Christmas 1961
 |
| Reluctant Santas: Beatles Christmas Show at the Cavern 1961 |
The gigging schedule for December 1961 was the busiest yet. The Beatles had a single day off for turkey and flopping on the sofa in paper hats.
The Beatles clock on
Weeks later, Epstein gave each of them a pointed Christmas gift — a travel alarm clock. Attached was a business card with the message: ‘My little bit to get you all on time.’
This alluded to their chaotic timekeeping — Paul McCartney almost missed one crucial meeting because he was having a bath.
But as Lewisohn points out, it also symbolized a change in their fortunes. From now on, they would be ‘going places’.
On December 27, the coldest night in a decade, The Cavern held a Beatles Christmas Party. It got off to a rocky start when Pete Best phoned in sick. Who could stand in on the sticks? Well, there was their new pal from Hamburg, who happened to have a night off from Hurricane duties.
The gig went so well that George wanted to make the change in the lineup permanent. But Ringo was about to go abroad again, so this was not practical. Pete would remain precariously on his drum stool for another eight months.
