In April of ‘62 the Beatles returned to the steamy, seedy end of Hamburg (Stu Stutcliffe had died suddenly there of a brain hemorrhage just a day before the Beatles were to arrive). They were booked for two months at the “Star-Club” - a larger, better nightclub with a great sound system - and this time they stayed at a real hotel. And while the Beatles were playing their hearts out in Hamburg, Brian continued pounding the pavement in London, playing his demo tapes to anyone who would listen. As legend has it, he had been to EVERY record company in London - TWICE. He’d been turned down by all. He made one last stop before giving up, to see a reluctant "George Martin", an obscure producer of comedy records. This was to be another important break.

An audition was held in June of ‘62. It went “well enough”, George Martin would give them a chance. But he had taken George, John & Paul to the side and said “I’m really unhappy with the drummer. Would you consider changing him?”. They said “No, we can’t”, but as there career was on the line... “It’s one of the most difficult things we had to do” said Paul. So Pete was out, and now they needed the best drummer they could find. They all knew who THAT was: Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), a professional drummer from Liverpool they had met in Hamburg. Ringo’s band had been booked at the same clubs as the Beatles. He had even sat in with them on occasion, filling in for Pete, and they all shared the same background. Luckily, the admiration was mutual, and Ringo, three months older than John, agreed to join. The final mold was cast...

John Paul George & Ringo entered the studio September ‘62 to record their first single: “Love Me Do”, written by John and Paul. There had been a bit of an argument with Martin, as in those days you had writers, and you had performers. Writers would give producers songs for the performers to record - it was unheard of that groups would write their own material. Martin had songs by professional writers for the Beatles to do, but they preferred to do their own, thank you. “Love Me Do” crept up to number 17 in the English charts. Not bad for a group that was virtually unknown outside of Liverpool. It was a tremendous rush for the lads whenever they heard it on radio. Though burned out on Hamburg, and on their way to success in England, the Beatles went back to the Star-Club in November and yet again in December, fulfilling their contracts. This time each had their OWN hotel room. “It’s getting better all the time”.