Bill and Ringo

Thanks Jim...for the invite to share my story on how I met a Beatle!

To explain, from 1988 to 2005 I was a music journalist for MuchMusic and MuchMoreMusic ( Canada 's music TV channels.) I had the cool opportunities to travel the world and interview thousands of artists, athletes and even actors.

My favourite interviews have always been with "legends"...the artists that shaped trends and shaped the industry. The Beatles are of course the pinnacle of music legends.

I have interviewed many people "associated" with The Beatles...Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon, Sean Lennon, and various Beatles biographers.

And yes...I even met a Beatle (or two if you count Pete Best...as Mr. Best told me in our interview "Once a Beatle, always a Beatle!")

I have interviewed Ringo Starr twice...in 2001 and 2003 I believe.

Larger-than-life celebs that are down to earth, honest and personable are rare. I can understand why most are guarded, and can easily forgive them if they're not "open", but Ringo proved to be one of the few that enjoys a good interview. He opened up about numerous subjects...including his on-going effort to spread peace, his love of art & love of creating music, and most importantly...the early days of Beatlemania. We talked about how in those first days the audience's screams drowned out the on-stage monitors.

How did The Beatles perform and specifically...how did Ringo keep the beat without the band collectively hearing each other?

Ringo offered "I would watch the bums (of my band in front of me) and watch the nodding of their heads... and thought 'Oh, that's where we're at!' "

I often wonder if Paul, John and George were ever aware that poor ole Ringo had to watch their asses in order to keep the rhythm of the songs???

Bill Welychka
Bill@Achannel.ca

The Ron Oberman Story

This photo was taken in 1965 outside the Beatles' hotel room at the Holiday Inn in Baltimore. I am on the right. Next to me is the late Carroll James, a local Washington DJ who was one of the first to play the Beatles on the radio.

I was interviewing the band for the Washington Star newspaper. From 1964 to 1967 I wrote a regular weekly column on rock and r&b. It was one of the first regular newspaper columns devoted to rock.

Over the years, I interviewed the Beatles, Stones, James Brown, Beach Boys, Dave Clark Five, Animals, and many of the biggest acts of the 60s.

I covered the Beatles very first show in the U.S. in February of 1964. It was at the Washington Coliseum. It was preceded earlier in the day by a press conference in a boxing ring at the Coliseum.

In all, I was able to attend five different Beatles shows: Two in D.C., one in Baltimore, another in Atlantic City, and finally one at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

Regarding the LA show, I was friends with the lead singer (Bobbie Howard) of a local D.C. band, the British Walkers. One day he asked me where the Beatles were playing. I looked at their itinerary and told him they had an upcoming show at the Hollywood Bowl. So, he flew me and his bass player to LA to see the show.

We did not have tickets. However, we were able to buy them from scalpers at $50 apiece. The list price of the tickets was $5.00.

Hope this is helpful. If you have any questions, ok to email me.

Best,

Ron Oberman