When Gary Astridge was growing up in Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood, the music of his favorite band – the Beatles – helped him through the difficult times.
The Beatles were his heroes. Astridge would go into his bedroom, close the door, and crank up the band’s latest album. It took him to a different world, and he especially admired the efforts of the Beatles’ drummer, Ringo Starr.
With his father’s help, Astridge at age 8 made a crude little drum set out of coffee cans. He began to imagine that he would become a drummer and start his own rock band, specializing in the Beatles’ music.
But he never imagined – even for a single minute – that he would someday meet Starr, become his friend, and even write a book with the Beatles’ beat-keeper.
“Everything that has happened is beyond my wildest dreams,” said Astridge, 67, of the City of Tonawanda, in a recent interview. “I didn’t get into this because I was looking for fame, or trying to become Ringo’s friend or to make money from it. It all started because I wanted to document the history of Ringo and his Beatles drum kits … It’s an important part of music history.”
Astridge runs a medical supplies company. He also is the founder and drummer of the BBC Band, a Buffalo band that plays songs by the Beatles and other British rockers.
He recently collaborated with Starr on a book, “Beats & Threads: Drumming Legend and Fashion Icon, Ringo Starr.” The 314-page book features stories and pictures of the drum kits Starr played with the Beatles, and also the clothing he wore during his Beatles days. The book is available now through JuliensAuctions.com. “Beats & Threads” has a list price of $80, with signed limited editions selling for up to $750.
The book includes some rare memorabilia, including a schedule of upcoming appearances that the late Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein sent to Starr one day after he joined the band in 1962.