Photos

The BBC Band

Making music: Frank, John, guitars & chair...
Russ & Pete - Buffalo, May 9, 2008
Eeny, meeny, miney, mo. Where's this wire really go?
Gary with Jeff Chonis, Ringo's # 1 Drum Tech
Two of us... (Luvnimages.com)
Warming up on a HOT summer's day
You can learn how to play the game, it's easy... (Luvnimages.com)
Nothing like wearing a black suit when its 90, sunny & humid
Frankie G & Johnny C (Luvnimages.com)
Could this be a BBC Band postcard?
Hey John! "You say it's your birthday..."
One & one & one is three...
“The Old Switcheroo”
Frank (He likes to be called George now) & his good friend Rick
Can you say concentration? (Luvnimages.com)
Ned showing his ivories
John taking a thoughtful break
Searching for that note
There's really nothing else I'd rather do...
Ned and the late, great Billy Preston
"Teamwork"
Shake it up baby!
...while his guitar gently weeps (M. Martin photo)
Playing the keys to success
Thoughts meander...

GARY'S BEATLES GEAR COLLECTION

Beatle guitars: 1985 Fender Rosewood Telecaster, Limited Edition John Lennon Epiphone Casino "Revolution" model, Gretsch Country Classic II, Gibson J-160e, Hofner 1963 500/1 Reissue, Rickenbacker 325 V59
Are you a Ringo fan? Gary Astridge may have one of the most extensively detailed Ringo drum kit collections on the planet. Feel free to email questions and/or comments to Info@TheBBCband.com. Visit www.RingosBeatleGear.com.
Here's an early 60's Premier drum kit (model 54) in a Mahogany Duroplastic finish. Ringo played a set like this when he first joined The Beatles on August 18, 1962. He used his Premier kit until May 12, 1963 when he received his first Ludwig kit.
Ringo's Premier kit specs: 14"x4" Royal Ace Piccolo snare, 12"x8" tom, 16"x16" floor tom, 20"x14" bass drum. 15" hi hat cymbals, 20" & 18" crash/ride cymbals.
Ringo installed a Rogers Swiv-o-matic tom mount in place of Premier's standard mounting system. He also incorporated the same Rogers tom mount on his Ludwig OBP kits with the possible exception of his first Ludwig kit.
Here's some Beatles trivia: Ringo used his Premier kit on a number of early recordings including: Twist & Shout, Please Please Me, I Saw Her Standing There, From Me To You, & P.S. I Love You.
This is an extremely rare 1963 Ludwig 14"x5.5" oyster black pearl snare with identical specs to Ringo's. He used his snare throughout his career with The Beatles. This can be verified by matching the swirl pattern & hardware with photos showing his snare.
The first two Ludwig oyster black pearl (OBP) sets that Ringo owned were known as his mini kits.
Ringo’s Ludwig mini kit specs: 14"x5.5" snare, 12"x8" tom, 14"x14" floor tom, 20"x14" bass drum, 14"/15" hi hat cymbals, 20" & 18" crash/ride cymbals.
Why Ringo’s first Ludwig drum kit purchase included a 14”x5.5” snare drum instead of the standard 14"x4" Downbeat model has never been confirmed, at least not in any of my research.
Here's Ringo playing his 2nd Ludwig mini kit on the Ed Sullivan show in February 1964. This kit was purchased from Manny's Music Store in NY just prior to the February 9th show. For this trip, Ringo brought along his OBP snare, cymbals & drum head.
Here's a 1965 Ludwig oyster black pearl kit. Specs: 14"x5.5" snare, 13"x9" tom, 16"x16" floor tom, 22"x14" bass drum. 14" hi hat cymbals, 20" & 18" crash/ride cymbals.
Ludwig called this their Super Classic kit and it came with either a 14” x 5” Supraphonic or Jazz Festival snare drum.

Here's a 1967 photo of The Beatles with Ringo playing his full sized kit with the "Love" drum head.
Ringo took possession of his Ludwig Hollywood Maple kit late in 1968. It's commonly referred to as his Let It Be or Maple kit.
Ringo used his maple kit on the Let It Be & Abbey Road albums. Specs: 14"x5.5" snare, 12"x8" tom, 13"x9" tom, 16"x16" floor tom, 22"x14" bass drum. 14" hi hat cymbals, 20" crash/ride, 20" sizzle, 18" crash/ride cymbals.


Here's Ring with his maple kit during the Let It Be seesions. You can clearly see his OBP snare in the photo.