Welcome to the Beatles Rarity Of The Week. Although George Harrison privately resented it, The Beatles began their summer 1964 tour of Europe, Hong Kong and Australia with Ringo Starr sitting out. This was due to his sudden illness during a photo session on June 3rd, where he was hospitalized with tonsillitis. Shubdubs drummer Jimmie Nicol was quickly called in to replace Ringo. Producer George Martin was the one with the idea to use Jimmy, since he knew of him from a session he produced for vocalist Tommy Quickly (also managed by Brian Epstein) where Jimmie was the drummer. The tour kicked off in Copenhagen, Denmark one day later on June 4, 1964, after which The Fab 3 and Jimmie headed for The Netherlands. Before their Amsterdam gig, they made a special television appearance for VARA-TV that consisted of an interview and a short (6 song) performance at the Cafe-Restaurant Treslong in the nearby Dutch town of Hillegom. The Beatles insisted on lip-syncing at this performance, probably because Jimmie was still getting familiar with their material. The vocal microphones were left open, however, for introducing songs, etc. and both Paul and George took advantage of this and sang along, which gave some of the songs a sort of double-tracking feel. With a sharp ear, this becomes apparent on this sampling of the show: George taking the lead on Roll Over Beethoven. Ringo, of course, rejoined his bandmates later in the tour in Melbourne, Australia on June 15, although since he was advised not to sing for awhile, the shows were shortened to 10 songs until the end of the tour.

The Beatles with substitute drummer Jimmie Nicol, June 1964

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