 Ringo Starr’s Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl 3-piece drum kit is currently up for auction through Julian's and is estimated to sell between $300,000 - $500,000. This 1963 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl Downbeat drum kit, the first Ludwig kit ever owned by Ringo Starr, was used on more than 200 live performances and over 180 studio recordings from May 12, 1963 through February 4, 1964, while becoming a visual trademark as important to The Beatles’ stage show as their hair, suits, boots, guitars and amplifiers. Ringo’s ultimate decision to purchase this very kit lit the fuse for the Ludwig Drum Company, while the actual explosion would take place on Monday, February 10, 1964, the day after The Beatles’ legendary first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. This historic drum kit has not been seen in public since.
To complete the sale, Brian wanted to meet with store owner Ivor Arbiter, who had an office nearby. The Beatles frequented another of Ivor’s shops, Sound City, which sold guitars, amps and accessories and Brian wanted to cut a deal. A call was made by Gerry Evans to Ivor and a meeting was quickly arranged. Epstein also wanted the band’s name to appear on the front bass drum as well and according to Arbiter, Ivor hastily sketched a logo on a scrap of paper from his desk which emphasized the BEAT in “Beatles.” In doing so Arbiter became the designer of The Beatles' "Drop-T" logo, one of the most recognizable logos in the world. He then rang up Eddie Stokes, a local sign painter who occasionally worked for Drum City painting band names on drum heads and paid him £5 to paint the new logo on the front drum head just under the Ludwig logo, to everyone’s satisfaction.  1963 and early ’64 was a very busy and aggressive time for The Beatles and this Ludwig Downbeat drum kit was used extensively as the band crisscrossed the UK, playing in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, as well as on the continent in Sweden and France. Ringo took possession of his new Ludwig kit on May 12, 1963. Gerry Evans personally delivered the new kit to the Alpha Television Studios where The Beatles were taping a TV show called Thank Your Lucky Stars, miming “From Me To You” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” Here are some key moments in its history: • It was played at the last appearance by The Beatles at The Cavern Club on August 3, 1963 • It was seen on close to 20 television performances including the aforementioned Thank Your Lucky Stars (May 12, 1963), Ready, Steady, Go!(October 4, 1963), Sunday Night At The London Palladium (October 13, 1963), the Royal Command Performance from the Prince of Wales Theatre (November 4, 1963), the Morecambe And Wise Show (December 2, 1963) and Juke Box Jury from the Empire Theatre in Liverpool (December 7, 1963) • It was heard on over 160 songs in 28 different broadcast episodes of BBC Radio shows like Saturday Club, Pop Go The Beatles and From Us To You. Many of the recordings can be found on The Beatles’ Live At The BBC, Volumes I & II as well as on bootleg recordings. Some of the songs include:
The kit was manufactured in 1963, pre-serial badges which were not offered until late 1963 Model: Downbeat Tom Tom 12” x 8” 3-ply Mahogany, Poplar, Mahogany shell, white Resa-Cote painted interior 12 original chrome Mini Classic lugs and tension rods Original chrome Shell Mount Tom Tom Holder Original chrome “Baseball Bat” tone control muffler with red felt 2 original chrome over brass 6-hole rims 2 original Ludwig Weather Master heads Floor Tom 14” x 14” 3-ply Mahogany, Poplar, Mahogany shell, white Resa-Cote painted interior 16 original chrome Large Classic lugs and tension rods Original chrome “Baseball Bat” tone control muffler with red felt 3 original chrome Shell Mounts and Legs 2 original chrome over brass 8-hole rims 2 original Ludwig Weather Master heads Bass Drum 20” x 14” 3-ply Mahogany, Poplar, Mahogany shell, unpainted wood clear finish interior 16 original chrome Large Classic lugs 8 original chrome T-rods and Claws, original hoop and original Ludwig batter head 2 original chrome Shell Mount Folding Spurs (legs) Original chrome Shell Mount Cymbal Holder Original chrome Rail Consolette (tom tom mount) which was modified during The Beatles years with a brass wingnut *The front hoop and its 8 T-rods & Claws are not original to this kit but are correct vintage original Ludwig products *The front head is a hand painted replica by well-known Beatles drum head authority, Russ Lease, based on his in-person, hands-on and forensic photographic research Hardware, Cymbals & Cases WFL Speed King bass drum pedal (Model 201) WFL flat base snare drum stand (Model 1363) WFL flat base hi hat stand (Model 1121) Walberg & Auge bass drum anchor (Model 1304) Ludwig flat base cymbal stand (Model 1400) Olympic cymbal stand Premier Drum Stool 20” Ajax cymbal 18” Zildjian A cymbal 14” Zildjian A hi hats 2 new custom road cases manufactured by A&S Case Company in North Hollywood, CA with the professional assistance of Jim Turner. These were made using purple fiberglass over ½” birch wood with ½” birch partitions. The foam on the inside is 1” hard foam. There are 4 heavy duty casters on the bottom of each. Handles and latches are recessed. When Starr purchased this drum kit it came with a 1963 Ludwig Jazz Festival snare drum in Oyster Black Pearl finish. Starr has used that snare drum through his career with The Beatles and it is not included with this set. In 1969, Paul used a combination of this kit and Ringo’s second Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl Downbeat kit when he recorded his first solo album, McCartney, in 1970. Paul used the 8” x 12” tom and the 14” x 20” bass drum from this kit and the floor tom and snare from the second kit. When setting up the “hybrid” kit to record, Paul removed the original Beatles “Drop-T” logo front drum head and filled the bass with what appeared to be a blanket to muffle its sound. McCartney track listing with Paul playing Ringo’s “hybrid” Ludwig Downbeat kit: -That Would Be Something -Valentine Day -Every Night -Hot As Sun/Glasses -Junk -Man We Was Lonely -Oo You -Momma Miss America -Teddy Boy -Singalong Junk -Maybe I'm Amazed -Kreen-Akrore Paul eventually took the kit up to his farm in Scotland and used it in his studio there which he christened “Rude Studio.” Paul and drummer Denny Seiwell used this kit extensively for rehearsing their newly formed band, Wings, before recording their debut album, {Wild Life} at EMI’s Abbey Road studios. Ringo is seen playing the kit with Paul on the music video “Take It Away,” which was recorded in 1981. The drums were returned to Ringo with the bass drum arriving minus the original “Drop-T” logo front head, hoop, T-rods and Claws. For decades all five of Ringo’s Beatle kits were kept loosely in storage in London. During that time they were accessible to Ringo’s children, Zak and Jason and were sometimes used. Throughout 2013 and 2014, Gary Astridge, Jeff Chonis and Scott Ritchie worked together to organize and document any Beatles gear that Ringo has in his possession. With his approval, a plan was implemented to make each of the five Beatle kits complete with historically correct hardware and cymbals and for each to be protected in their own custom road cases. The plan stipulated that each drum kit was to be exhibit ready and playable if Ringo so desired. Upon examination it was found that various hardware pieces from the kits had been misplaced or lost, so Ringo purchased period correct hardware and cymbals to make each kit a complete, authentic, stand-alone kit and to match what he used when he bought this kit on May 12, 1963, including original Ludwig vintage T-rods and Claws and a 60’s hoop with perfectly matched Oyster Black Pearl inlay. The Beatles “Drop-T” logo drum head was painstakingly re-created to look the way the original head first appeared on that historic day. 
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