June 3, 1964: The Beatles were at a photo session. The next day, they were set to depart on an international tour.
But Ringo collapsed and was suddenly taken to a hospital.
He needed treatment for tonsillitis and could not leave with the band.
Manager Brian Epstein and George Martin discussed what to do. Canceling the shows would upset hundreds of thousands of fans, not to mention the financial loss from prepaid accommodations and concert venues.
They needed someone to temporarily play drums in Ringo’s place. Fast. Someone who already knew the music.
George Martin knew just the man - a session drummer who Martin had seen around London.
His name was Jimmie Nicol.
Nicol played drums with several bands throughout the late 50s and early 60s and had formed his own group called the Shubdubs.
Martin phoned him and asked if he could fill in and be ready to leave the next day.
He already knew all of the Beatles songs - Beatlemania had stormed the world by then - so he said yes.
But George Harrison was opposed. Without Ringo, they weren’t the Beatles. He needed to be convinced.
Ringo wasn’t happy with being replaced, either. He worried the band might abandon him for good.
June 4: Martin told Nicol he had to rehearse with the band that afternoon to persuade them. But pack a bag, he was told, to be ready to leave immediately after.
One hour later, he passed the test and became an honorary Beatle. He was then given a mop top haircut and left London with the group that day.
That evening, the Beatles - with Jimmie Nicol on drums - performed in Copenhagen.
McCartney later recounted how Nicol seemed dazed by it all. When Paul counted out the beat to She Loves You (one, two, three, four), Nicol froze. Paul tried again, same result. But eventually Nicol gained focus and played adequately.
The next day, June 5, they appeared on television in the Netherlands.
Three days later, June 9, they performed in Hong Kong.
During the trip, the Beatles asked Nicol how he was doing. His standard reply: “It’s getting better.”
On June 12 & 13, they did shows in Adelaide, Australia.
By the time they reached Melbourne, June 14, Ringo had recovered and rejoined the tour.
Jimmie was sent home to England from Australia. Just like that, it was all over.
The band members were asleep when time came for him to depart, so Nicol never got to say goodbye to them.
Epstein took him to the airport, gave him an engraved watch, and paid him for the gigs, which was a large sum of money.
Someone snapped a photo of Nicol seated alone and lonely while awaiting his flight, his brush with fame over.
Jimmie Nicol was flush with cash thanks to the Beatles and he used that money, as well as his supposed fame, to promote his band The Shubdubs.
They never succeeded. Everyone forgot Jimmie Nicol. Within a year, he was bankrupt.
1965: A Swedish band called the Spotnicks hired Nicol. He went on an international tour with them.
But while performing in Mexico, Nicol was so drunk he passed out during a show. He got fired.
Nicol remained in Mexico and eventually opened a factory that made buttons for clothing.
He returned to England in the mid-70s and worked as a general contractor for home renovations.
Nicol’s only other contribution to the Beatles was a song based on something he’d said.
McCartney was walking his dog one day and remarked that the weather was ‘getting better.’ That phrase reminded him of Jimmie Nicol.
And that inspired McCartney to write Getting Better for the Sgt. Pepper album.
Nicol never cashed in on his momentary fame and only ever expressed praise for the Beatles. He vanished from public view.
Rumors swirled in 1988 that he had died.
However, Jimmie Nicol is believed to be alive, in his early 80s, and living somewhere in England.
But no one is quite sure.
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