THE BEATLES: Ringo Starr

THE BEATLES.

(continued)

RINGO STARR

The oldest of the four Beatles, Ringo Starr, born Richard Starkey, was born on July 7, 1940, at 9 Madryn Street in an impoverished area of Liverpool known as the Dingle.

His mother, Elsie, had been married to Richard Starkey Sr. since 1936, but their marriage, like that of John's parents, fell apart in 1943. When Ringo was 3 years old, his parents separated. Elsie later married Harry Graves, but Ringo remained the only child from her two marriages. Elsie and Ringo moved to 10 Admiral Grove when money got tight. The place they wanted to live in had one advantage—the local taxes were low.

In 1945, Ringo started school, but his studies went very poorly because he was constantly sick. After his first year of school, he wound up in the hospital with appendicitis, which caused complications lasting nearly a year. When he turned 11, he transferred to a different school. This happened around the time his mother met Harry Graves, though their marriage ended two years later.

Meanwhile, Ringo continued to fall ill, and in 1953, this time with pleurisy, he found himself hospitalized again. By that point, he was old enough to work, but first, he went to school to get a certificate. However, nobody even remembered him being there, as according to the records, he was absent. As a result, Ringo is the only Beatle who never graduated from school. Yet, once he became one of The Beatles, the school quickly located his desk and even turned sitting at it into a special privilege.

Ringo never moved away from his neighborhood, unlike the other three Beatles. He started his working career just as unsteadily as his schooling. He became a messenger on the British Railways, earning 2 pounds and 50 pence a week. But after 6 weeks of work, he switched to bartending at a pub. That didn't last long either, and Ringo moved on to his third job, at the firm "H. Hunt & Son." This was his last non-musical job. While working at the firm, Ringo formed his own group, the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group (E. Clayton had previously played in The Quarrymen). His first drum kit was bought for him for 10 pounds. Later, Ringo bought a better kit by borrowing 100 pounds from his grandfather, agreeing to pay back 1 pound a week to clear the debt.

Ringo didn't stay long with the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group, however, and soon moved on to another band. Playing skiffle didn't bring in the desired income, and besides, they played mostly for fun, just like The Quarrymen. But during this time, he gained enough experience to try out for a professional group: Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, who offered him a gig for the season. The leader of Liverpool's most popular band at the time, Rory Storm, offered 16 pounds a week plus lodging. Since Hunt & Son only paid 8 pounds a week, Ringo accepted Rory's offer.

And so, at the age of 21, having grown a beard, the new drummer of the Hurricanes changed his name, first to Ringo Starkey (a nickname given to him by the band because he wore several rings on his fingers) and then to Ringo Starr, since the band highlighted his drum solos ("Starr Time"). It was under this name that he would later become world-famous.

He had barely heard of The Beatles, as the former Quarrymen were now called. They were just another new Liverpool group, while Rory Storm and the Hurricanes had long been established as professionals. A bit later, after meeting Lennon and his mates in Hamburg, he received an offer to join the band. At that time, The Beatles were starting to play increasingly prestigious and better venues, gaining fame... "I had an offer from another band as well—King Size Taylor offered me 20 pounds a week, but The Beatles were giving 25 pounds, so I picked them..."

to be continued.........

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Happy Birthday.

On March 23, a nude portrait of Alla Pugacheva was unveiled at the Moscow gallery "EXPO-88." The diva's luscious body is exposed for all to see. Except for her regal shoulders and arms, which are draped in an Adriatic-colored cloak. That is how artists Victoria Timofeyeva and Dmitry Vrubel envisioned Alla Borisovna. The 1.20 m by 85 cm canvas was painted with acrylics. The bespoke oak frame was crafted by the authors themselves and painted in the color of the cloak. The artists dared to depict Pugacheva down to a line 10 centimeters below the navel. Delicate ginger hairs will make viewers take a fresh look at the well-known icon. The idea for such an unconventional depiction was pitched to the artistic duo by Russia's chief music critic and editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine, Artemy Troitsky. That's how the magazine decided to congratulate Alla on her 50th birthday, which hit on April 15. Best of all, Pugacheva's body will be projected onto the wall of a building on Zabelina Street. The pop star's body will be blown up to the height of 5 stories!!!

