Early life: 1940–1956
.JPG)
Richard Starkey was born on 7 July 1940, at 9 Madryn Street, Dingle, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, the son of confectioners Elsie (née Gleave) and Richard Starkey.[4][nb 1] Elsie enjoyed singing and dancing, a hobby that she shared with her husband, an avid fan of swing.[6] Prior to the birth of their son, whom they nicknamed "Ritchie", the couple had spent much of their free time on the local ballroom circuit, but soon after his birth their regular outings ended.[7] Elsie adopted an overprotective approach to raising her son that bordered on fixation. Subsequently, "Big Ritchie", as Starkey's father became known, lost interest in his family, choosing instead to spend long hours drinking and dancing in pubs, sometimes for several consecutive days.[7]
In 1944, in an effort to reduce their housing costs, his family moved to another neighbourhood in the Dingle, 10 Admiral Grove; soon afterwards, his parents separated, and they divorced within the year.[8] Starkey later stated that he has "no real memories" of his father, who made little effort to bond with him, visiting as few as three times thereafter.[9] Elsie found it difficult to survive on her ex-husband's support payments of thirty shillings a week, so she took on several menial jobs cleaning houses before securing a position as a local barmaid, an occupation that she enjoyed for twelve years.[10]
At age six Starkey developed appendicitis. Following a routine appendectomy he contracted peritonitis, causing him to fall into a coma that lasted for three days.[11] His recovery spanned twelve months, which he spent away from his family at Liverpool's Myrtle Street Children's hospital.[12]Upon his discharge in May 1948, his mother allowed him to stay home, causing him to miss school.[13] At age eight, he remained illiterate, with a poor grasp of mathematics.[13] His lack of education contributed to a feeling of alienation at school, which resulted in him regularly playing truant atSefton Park.[14] After several years of twice weekly tutoring from his surrogate sister and neighbour, Marie Maguire Crawford, Starkey had nearly caught up to his peers academically, but in 1953, he contracted tuberculosis and was admitted to a sanatorium, where he remained for two years.[15] During his stay the medical staff made an effort to stimulate motor activity and relieve boredom by encouraging their patients to join the hospital band, leading to his first exposure to a percussion instrument; a makeshift mallet made from a cotton bobbin that he used to strike the cabinets next to his bed.[16] Soon afterwards, he grew increasingly interested in drumming, receiving a copy of the Alyn Ainsworth song "Bedtime for Drums" as a convalescence gift from Crawford.[17] Starkey commented: "I was in the hospital band ... That's where I really started playing. I never wanted anything else from there on ... My grandparents gave me a mandolin and a banjo, but I didn't want them. My grandfather gave me a harmonica ... we had a piano – nothing. Only the drums."[18]
Starkey attended St Silas, a Church of England primary school near his house where his classmates nicknamed him "Lazarus", and later Dingle Vale Secondary modern school, where he showed an aptitude for art and drama, as well as practical subjects including mechanics.[19] As a result of the prolonged hospitalisations, he fell behind his peers scholastically and was ineligible for the 11-plus qualifying examination required for attendance at a grammar school.[20] On 17 April 1953, Starkey's mother married Harry Graves, an ex-Londoner who had moved to Liverpool following the failure of his first marriage.[21] Graves, an impassioned fan of big band music and their vocalists, introduced Starkey to recordings by Dinah Shore, Sarah Vaughan and Billy Daniels.[22] Graves stated that he and "Ritchie" never had an unpleasant exchange between them; Starkey later commented: "He was great ... I learned gentleness from Harry."[23] After the extended hospital stay following Starkey's recovery from tuberculosis, he did not return to school, preferring instead to stay at home and listen to music while playing along by beating biscuit tins with sticks.[24]
Beatles biographer Bob Spitz described Starkey's upbringing as "a Dickensian chronicle of misfortune".[25] Houses in the area were "poorly ventilated, postage-stamp-sized ... patched together by crumbling plaster walls, with a rear door that opened onto an outhouse."[25] Crawford commented: "Like all of the families who lived in the Dingle, he was part of an ongoing struggle to survive."[25] The children who lived there spent much of their time atPrinces Park, escaping the soot-filled air of their coal-fuelled neighbourhood.[25] Adding to their difficult circumstances, violent crime was an almost constant concern for people living in one of the oldest and poorest inner-city districts in Liverpool.[26] Starkey later commented: "You kept your head down, your eyes open, and you didn't get in anybody's way."[27]
After his return home from the sanatorium in late 1955, Starkey entered the UK workforce, but lacking motivation and discipline, his initial attempts at gainful employment proved unsuccessful.[28] In an effort to secure himself some warm clothes, he briefly held a position at British Rail, who supplied their employees with suits. They gave him a hat, but no uniform, and unable to pass the physical examination, he was laid off and granted unemployment benefits.[29] He then found work as a waiter serving drinks on a day boat that travelled from Liverpool to North Wales, but his fear of conscription into military service led him to quit the job, not wanting to give the Royal Navy the impression that he was suitable for seafaring work.[30] In mid-1956, Graves secured Starkey a position as an apprentice machinist at a Liverpool equipment manufacturer. While working at the facility Starkey befriended Roy Trafford, and the two bonded over their shared interest in music.[31] Trafford introduced him to skiffle, and he quickly became a fervent admirer.[31]
No comments:
Post a Comment