Cilla Black’s debut single was “Love of the Loved”, a Lennon-McCartney composition mainly written by Paul McCartney. Black (born Priscilla White) was contracted with manager Brian Epstein as his only female client. George Martin, who signed Cilla to Parlophone Records, produced her recording of the song. Released September 27, 1963, the single peaked at a modest number 35 on the UK Singles Chart, and was not to be one of her bigger hits.
“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.
In 1969, Welsh folk singer Mary Hopkin had a hit with the Paul McCartney penned “Goodbye” (credited to Lennon/McCartney). The track reached #13 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and #2 in the UK Singles Chart, where the Beatles’ single “Get Back” kept it from #1.
Hopkin was one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles’ Apple record label. Her 1968 single “Those Were The Days”, produced by Paul McCartney, was a Top 10 hit single in both the UK and the U.S. Her debut album, Postcard, released in February 1969, was also produced by McCartney.
“Goodbye” has never been officially released by the Beatles, although there is a demo version performed by McCartney that appears on some of the Beatles’ bootlegs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t included on the Anthology CD sets. In Paul’s version, he sings it from a female perspective, using “him” instead of “her” when singing “calls me to his side” and “I must go to his side.”
Jimmy Nicol temporarily replaced Ringo Starr after he collapsed and was hospitalized with tonsillitis on June 3, 1964. It was the eve of The Beatles’ 1964 Australasian tour. Rather than cancel part of the tour, manager Brian Epstein and producer George Martin decided to use a stand-in drummer to take Ringo’s place. Martin suggested Nicol because he had recently drummed on a Tommy Quickly session. Also, Jimmy was familiar with the Beatles’ songs as he had drummed on an album of Beatle covers called “Beatlemania”. With a last-minute phone call from George Martin, Nicol rushed over to Abbey Road Studios, where he and The Beatles did a quick rehearsal of six songs from their tour repertoire. The next day he would be playing live with them in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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.
John Lennon was in the one-time English supergroup The Dirty Mac for The Rolling Stones’ TV special “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus”, recorded on December 11, 1968. Since becoming a Beatle, this was the first time that John had performed in public in any group other than The Beatles. He came up with the name The Dirty Mac as a play on “Fleetwood Mac”. In addition to Lennon on vocals and rhythm guitar, the band consisted of Eric Clapton (from Cream) on lead guitar, Mitch Mitchell (from The Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums, and Keith Richards (from The Rolling Stones) on bass. The band performed the Lennon-written “Yer Blues” from the then recently released Beatles’ ‘White Album’. They also backed up Yoko Ono and violinist Ivry Gitlis on a song titled “Whole Lotta Yoko”.
John and Yoko’s Plastic Ono Band, formed in 1969, also included Eric Clapton as an occasional member.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus album and home video of the event wouldn’t be released until 1996. The DVD was issued in 2004.