* GAME-CLUB *

FIFA '99, EA Sports
www.easports.com

There is nothing surprising about the fact that EA Sports, the sports division of gaming mogul Electronic Arts, sells the highest number of copies of its products. After all, the best part of humanity loves sports, and there are more than enough gamers eager to battle it out in virtual hockey, basketball, or football. The latest creation from EA Sports takes on the most popular sport of all: football. FIFA '99 is a great chance to play in one of the championships (Champions League, UEFA Cup, etc.) as your favorite team, and to see the incredible progress computer graphics and animation have made. The graphics in the game are beyond praise. Just look at the emotions and facial expressions of players who scored (or failed to score) a goal! So now, after coming home from a stadium where your favorite team was crushed by foreign rivals, fire up FIFA '99 without hesitation and enjoy.
What to listen to: Dario G, Chumbawamba.

---

And now, a short report from the scene of events that took place in our hometown, on Baburka, in a small local park...

It happened on MAY 31, the last day of spring. It was a wonderful Monday: my head was pounding from a hangover, and my stomach was running like a busted fridge—clicking on and off, with no way to tell what it would do next...

The concert was scheduled for 15:00 local Kiev time. At 12:30, I was already getting ready to head out when out of nowhere my mother showed up and asked me to take something somewhere. I tried to wriggle out of it as much as I could, but nothing worked; I had to drag myself to that "somewhere"...

The commuter train from Zaporizhzhia-II to Dniprobud was leaving at 13:15...

In a total panic, I rushed around the city, sprinting back and forth. Popping out near Svobody Square, I saw the first bus in sight and, like a draft horse, bolted after it without even checking where it was going. Turns out, it was a marshrutka heading for Metalurhiv. And then a wild thought crossed my mind: if I can't make it to Zaporizhzhia-II, there's the 12th of April platform! The moment I reached the platform, the electric train pulled up—having departed not at 13:15, but at 13:05 due to the switch to daylight saving time. In the end, I made it to the distant land of Baburka.

From here on, in chronological order:

On the train, I bumped into Oleksiy Shynkarenko, lead guitarist of the band "SOBAKA-STAPLETON" (Stapleton's Dog), who had actually invited me in the first place. We reached their club at 14:00 and sat there for a whole hour (I, for one, was recovering from that mad chase after the bus and the train :)). We headed over to the park, luckily only a 10-minute walk away, only to find out that everything was starting not at 15:00, but at 17:00. There were supposed to be some runners from Dnipropetrovsk, either jogging past or something else, I never quite figured it out. Then some kids were going to dance, and the bands would only perform from 18:00 to 19:00.

I really liked the stage: completely made of iron, welded together from rebar, with a rusted iron floor covered in the same rusty sheets of metal that sagged under your weight and then snapped back with a loud clatter. Naturally, there wasn't a hint of a roof. The only shade was cast by a single column, also iron. The heat was +36°C. Some birds were practically frying eggs on the stage. I even suggested the guys play barefoot—the music would sound peppier, the audience would be amused, and the musicians wouldn't just stand in one spot 8-))).

When we walked up, they were just setting up the gear. We hung around for a bit and went back to the club at 15:40. On the way, I was ambushed by a WILD MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN of indescribable appearance and equally unquenchable thirst. She was wearing filthy sweatpants and an equally dirty zip-up jacket (unzipped and hanging off her shoulders); beneath the open jacket, a once-white bra of the same caliber was visible. I barely managed to fend her off (she haunted my nightmares all night :((( couldn't fall asleep... ugh, gross).

Finally, it's 17:00, back to the park...
The runners have already done their running, a bus with kids is parked nearby, and the children are performing...
We went and grabbed some beer. Watching the show...
18:00...
And this is where the real fun begins!
The musicians come out on stage to plug in and soundcheck. 18:10: the power vanishes into thin air!
Everyone is in shock. They spend a solid hour trying to fix it, but... They call the emergency service crew. 19:00—no one's here. 19:30—still nothing, and nerves are fraying.
19:45—everyone is even more stressed out. A scruffy electrician finally shows up, wandering around, across, near, and under the stage. 20:05—looks like it's working... but no, the sound cuts out again. Turns out, while running a cable to another outlet, they shorted something in the amp wires.
20:15—they started playing somehow: no time left for a proper soundcheck... Doing it all on the fly. Though the sound wasn't too bad in the end.

