Recordings of The Beatles‘ drummer Ringo Starr’s first band Rory Storm And The Hurricanes have been discovered, 50 years after they were originally made.
The tapes were recorded in March 1960, a full two years before Starr was asked by producer Brian Epstein to join The Beatles.
The band performed alongside The Beatles during their stint in Hamburg and were considered to be one of the leading lights of the Liverpool scene. They were fronted by Rory Storm [whose real name is Alan Caldwell], who died in 1972. It is in the basement of his sister’s house that the new tapes have been found.
The tapes include tracks recorded at the Jive Hive club in north Liverpool, and at Storm’s house, which was known locally as Stormsville, where bands including The Beatles would get together once clubs like The Cavern had shut at night.
Storm’s sister Iris Caldwell spoke about her brother, who she said was “so far ahead of his time”. She told BBC News: “Rory was a performer. He wasn’t, like The Beatles, a brilliant songwriter. They called him The Golden Boy and Mr Showbusiness. Rory was so far ahead of his time. He was doing glam rock then. I suppose these tapes have been in an old sealed box ever since [they were recorded].”
Caldwell also said she believed Brian Epstein did not give her brother a real shot at becoming a major success because he “didn’t want any major competition” for The Beatles.
It is not yet whether the tapes will be released to the public as yet. Ringo Starr released his 16th solo album Ringo 2012 in January.