Another Girl: Maureen Starkey

Note: This biography originally appears on Cyn & Mo website, written by me and copied here. Used with my own permission with a little editing.

Mary Cox was born on August 4, 1946 to Joseph and Florence Cox in Liverpool, England. Mary was an only child. Her father was a ship's steward while her mother was a sugar packer. By the time Mary was 15, she started to call herself 'Maureen' and decided to come a hairdresser and manicurist, getting a job at Ashley Dupre Continental Hair and Beauty Salon. With a love of music, Maureen became the Cavern club regular where she saw her local favorite band, The Beatles and her then boyfriend Johnny 'Guitar' Bryne's band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, with Ringo playing drums at the time.

By August, 1962, while Rory Storm and the Hurricanes' traveled to Hamburg, Germany and Butins Holiday Camp, Maureen's relationship with Johnny fizzled out and Maureen had a crush on Ringo who had just joined the Beatles. One day she saw him outside the Cavern club and rushed over to get his autograph, which Ringo obliged. While he was driving away, Maureen wrote down his car's license plate number to which she had mesmerized until the day she died. Some time after that, while at the Cavern, a friend dared Maureen to kiss Paul McCartney while he was coming out of the dressing room- she did so and waited for Ringo so she can kiss him too! A couple of weeks later, Ringo asked Maureen out for a dance before taking her and a friend home, which happened a few more times until Ringo went to see Maureen at work about having to go out with him alone. During his days off from working with The Beatles, Ringo would spend his free time with Maureen in Liverpool. But fans got jealous and would harrass Maureen at the Cavern (Cynthia got the same treatment) and at her job to the point when she quit. By that time, The Beatles were a success and in 1963, Maureen traveled with Ringo, Paul, and Jane to Greece while Brian Epstein insisted to keep their relationship quiet. In 1964, Ringo went to the hospital to have his tonsils removed, Maureen traveled to London to visit him, bringing ice cream along with her and their relationship was now known to the public. In January of 1965, Ringo proposed to Maureen while at a nightclub and on February 11, 1965, Ringo and Maureen got married in London, England with their parents, John and Cynthia Lennon, George Harrison, and Brian Epstein serving as best man; Maureen was pregnant by the time of the wedding. Ringo and Maureen celebrated their honeymoon at the home of the Beatles' lawyer, posing for photographers with a brief mini press conference for a few days before The Beatles' started to film their second movie, Help! On September 13, 1965, Maureen gave birth to Zak with Ringo present after they moved into their first family home in Weybridge in Surrey, England. By 1966, The Beatles decided to quit touring and focus on their families and recording in the studio. In 1967, they all got into the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's teachings about Transcendental Meditation however Ringo and Maureen took the time to welcome their second child, Jason, who was born on August 19, 1967, into their family. The following year, the Beatles stopped studying and focused on music and business after the death of Brain Epstein and were slowly breaking up until 1970 when the official announcement came out. During that year, Ringo and Maureen had happy news when they welcomed their third child, a daughter Lee Parkin, into the family on November 11, 1970 in London, England. Ringo was depressed after the Beatles' split up, throwing himself into alcohol, infidelities, his solo music career as well as working with other musicians, and film which caused a rift into their marriage, while Maureen turned to George Harrison. On July 15, 1975, Ringo and Maureen's marriage was finalized in divorce, although Maureen did not want a divorce she let it happen. Ringo and Maureen remained close as friends and parents to their three children. 

Maureen met Isaac Tigrett in 1971 when she took her children to Hard Rock Cafe in London, becoming friends. After her divorce from Ringo, they started to see each other and by the early 1980s Isaac and Maureen were living together with homes in England, Texas, Tennessee, and California, often traveling in the United States by train that was owned by the Tigrett family. On January 4, 1987, Maureen gave birth to Augusta King Tigrett and two years later, on May 27, 1989, Isaac and Maureen got married in Monte Carlo. In April of 1994, Maureen collapsed during the opening of her husband's new restaurant/nightclub House of Blues in Los Angeles, California and was diagnosed with leukemia. In October, Maureen went to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington where her son, Zak, donated his white blood cells and bone marrow for his mother as his type closely matched hers while Lee helped take care of her and her mother Florence helped looked after Augusta; Ringo visited Maureen frequently. On December 30, 1994, Maureen died peacefully with her mother Florence, Isaac, Ringo, and her children at her bedside.

