Paul McCartney Revealed The Beatles Once Performed Under ‘Showbiz Names,’ ‘I Became Paul Ramon’

In an era when rockstars who had exciting and intimidating names began to emerge, The Beatles kept their real names, except Ringo Starr. Before Starr joined the band, The Beatles temporarily went under different names, with Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison creating their own “showbiz names.”

Ringo Starr was the only Beatle who used a stage name

Ringo Starr joined The Beatles in 1962, becoming the band’s permanent drummer. Starr, born Richard Starkey, was the only band member who used a stage name. The nickname came from the drummer wearing many rings, and it began to stick. In a 1992 interview with Club Sandwich, McCartney said Ringo had previously established himself with the name at Butlin’s Holiday Camp, where several other stars started out. 

“Ringo was the only one who stayed with a stage name, Ringo Starr because he’d been to Butlin’s holiday camp,” McCartney explained. “This was the big difference between Ringo and us – it actually made a difference in a man’s life, in those days, whether or not you’d been to Butlin’s. And this was actually a true claim to fame: having done a complete season at Butlin’s, he was the consummate pro.”

Paul McCartney reveals the temporary names used by The Beatles

Paul McCartney revealed that the band had used “showbiz names” while on tour in Scotland with Johnny Gentle. The band, at the time, consisted of Paul, John, George, bassist Stu Sutcliffe, and drummer Tommy Moore. According to the “Jet” singer, he adopted the name Paul Ramon because it seemed like a “sexy French name.” The rest of the group figured out their own unique pseudonyms. 

“Ramon seemed to me like a sexy French name, and I remember little Scottish girls asking, ‘Is your name really Ramon?’ George became Carl Harrison, after Carl Perkins, our drummer Tommy Moore became Thomas Moore – he used to sign autographs ‘Thomas Moore, drums’ – and Stuart became Stuart de Stael, after his favorite painter Nicholas de Stael, and John was Long John Silver for a very short while! It made us seem like great London showbiz guys, so that when we were in Fraserburgh, instead of saying, ‘I’m just a kid from Liverpool,’ it suggested that there was something more to us. It’s an old trick.”

McCartney used his pseudonym again in 1969

1969 saw The Beatles beginning to shatter as tensions between the fab four began to build. Paul McCartney reflected on one night when he argued with the other members of The Beatles and manager Allen Klein. When the argument ended, he found Steve Miller in the studio and decided to record something with him to lift his spirits. The song is titled “My Dark Hour” and appeared on the 1969 album Brave New World. 

“I hung around a little bit and met Steve Miller, who was in one of the other studios. We got chatting and he was an ‘up.’ After the big downer, I needed an up, so he was my security blanket,” McCartney admitted. “I stayed chatting for a while and then he suggested cutting something. I asked what and he said, ‘We’ll make something up!’ I asked if I could play drums and just thrashed around. He called it ‘My Dark Hour’ and we recorded it, just the two of us. I overdubbed a bit of bass and some guitar and we sang it all. We stayed there all night. We just had to do something.”

To avoid any contract disputes, McCartney asked Miller to credit his name as “Paul Ramon,” bringing back the legendary pseudonym one more time.