Beatles Horror Stories

The Forgotten Beatle

Hey there.

What crime are you in for?

Ah, that sounds rather tame compared to mine.

You don't recognize me, do you?

Of course you don't...

Nobody did. At least, before I ended up in this prison.

It's really amazing, you know. I was once part of the most famous band in the world, and yet, no one bothered to remember me.

Being a part of the Beatles was both the best and worst thing that ever happened to me, you know.

Don't you remember when Ringo had tonsillitis back in 1964?

Yeah, now you remember me, huh?

Those two weeks I filled in for him...

Those two weeks changed my life.

Jimmie Nicol, the new Beatle. The attention and fun we all had together was all that I ever wanted.

I always wanted to be successful in life, and they gave it to me.

But, after Ringo came back, what did they do?

I couldn't stay. I wasn't supposed to stay, after all. A part of me always knew that my time in The Beatles wasn't going to last forever, I suppose.

But, after I was out, did the fame and success follow me?

No.

No it didn't.

My name was completely forgotten by the world, it seemed.

I would have stayed with them when Ringo came back, but they didn't want that.

I was nothing more than a stand-in for them.

John, Paul, and George all treated me nicely, but, as it turned out, they didn't care about me.

Maybe they, just like me, had assumed that at least some of the success I had gained during those two weeks would follow me.

Maybe they didn't.

It doesn't really matter now. I'll be locked away for the rest of my life, after all...

You will get out of here soon enough, and you have the chance to renew your life.

I don't.

No.

Murdering a Beatle isn't one of those forgivable crimes, after all.

I'm guessing you didn't hear the news?

Alright, I'll tell you why I'm here.

Three years had gone by since I was a Beatle, and I had nothing.

I had left the music industry, for I knew that I couldn't have a career in it anymore.

No one knew who I was.

No one did.

If Ringo had never come back, I would still be a part of them, and I would still have money and fame.

He took it all away from me.

They tossed me aside, like I never mattered to them.

I got a plan, then.

If Ringo were to disappear, then if I were to approach them, then they would let me back in again, right?

Perhaps.

It took some time for me to iron out the details of how the deed would be done, but eventually, I had it all figured out.

Want to know what I did?

He just walking alone, late at night, and I knew that finding him alone would be a rarity.

So, I snuck up behind him, and slit his throat with a large pocket knife I had bought not too long ago.

I then stuffed his body into a garbage bag I was carrying and dumped it in a nearby river.

It was completed, then. All I had to do was wait for the reports that Ringo had gone missing, and walk right into the studio and tell John, Paul, and George that I was available to come on again.

I never got the chance to do that, though.

As it turns out, some teenager who was busy smoking had seen everything, and he was too quiet for me to hear him the whole time.

The bloodstains on the sidewalk and on my clothes that I had yet to wash properly were more than enough to convict me.

I tried to wash the blood out of the fabric, but I simply didn't have the money to afford the best detergents.

Ringo's body was located while my trial was still happening, and the cut on his throat did match that teenager's story.

I was proven guilty, sentenced to life in prison, and...

Well, here I am now.

It's funny, isn't it?

The fact that I, out of all drummers out there, got the chance to be a part of The Beatles, was truly a gift.

A gift that ruined my life.

All I wanted was to at least keep some of the success I had found when I was with them.

But, I couldn't, could I?

No, no, I just had to end like this!

I never wanted to be a bad guy, but it was either that or lose everything!

I never wanted to murder him, but I had no choice!

I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO BE THE FORGOTTEN BEATLE, GOD DAMNIT!

THEY JUST HAD TO CHOOSE ME, DIDN'T THEY!? ME! THEY CURSED ME WITH THIS FATE! 

I DIDN'T WANT THIS!

I...

I didn't...

W-why did it have to be me?