Maureen Starkey Tigrett
Maureen Starkey Tigrett | |
---|---|
Seattle, Washington , US | |
Nationality | British |
Other names | Mo Starkey |
Occupation | Hairdresser |
Spouses | |
Children | 4, including Zak Starkey |
Maureen Starkey Tigrett (born Mary Cox; 4 August 1946 – 30 December 1994), also known as Mo Starkey, was a hairdresser from Liverpool, England, best known as the first wife of Ringo Starr, the Beatles' drummer. When she was a trainee hairdresser in Liverpool, she met him at the Cavern Club, where the Beatles were playing. Starr proposed marriage at the Ad Lib Club in London on 20 January 1965. They married at the Caxton Hall Register Office, London, in 1965, and divorced in 1975.
The Starrs first lived at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone, then bought Sunny Heights, in St George's Hill, Weybridge. In 1973, they bought Tittenhurst Park from John Lennon. They had three children together: sons Zak and Jason, and daughter Lee.
Early life
Mary Cox was born on 4 August 1946, in Liverpool,
Ringo Starr
At 15, Cox became a regular at the Cavern Club,[2] and remembered the long queues and violent competition for access to the Beatles.[7] Although Ringo, whom she called "Ritchie" (for Richard),[7] kissed her, he did not immediately notice her among his numerous fans.[3][page needed] All the Beatles were supposed to be officially unattached, for image purposes,[8] and when Ringo started dating Cox in 1962, she was often threatened, and once scratched in the face by a vicious rival.[9] She even had to stop working as a hairdresser because of the threats.[5] In September 1963, with her parents' permission, she travelled to Greece with Starr, Paul McCartney, and Jane Asher.[10]
On the eve of an international tour, Starr collapsed during a photo session at a studio in Barnes, London.[11] Stricken with a 102 °F (39 °C) fever and tonsillitis, he was rushed to hospital, where Cox visited every day to help him recuperate. Afterwards they became a monogamous couple.[12] On 20 January 1965, Starr proposed marriage to Cox at the Ad Lib Club, above the Prince Charles Theatre, London.[13]
Marriage
After finding out that she was pregnant in late January 1965,[14] 18-year-old Maureen married Starr at the Caxton Hall Register Office, London,[14][15] on 11 February 1965.[16][17]
Because of the pregnancy, the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein arranged the wedding very quickly, hoping it would be private, with John Lennon telling her there should be no tears, or she 'wouldn't be one of the gang'. McCartney was in Tunisia at the time and could not attend.[14] After the wedding, George Harrison (who had arrived on a bicycle)[18] jokingly said "Two down, two to go", meaning that the only two Beatles who were not married were Harrison and McCartney.[19] The Starrs had a brief honeymoon for three days at the holiday home of Epstein's lawyer, David Jacobs, in Prince's Crescent, Hove, but gave an interview in the back garden on their wedding day, as they were being besieged by numerous reporters, with 100 photographers.[19][20] Starr then had to depart to the Bahamas for the filming of Help!,[19] on 22 February.[21] She made it clear from the start that she would not give interviews, as a Beatles spokesperson explained: "She doesn't want to get mixed up in publicity, and Ringo doesn't want her to, either."[22]
The Starrs were living at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone,
After Lennon moved away, the Starrs sold Sunny Heights for £50,000, and bought a 16th-century mansion in Elstead, from Peter Sellers,[25] which they soon sold to Stephen Stills,[30] before moving into Roundhill, on Compton Avenue, Highgate, London, on 25 April 1969.[31] They bought Lennon's home at Tittenhurst Park on 18 September 1973.[32]
Cox enjoyed the closeness of
On 19 February 1968, the Starrs travelled to Rishikesh, India, with McCartney and Asher. They joined the Lennons and the Harrisons, who had arrived three days earlier.[39] Maureen took an instant dislike to the spiders, mosquitoes,[40] and flies that were ever-present in the ashram.[41] The division between the sexes was emphasised by the male musicians sitting outside at night composing songs, while their partners would gather together in one of their rooms, often talking about life as the wife or partner of a Beatle.[42] The Starrs left India on 1 March, saying the unfamiliar food was not to their liking, and they were missing their children.[43]
Maureen Starr sang backup vocals on "
Frank Sinatra's birthday song
