Once a Beatle: When Ringo was ill with tonsillitis, he substituted on drums for 8 concerts & lived a superstar’s life for 10 days. But Ringo has returned… Now Jimmie Nicol sits alone in the Melbourne airport, waiting for the plane that will take him back to obscurity

He did this during the height of Beatlemania in 1964. Nicol had hoped that his association with The Beatles would greatly boost his career but instead found that the spotlight moved away from him once Starr returned to the group. His subsequent lack of commercial success led him into bankruptcy in 1965. After then working with a number of different bands, including a successful stint with The Spotnicks, he left the music business in 1967 to pursue a variety of entrepreneurial ventures. Over the decades, Nicol has increasingly shied away from media attention, preferring not to discuss his connection to The Beatles nor seek financial gain from it.