Thanks, Mo

On March 30, 2003, I launched a website dedicated to the friendship between Cynthia and Maureen. It was never intended to be a serious-type website, meant to be updated rarely, and a great source to use on this post. Plus, I am the same writer on Cyn & Mo website and this blog, so I don't have to be mad that my work gets 'copied'. No plagiarism claims here! Obviously, the friendship between Cynthia and Maureen is special to me. They saw The Beatles struggle in sweaty smelling clubs to reach for success. Despite the almost 7 years age difference, they stuck together through divorces, new loves, John's death, moving around the world, and Maureen's death. The friendship didn't end there - Cynthia was quite open to reveal how much she missed Maureen. When Cynthia died, one of my first thoughts was picturing Cynthia and Maureen immediately hugging in Heaven. 

Cynthia and Maureen in Austria while The Beatles filmed Help! on location, March of 1965

I can't exactly pinpoint exactly when Cynthia and Maureen met but it was definitely at the Cavern Club. Maureen was a dedicated goer, so they must have encountered before Maureen got involved with Ringo by August of 1962. I like to think that Maureen was one of those "girlfriend defenders" from the other group of fans that were jealous and slag off Cynthia and other musicians' girlfriends whenever opportunity came up. They could have seen each other across the room, chatted, hung out and drank Coca-Cola. I believe Cynthia and Maureen started to get together more often by late-1963 when Maureen's relationship with Ringo got very serious when The Beatles moved to London full time. They really got close when Ringo and Maureen got married on February 11, 1965; Cynthia attended the wedding. Come to think of it, Cynthia attended both of Maureen's weddings! Maureen remarried to Isaac Tigrett on May 27, 1989, and Cynthia was the only "Beatles family circle" to attend. I know for sure Maureen didn't go to Cynthia's weddings to John (1962)  and Noel Charles (2002; Maureen died in 1994); not to Roberto Bassanini (July 31, 1970) but Maureen did go to a later wedding celebration. There is a possibility that Maureen attended Cynthia's wedding to John Twist (May 1, 1976). Well, anyway, the time Ringo and Maureen welcomed their first baby Zak born in September of 1965, they recently moved in Sunny Heights, near Kenwood, in Weybridge, Surrey. Sunny Heights and Kenwood were 10 minutes drive - although Ringo would walk home from John's and John would take Julian on a motorcycle ride to Ringo's. From 1965-1968, John and Ringo were the closest during that time as neighbors, hanging out with each other during free time. The one vacation that they all went was Trinidad and Tobago in January of 1966. There was the India meditation but that was only 10 days and with the company of George, Pattie, Paul, and Jane. 

"I don’t think his marriage will affect The Beatles’ popularity really, but there might be some shuffling of fans from one of the Beatles to another, at least that’s what happened to when news that I was married was revealed.” 

John, 1965

 “I don’t think the two of us being married has had any bad effects on our popularity. Remember, when it got out that both Ringo and I were married, there hadn’t been anybody in such a position as we were in, who had got married. It was Silver disc as opposed to Gold disc, people who’d get married before us!” 

John, 1965

"Ringo had this habit of lighting up two cigarettes, one for Maureen at the same time he lit his own. I remember thinking it was a loving thing to do and wishing John did it for me. But that would have been too obviously demonstrative, maybe, for John" 

Cynthia, 1985

Julian and Zak on a boat in Weybridge

Photographed by Ringo Starr

Do your families associate with one another socially? (Press Conference, 1966)

"Oh yeah. Our wives mix together. Our parents don't mix together much. Well, no, I mean, they don't see each other every day." John 

"St. George's Hill. I lived there until '69. John and I were both in St. George's Hill and George was in Esher and so the three of us were in the same area. Paul was the man about town at this time. He liked to take his dog for walks on Hampstead Heath and places like that. I mainly saw John in that period because we lived a couple of block from each other. We used to spend practically every weekend together. We'd edit 8mm film and have fun- sometimes hysterical fun. I'd walk home. John had Julian and I had Zak so we'd try to do the fatherly things. We'd try to do manly things too; we'd go to the pub and bring Maureen and Cynthia a Babycham or something- a real Liverpool attitude. One Bonfire Night that we had at my place, John and I decided to show our kids (they must have been two and three) some fireworks. We went and bought all these fizzy ones. We'd smoke a lot of herbalized stuff so we didn't want anything really loud. We were doing this whole set up and sitting around, relaxing a little and we went outside to give the babies this big show and everything we bought just exploded! Exploded! What the kids must have thought, I don't know because the grown-ups were going 'Ow! Ow! Aaaagh!' We were so shocked we had to go back inside. And that's what makes our children what they are today."

