McCartney Times

Roy Orbison’s son Alex has acquired the movie rights to The Beatle Who Vanished, a book about Jimmie Nicol, the drummer who briefly filled in for a tonsillitis-ridden Ringo Starr during the Beatles’ 1964 tour. When Fab Four landed in a country mourning the death of John F. Kennedy, they faced media disdain and a record label that barely understood them”The arc of Jimmie Nicol as a person and the overall ride of his intersection with that historic high point of what seemed to be the beginnings of Beatlemania,” Alex Orbison told Billboard after purchasing the rights to Jim Berkenstadt’s 2013 book.The day before the Beatles were scheduled to embark on a world tour in June 1964, Starr was hospitalized with tonsilitis and pharyngitis. Unable to postpone the trek, the Beatles hired, on George Martin’s recommendation, 24-year-old Nicol to fill in for Starr; Nicol previously drummed on a cash-grab Beatles covers album and thus already knew the songs, the Beatles Bible writes.Nicol’s tenure with the Beatles lasted 13 days, 10 concerts and one TV appearance before Starr rejoined the group in Australia. Beatles manager Brian Epstein gave Nicol a £500 check, a watch inscribed “From The Beatles and Brian Epstein to Jimmy – with appreciation and gratitude” and a ride to the airport.

Source: Roy Orbison’s Son Acquires ‘The Beatle Who Vanished’ Film – Rolling Stone