The first song in the Apple Records catalogue was a private recording by Frank Sinatra. In 1968, as a favour to Starr, Sinatra recorded this special version of his previously released song "The Lady Is a Tramp" for Maureen's birthday. Sammy Cahn re-wrote the lyrics, and personalised them: "She married Ringo, and she could have had Paul/That's why the lady is a champ".[48][49] Sinatra's recording was pressed as a single in Los Angeles, and notated as Apple 1.[50] Starr presented his wife with the single on her 22nd birthday, 4 August 1968.[3] Only a few copies were pressed before the master tape was destroyed; the song is still in demand by record collectors.[50] A poor quality copy of the song began circulating in collector circles, and is now available on several bootleg albums.[51] Starr and his wife attended a Sinatra concert in London on 8 May 1970.[52]
Children
Marital problems and divorce
When the Beatles broke up in 1970, so did the Starrs' marriage, as Ringo's infidelities were becoming more frequent, and his alcoholism was escalating.[3] When the Harrisons were visiting the Starrs, Harrison confessed how much he loved Maureen, which led to an affair.[59] Ringo threatened divorce when Harrison's wife Pattie told him that she had found the pair in bed together.[37][60] Lennon was equally angry with Harrison, describing the affair as being "virtual incest".[61]
Despite the couple's problems, notwithstanding extramarital affairs,[3] Maureen did not want to divorce Starr, but eventually, on 17 July 1975,[62] their divorce was finalised on the grounds of Starr's affair with American fashion model Nancy Lee Andrews.[63] Starr agreed to give his ex-wife custody of their children and a one-off payment of £125,000,[64] along with £23,000 a year plus £2,500 a year for each of their children.[65] The end of her marriage depressed her deeply; she once rode a motorbike into a brick wall in a suicide attempt.[37] Starr later admitted that the marriage had been dysfunctional, confessing that he had been "a drunk, a wife-beater and an absent father".[66]
In November 1987, Maureen Starr instructed her counsel, Thayne Forbes QC, to sue
Later life and death
In 1976, Maureen started to live with
Maureen attended the funeral of drummer Keith Moon on 13 September 1978, at the Golders Green Crematorium, along with 120 guests, including Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts.[72]
On 8 December 1980, Lennon's ex-wife
Maureen and Starr became grandparents when Tatia Jayne Starkey was born on 7 September 1985, to their eldest son, Zak, and his wife, Sarah Starkey (née Menikides), in England.[74]
Cox died at age 48 on 30 December 1994, due to complications from
Notes
- ^ Harry 2004, p. 333.
- ^ a b c d "Drummer's Girl". People. 16 January 1995. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g O'Dell & Ketcham 2010.
- ^ Harry 2004, p. 180.
- ^ a b "General Statements: 1964–67". Beatle Money. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ a b Barrow 2006, p. 60.
- ^ a b Cross 2004, p. 52.
- ^ Schaffner 1980, p. 53.
- ^ Davies, Hunter (13 September 1968). "Beatles". Life. p. 110. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
maureen.
- ^ Barrow 2006, p. 94.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 505.
- ^ Mulligan 2010, p. 80.
- ^ Cross 2004, p. 143.
- ^ a b c Mulligan 2010, p. 84.
- London Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 April 2011.[permanent dead link]
- The News and Courier. 12 February 1965. p. 1.
- ^ Cross 2004, p. 105.
- ^ a b Spitz 2005, p. 573.
- ^ a b c d Barrow 2006, p. 143.
- The Windsor Star. 7 February 1965. p. 7.
- ^ Mulligan 2010, p. 85.
- Eugene Register-Guard. p. 27.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 240.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 166–167.
- ^ Press-Courier. p. 21.
- ^ Lennon 2005, pp. 205–206.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 596.
- ^ Lennon 2005, p. 206.
- ^ Davies, Hunter (20 September 1968). "Beatles". Life. p. 81.
- ^ "Income: 1968–70". Beatle Money. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
- ^ Matteo 2004, p. 21.
- ^ Ingham 2003, p. 173.
- ^ Barrow 2006, p. 44.
- ^ Lennon 2005, pp. 204–206.
- ^ Barrow 2006, p. 31.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 737.
- ^ a b c d Walker, Tim (22 March 2008). "A hard day's wife – The fab four wives' club". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 3 April 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ Ingham 2003, p. 281.
- ^ Lelyveld, Joseph (23 February 1968). "Beatles' Guru is Turning Them into Gurus With Cram Course". The New York Times.
- ^ O'Hagen, Sean (25 April 2004). "Dear Ringo. It's hot. Wish you were here". Observer. London. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ Spitz 2005, pp. 754–755.
- ^ Mulligan 2010, p. 105.
- ^ Cross 2004, p. 176.