Ringo Starr, from his book Postcards from the Boys, 2004

"Cynthia and Maureen were the closest, partly because they were Liverpulians in exile and had this additional bond, but also because Pattie often bowed in and out of the circle to undertake modeling commitments. Jane Asher was a very occasional fourth participant but this was a country-based girlie group and townies like Paul and Jane didn't fit into the pattern. All three women were unashamedly fans of The Beatles and would often ring my office to find out about forthcoming tour or recording dates rather than pressing their partners for the details. When Cynthia, Maureen, and Pattie got together it was usually in the kitchen, for many cups of tea or coffee if it was middle of the day or several bottles of win if it was the afternoon. There were two main types of topic for discussion among this close-knit clique: family gossip that circulated solely within The Beatles' own tight inner circle and the wider issues that arose from sometimes scandalous rumors that was rife among the group's fans. I saw this group as the glue that helped to hold The Beatles' marriages together at least for the time being. To share happiness and sorrow, success and disappointment, was a good way of patching up the cracks as soon as they appeared. As part of such a warm and secure little group they felt more at ease than if they had been dealing with the traumas and crises of their extraordinary lives on their own. But for the sharing of information on the perks, pitfalls, problems, and sheer insanity of successfully partnering a Beatle, the womanfolk might have teetered on the brink of despair or simply broken free even sooner than they did. It is to their credit that these faithful first partners kept their lives so private over the years. The media would have agreed to almost any conditions to get their individual stories, but I was never allowed to fix any interviews or photo shoots for the women other than at general photo calls for show business functions or exclusive pictures to mark weddings and births."

Tony Barrow 

"I loved Maureen, she was down to earth, honest, and if she had known of Ringo's infidelities while she was in Liverpool, I wouldn't have reckoned much to the chances of the girl or girls in question if she had found out. She was madly in love with Ringo and would have fought tooth and nail with anyone who had the nerve to try and take him from her. Ringo knew this, of course, and must have been a panic many times in case of in discreet gossip or thwarted lady friends telling all. As it happened, Ringo was lucky enough to get away with it in the face of incredible odd and loyal friends... Maureen was really incredible with Ringo, especially when the boys were recording until the early hours of the morning. Instead of going to bed, she would wait up until the morning. I, on the other hand, would spend all morning trying to keep the house quiet in order that John could sleep until the usual two o'clock in the afternoon. I would then creep upstairs and serve him breakfast in bed with tea and the newspapers. They really were cosseted at home."

Cynthia, from her book A Twist of Lennon, 1978

"Far from being a shy little thing, Maureen was talkative, full of laughter and great fun: we all liked her enormously and thought she was good for Ringo. John and I were delighted when they came to live close by. Initially they'd live in Ringo's one-bedroom flat in Montagu Square, close to London's Hyde Park but, like us, they needed more space and greater privacy. All the Beatles' women got on with each other, but Maureen, who was one of the most down-to-earth, honest people I ever knew, became my closest friend. After their son Zak was born in September, seven months after the wedding, she and I used to go up to Knightsbridge to shop. Anthony [the Lennons' chauffeur] would drop us off and we'd do the rounds of Harrods, Harvey Nichols, and the designer shops in between, then stop for lunch in a smart little bistro. We'd buy cute little outfits for our sons and we were always on the lookout for something different of special for the men. We loved to surprise them with a psychedelic shirt, a piece of ethnic jewelry, or I would buy John a new plectrum for his guitar... Much as Maureen and I enjoyed our outings, she always made sure she was home for Ringo when he came in. Such was her devotion to him that she would stay up sometimes until four in the morning to greet him with a home-cooked meal. She wanted him to feel loved and care for and, like me, she had been brought up in a family where women did the caring and nurturing while men provided. We often went over to their house and hung out with them; it was always party time at the Starkeys'. Ringo was gregarious and fun loving, a clown and a joker with an infectious laugh. Together, he and Maureen made an irresistible double act, both extroverted and uninhibited. Ringo had installed a replica pub in the front room, which he called the Flying Cow. It had a counter and till, tankards, mirrored walls and even a pool table. He'd nip behind the bar to serve us all drinks while Maureen supplied us with endless plates of food. It was a cozy, comfortable house with what felt like the ultimate luxury at the time: a TV- usually switched on- in every room. They had large grounds, in which Ringo had built in a go-cart track. He and John would race the go-carts or play pool while Maureen and I chatted over a cup of tea or took Zak and Julian for a walk. Ringo's other passion was making his own short films. He had lots of equipment and loved to experiment, so after the nanny had taken over Zak and Julian we'd watched his latest movie. One was a fifteen minutes study of Maureen's face. Innovative, perhaps, but not the most riveting entertainment."

