John Lennon

“We were cowards when we sacked him.” - John Lennon

“I was quite responsible for stirring things up. I conspired to get Ringo in for good; I talked to Paul and John until they came round to the idea.” – George Harrison

“We weren’t very good at telling Pete (Best) he had to go.” – George Harrison

“I never felt sorry for Pete Best. I was not involved.” – Ringo Starr

“I felt I was a much better drummer than he was.” – Ringo Starr

“It was a strictly professional decision. If he wasn’t up to the mark… then there was no other choice.” – Paul McCartney

“I do feel sorry for him, because of what he could have been on to.”- Paul McCartney

Related post: Who was the original bass player of The Beatles?
Related article on BeatlesLane.com: Whatever happened to former Beatle Pete Best?