How ex-Beatle Ringo Starr cheated death in Liverpool

Ringo Starr in Liverpool

Beatles legend Ringo Starr cheated death when a Nazi bomb exploded just yards away from the house where he was living, researchers have discovered.

The revelation comes as The Fab Four drummer is preparing for a return to his native Liverpool where he will play a concert at the city's Empire Theatre on 18th June.

And as controversy rages in the city over plans to demolish his birthplace an author has unearthed details of a previously untold drama.

That was the night in 1940 when Ringo had a brush with death - an event that the music legend himself cannot recall, since he was a baby at the time.

Richard Starkey was born to his mother Elsie Starkey at number 9 Madryn Street, Dingle, during the dark days of World War II, on the 7th July 1940.

Baby Richard entered world and a city in fear, since Hitler had given orders that the Port of Liverpool should be "wiped off the map" to block the import of vital supplies.

It was on one fateful night in October 1940 that the babe that was to achieve worldwide fame with the Beatles came close to being killed by a Luftwaffe bomb.

Windows were shattered in the Starkeys' two-bedroomed terraced home when four houses opposite in Madryn Street suffered a direct hit.

It is thought Ringo, his mother and father, bakery worker Richard Starkey snr, were in their home at the time since his mother was known to dislike communal air raid shelters.

Neil Holmes, is the author of a new book "Liverpool Blitzed: Seventy Years On", examines the story of areas affected by the Blitz that reached its height in May 1941.

He explained that the Liverpool South Docks were a prime target for German warplanes but homes in nearby streets often fell prey to stray bombs that missed their target.

Neil said:"On the night of 19th October 1940, the area around High Park Street was badly bombed.

"Madryn Street was hit and three people were killed. Ringo would have been just over three months old but there is no record of where exactly where he was.

"People had different reactions to the Blitz. Some of them decided to stay in their homes and tough it out, often in makeshift shelters in the cupboard under the stairs.

"Public shelters were often a considerable distance away and were not popular because of the cramped conditions.

"We do not know what the Starkeys did on the night of 19th October but their home would have have suffered some damage when the homes opposite were destroyed.

"Either way the baby who was to find fame as Ringo Starr was very lucky not to have lost his life that night."

Starkey adopted the stage name Ringo Starr and found fame with the Beatles in 1962 when record producer George Martin decided to drop original drummer Pete Best.

Ringo's home is now threatened with demolition again - this time in a council housing clearance programme, that has currently been put on hold by the Government.

Beatles expert and chairman of the Save Madryn Street campaign Phil Coppell said: "It is chilling to think that if a bomb had dropped a few yards further away from Ringo's home could have been blown to pieces - and perhaps him with it.

"If that wartime history had taken another path it could have changed the course of pop culture and music as we know it.

"No doubt Ringo would have played as a toddler on the bomb site opposite his home since the houses that were destroyed were not rebuilt until after the war.

"He was seen as the joker within The Beatles, and for this reason he was many fans’ favourite.

"If fate had not been so kind, we would not have had the songs he wrote and inspired or the wonderful performances in the films, not to mention his role on Thomas the Tank Engine!

"He added a certain dynamic and also played a great role in keeping the band together.
"He still to this day maintains a great relationship with both Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney.

"But the air raid was not the only instance that Ringo cheated death as a youngster.

"He was always ill as a child, suffering from pleurisy and tuberculosis and he spent a lot of time in hospital.

"His mother, Elsie, was even told by doctors on two occasions that he would not live through the night.

"He has been called the luckiest man alive, and in this instance it is certainly so. It is quite miraculous he is alive, really.

"But some might say the luckiest twist of fate came when he recovering from illness at a hospital in Heswall.

"he was encouraged to take up the drums by a nurse on the ward and the rest, as they say, is history."

"Liverpool Blitzed: Seventy Years" On by Neil Holmes is published by Halsgrove, at #19.99.

* Meantime "SAVE Britain's Heritage" has started a blog to chronicle its campaign to see the Welsh Streets renovated rather than demolished. Visit http://21madrynstreet.blogspot.com/

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