Cynthia, from her book John, 2005

I suppose the "last" time Cynthia and Maureen saw each other as Beatles Wives is between after Cynthia and John returning from India and before Cynthia going to Italy where she received news her marriage ended. Cynthia have often said no one (except Paul McCartney) reached out to her - it's believed they didn't want John's wrath on them. Sounds ridiculous, yet it can happen (I know some people like that), John did have a temper. Okay, so, the silence didn't last long. I don't know how... for all I know Cynthia and Maureen ran into each other at a train station. Or restaurant. Or a mutual friend's house. Whatever it was, by August 1970, they were reconnected. After Cynthia and Roberto Bassanini got married at the end of July 1970, they decided to celebrate a housewarming celebration in their home. John and Yoko came, as did George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, Paul and Linda McCartney, and Ringo and Maureen. I'll discuss more of this party on another day, but the thing is that from this point on Cynthia and Maureen's friendship was solid. 

"Just as I was bedded down, Maureen phoned from London. She'd been trying to reach Cyn to wish Julian a happy birthday but we'd been out almost the whole night. Their telephone conversation took off from the 60s as if it were just yesterday. (Cyn wears a diamond ring given to her by Maureen, which she wears with her father's wedding band, and a cameo.) This is when I learned Ringo and Barbara would be married April 27th in London. Cyn and Mo are the best of friends and it's through their friendship that Zak and Julian met, though the miles apart make seeing each other difficult. Maureen managed to get Julian a gold key to the London Playboy Club for his birthday!"

Rita Hansen, 1981 

"I still keep up with Maureen and Pattie occasionally. But I don't see the others."

Cynthia, 1988 

"On and off when we're in the vicinity. It's so difficult to catch anyone. If I'm here in London, Maureen's in Los Angeles, and Pattie's somewhere else!"

Cynthia, 1991

Maureen and Cynthia at the Mayfair Suite of the Hanover Grand in London attending the launch party for Grapefruit on January 19, 1968.

Ringo and Maureen got divorced in July of 1975 (separated since late Summer of 1974) - in divorce papers, Nancy Andrews was named as the adultery reason but off the books it was really Maureen's affair with George Harrison. Whatever rage Ringo may have felt with one of his best friends with his wife, he certainly went out of his way to be the one to get blamed publicly in order to protect Maureen; Ringo didn't want their three children to hate her and, well, can you imagine the press? Especially the fans? Personally I think the fans hold more of a grudge than the person who actually experienced the situation. Look at what happened with George Harrison/Pattie Boyd/Eric Clapton saga. Could you imagine the dirt the media and fans would've frenzied over two Beatles and a wife triangle? It probably still thrive as it does for Eddie Fisher/Debbie Reynolds/Elizabeth Taylor about 60 years ago and all three have passed on. Both Maureen and George have passed on, and obviously whatever happened got buried and they moved on: George got together with Olivia, Ringo eventually with Barbara Bach, and Maureen with Isaac Tigrett. Ringo, despite his hurt and pain over his marriage, continued to protect Maureen and for that I will always admire him. Ringo and Maureen remained connected until her death - which I'll get to momentarily. Anyway, back to Maureen's relationship with Cynthia! In December of 1980, Cynthia traveled to London on business from North Wales and stayed with Maureen. As I already posted before, Ringo called Maureen with the news, and she woke up Cynthia to tell her that John had been killed. Maureen accompanied Cynthia to North Wales and offered her home to Julian as shelter to get away from the press. In 1982, Maureen and Zak attended Julian's birthday party and in 1989, Maureen was a frequent customer at Cynthia's short lived restaurant, Lennon's. As I mentioned earlier, Cynthia attended Maureen's wedding to Isaac in 1989. I know there were certainly a lot more gatherings than I counted.