- ^ Cross 2004, p. 269.
- ^ "American photographer Linda McCartney sitting beside English... News Photo - Getty Images". Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ Mansfield 2007, p. 99.
- ^ Sulpy & Schweighardt 1997, pp. 301–304.
- ^ "Maureen Is A Champ". Little Willow. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ^ Finkelstein, Daniel (28 April 2009). "Is this the rarest record ever made?". Comment Central. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ^ a b Finkelstein, Daniel (28 April 2009). "Is this the rarest record ever made?". The Times. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ^ MisterKite (16 November 2008). "The Beatles – Unbootlegged 25". Bootleg Zone. Archived from the original on 2 May 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ^ Loker 2009, p. 370.
- ^ Cross 2004, p. 117.
- ^ "A Starr is Born, Ringo's a Pop". The Miami News. 14 September 1965. p. 12.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 584.
- ^ Sutton, Michael. "Zak Starkey, AMG biography". Retrieved 2 November 2010.
- ^ Cross 2004, p. 160.
- ^ Cross 2004, p. 244.
- ^ Badman 2001, p. 135.
- Brown, Peter; Gaines, Steven (14 April 1983). "George falls for Ringo's wife and it's divorce Beatles-style". The Gazette. p. 82.
- ^ Gilmore 2009, p. 133.
- ^ Gould 2008, p. 604.
- ^ "The Beatles – All About The Beatles at". Beatlemania.ca. Archived from the original on 21 March 2005. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
- ^ a b "Ex-wife Maureen lifts the lid on superstar – RINGO CAPP!". Daily Mirror. 3 November 1987.
- ^ The Glasgow Herald. 20 November 1987. p. 11.
- ^ "Ringo". The Independent. London. 28 October 1995. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- Evening Times. 4 November 1987. p. 2.
- ^ Kaynak, Ajami & Bear 2006, p. 146.
- ^ Buncombe, Andrew (8 December 2006). "Hard Rock Cafe: The tribe that bought a billion dollar business". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ Patoski, Nick (January 1987). "Between a Hard Rock and a Place". Texas Monthly. p. 96.
- ^ "Official Biography: Isaac Burton Tigrett". Isaac Tigrett. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- The Calgary Herald. 13 September 1978. p. B9.
- ^ Badman 2001, p. 275.
- ^ "Ringo becomes a grandfather". Star-News. 10 September 1985. p. 4.
- ^ "Former Wife of Ringo Starr Dies in Seattle". The Seattle Times. 1 January 1995. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
- ^ Badman 2001, p. 525.
- ^ Benitez 2010, p. 148.
- ^ Harry 2004, p. 236.
References
- Badman, Keith (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970–2001. ISBN 978-0-7119-7520-0.
- ISBN 978-1-56025-882-7.
- Benitez, Vincent Perez (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. ISBN 978-0-313-34969-0.
- Cross, Craig (2004). Day-By-Day Song-By-Song Record-By-Record. ISBN 978-0-595-31487-4.
- Gilmore, Mikal (2009). Stories Done: Writings on the 1960s and Its Discontents. ISBN 978-0-7432-8746-3.
- Gould, Jonathan (2008). Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain and America. ISBN 978-0-7499-2988-6.
- ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
- Ingham, Chris (2003). The rough guide to the Beatles. ISBN 978-1-84353-140-1.
- Kaynak, Erdener; Ajami, Riad; Bear, Marca Marie (2006). The Global Enterprise: Entrepreneurship and Value Creation. ISBN 978-0-7890-2340-7.
- ISBN 978-0-340-89512-2.
- Loker, Bradford E. (2009). History with The Beatles. Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60844-039-9.
- ISBN 978-1-59555-101-6.
- Matteo, Stephen (2004). The Beatles' "Let It Be". ISBN 978-0-8264-1634-6.
- ISBN 978-0-7493-8658-0.
- Mulligan, Kate Siobhan (2010). The Beatles: A Musical Biography (Story of the Band). ISBN 978-0-313-37686-3.
- O'Dell, Chris; Ketcham, Katherine (2010). Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with the "Beatles", the "Stones", Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved. ISBN 978-1-4165-9094-1.
- Schaffner, Nicholas (1980). The boys from Liverpool: John, Paul, George, Ringo. ISBN 978-0-416-30661-3.
- ISBN 978-0-316-80352-6.
- Sulpy, Doug; Schweighardt, Ray (1997). Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of the Beatles' Let it Be Disaster. Diane Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-7881-9339-2.
External links
- Interview with Mrs. Starr on YouTube