There were 6 bands in total. The first to perform was "KLONDIKE"; the second was some "KOPSA-PUKS"; the third was "VELYKI PERSY" (Big Peaches); the fourth band was ????? (I can't remember, and none of the folks I called remember either); the 5th was "SOBAKA-STAPLETON" (they banged out 2 songs: "ORCHIDS" and "THE LONDON-DEVONSHIRE TRAIN"); and closing this whole circus (no other way to describe it, though the gear and sound were fine) was the band "NZ".
All bands played two songs each.
Everything wrapped up at 21:20, after which the crowd started dispersing. I got home without any further complications.

---

Dad Is a Veteran Junkie.

(rock-n-roll)
Author: Sarabayev (SARA). Performed by many rock bands in Zaporizhzhia.

I
Hey, girl with braids, with earrings in your ears
And you, cool guy in wide bell-bottoms,
And you're just like dad with stacks of newspapers,
And I'm just like you, I'm a barren-flower boy.
CHORUS:
Your dad is a worker, your dad is an engineer,
Your dad is a dispatcher or a policeman,
Your dad is a geologist, an arbitration worker,
And my dad is a seasoned junkie.
II
Someone wears clip-ons, baseball caps and glasses,
Someone is looking for an excuse, dilating pupils,
And I walk through the city, spitting on the asphalt,
A dime bag in my pocket and I'm having a blast.
CHORUS.
III
Your soul is dark woods, your soul is the subway,
And you were a rifle, and I was your cartridge,
We would have had children, with horns and a tail,
They'd star in movies and remember
that... CHORUS.

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In Kyiv, the "ROCK-KYIV '99" event will take place, featuring bands like "METALLICA", "SMOKIE", etc. The event will run on June 25–27.
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In Zaporizhzhia, at the "Dubovaya Roshcha" Central Park of Culture and Leisure on June 12 and 19, "COMBO ZONA" will be held, featuring Zaporizhzhia rock bands. Starts around 18:00. These may be the last events held in our city this summer!

And that's all the news for today.
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...Summer is coming soon: which means rest, sea, beach, hiking, traveling. Therefore, an inexperienced traveler can pick up along the way not only a bunch of impressions, but also at least 10 liters of troubles and hassles. To prevent this from happening, take the USEFUL TIPS below with you on the road, to avoid those 10 liters...

    RULES OF CONDUCT ON WATER:

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1. Do not stay in the water for too long. Remember that in December it will freeze.

2. Do not swim close to passing ships! The sailors might snatch your swim cap off.

3. Do not swim beyond the buoy. If you're that curious, drag it onto the shore and inspect it carefully.

4. Men! Do not swim without clothes in places where pike bite on spoons.

5. Choose your diving mask and snorkel carefully. The mask shouldn't be too scary, and don't forget to light up the pipe beforehand.

6. Do not dive in unfamiliar places, to avoid a sudden impact of the seabed against your head.

7. Before diving from a platform, check if you can jump back out of the water in case of danger.

8. When diving to great depths, remember — the air supply is limited! Therefore, try to look at the most interesting things, for example, how mermaids give birth.

9. To everyone! To everyone! To everyone! When swimming in the tropics, you must always carry a whistle and a striped baton. If the shark doesn't stop after three whistles, wave the baton. If it still doesn't stop, you can take off its license plates and fine it.

         TIPS FOR TOURISTS:

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   • To figure out where south is in a forest, you need to look at a tree. If the tree is a palm tree, then south is already here.

• To find the wind direction, spit on your finger and hold it up. After standing for an hour with a spat-on finger, you'll realize you've been pranked.

• To keep the porridge from burning, experienced tourists always poke two or three holes in the pot.

• And remember: if the compass needle shows the wind direction, that's a weather vane.

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1999 Typed by Vladimir Skorodumov