Unfortunately, I don't know when Cynthia and Maureen last saw each other. In May of 1994, Maureen collapsed at Isaac's House of Blues restaurant opening and was soon diagnosed with leukemia. I know Cynthia saw Maureen during those months, but the details are very vague. Maureen died on December 30, 1994 in Seattle where she was receiving treatment with Isaac, children Zak, Jason, Lee, and Augusta, her mother Florence, and her ex husband Ringo at her bedside. After Maureen's death until her own in April of 2015, Cynthia expressed quite frequently (mostly at Beatle conventions) how much she missed Maureen. Maureen was 48 years old.

"We've shared life's ups and downs. With the Beatles, and without. I was staying with her when John was killed. But Maureen did not live in the shadow of the Beatles." 

Cynthia, 1994 after Maureen’s death

"I've kept many of the friends John and I had in our Liverpool days and mourned others. Maureen, Ringo's ex-wife and a dear friend to the end, died of leukemia when she was only forty-seven. Only a few years earlier, we had been at her wedding to Isaac Tigrett, owner of the Hard Rock Cafe. Both Isaac and Ringo were at her bedside when she died, with her three children by Ringo and Augusta, the daughter she had with Isaac."

Cynthia, from her book John, 2005

Maureen and John boarding on a flight from London to Austria for The Beatles' second film, 'Help!' in Spring of 1965

As for John and Maureen's relationship? I tend to think of it as brother-sister type relationship. I don't believe there was an affair (there's a claim that John had affairs with Cynthia's closest friends) ever between them. Once John got together with Yoko, a wedge of divide struck and they started to hang out less and less. No drama or anything, Yoko and Maureen did get along but I wouldn't call them besties. They famously sat next to each other on the rooftop concert on January 30, 1969. Maureen has had her own fair share of Apple meetings with The Beatles, Allen Klein, lawyers, Linda, and Yoko. Honestly I think Linda and Maureen were closer at that brief point. In October of 1971, Ringo and Maureen went to New York to celebrate John's birthday with Yoko and Neil Aspinall. By then, John already abandoned England and would never return (not to sound horrible about it as John did plan to return to his home country before he died so he did intend to return). In December of 1974, George Harrison was in New York for his Dark Horse tour at Madison Square Garden. John was supposed to join him on stage, but it never worked out. Anyway, Chris O'Dell invited Maureen over from London and stayed at the same hotel as George (with his new girlfriend Olivia Arias), Chris, as well as John and May Pang. According to Chris (and my own perspective), Maureen seemed anxious and nervous to see John. Maureen and Ringo's marriage was in the divorce process by this time, probably was the first time Maureen saw John and George without Ringo. Chris went to get Maureen a drink from the hospitality room where George and John were and a little later stopped at Chris's hotel room to say hello. They reminisce. I believe this may have been the final time John and Maureen saw each other. 

"I was married from before The Beatles left Liverpool, that never made any difference. Cyn didn't have a career like Yoko does, but Pattie had a career - that never upset it. Maureen is a fantastic artist in her own right as well, apart from bringing up that tribe of Ringo's. She also is an artist, and it is nothing to do with wives."

John, 1971

"John is the funniest person you’d ever want to meet. You could never know when he was being serious. That’s John for you!" 

Maureen Starkey, 1988

I already covered John's death, how Cynthia and Maureen were together at the time. Maureen accompanied Cynthia to North Wales and made herself busy by making tea. A few months later, on April 27, 1981, Ringo remarried to Barbara Bach. Despite being in a serious relationship with Isaac Tigrett for some years already, Maureen started to have a nervous breakdown: her hair started to fall out.

"I was always very close to John, then I heard on a newsflash that he'd been shot. I couldn't take it in at first. I was in a state of shock. I went into trauma, and my hair began falling out. First it was small handfuls, then huge lumps. It looked as though I'd go bald." 

Maureen Starkey, 1985

"Nothing we did seemed to help her, and she was continuing to loose her hair. So I flew to Southern India, and my guru gave me a special medal and told me to go straight back to Maureen with it. Just fourteen hours later, I placed it around her neck and immediately she felt better. Within days her hair was growing back."

Isaac Tigrett, 1985

Ringo and Maureen celebrating with John on his birthday, October 9, 1971, in Syracuse, New York

Gin Trap

By Cynthia in the 1980s

“One was a rescue that had been caught in a gin trap. He was truly ugly, and we called him GT, for gin trap . . . or gin and tonic! He became part of the family.” 

Cynthia, 2014

Couple Élégant En Route Vers Frances

 

Artist Starting Over