A man who starred with the Beatles shortly before the group released their first hit record, is coming to Bermuda to take part in next month’s John Lennon tribute concert in the Botanical Gardens.Singer and keyboard player Roy Young was a personal friend of Mr Lennon and the Beatles when they performed at rock and roll clubs in Hamburg, Germany, between 1960 and 1963.He occasionally joined the band as a pianist and singer, adding rocking piano accompaniment and backing vocals to many of their songs. And he might have joined the band full-time had he not turned down an offer from their manager just months before they recorded their first single.Mr Young was well-known in the UK in the early 1960s, having toured with Cliff Richard, appeared on TV shows and released his own records. He was known as England’s ‘Little Richard’ because of his singing and playing style. While performing at The Star Club in Hamburg he doubled as a talent scout to bring in other acts.Mr Young, along with singer Tony Sheridan and drummer Ringo Starr — who had not yet joined the Beatles — played together as The Beat Brothers. Mr Young and Mr Sheridan then became the Star Combo, performing as the house band at The Star Club.The first official record to feature the Beatles, albeit as backing musicians and initially under the name The Beat Brothers, was Mr Sheridan’s ‘My Bonnie’ released in 1961. Mr Young also played on the recordings and, watching them perform in Germany, sensed the group was destined for great things.“I felt there was something a bit more special. They were doing weird songs at the time, like [Fats Waller’s] ‘Your Feet’s Too Big’. Paul [McCartney] would do a Little Richard thing, ‘Long Tall Sally’, ‘Tutti Frutti’, and John would be more laid back doing Chuck Berry,” he recalled.He sometimes joined the band on stage, adding piano and backing vocals to the group’s tight rock and roll sound.“John and I used to do a lot of the backup vocals. They [the Beatles] were something to look at because they were so interesting, not only in their personalities.“They had personalities that were unreal, each one was so different, but they seemed to be able to get together and be of one. That was the thing that I could never figure out. I was kind of a suit guy at that time and they were in their leather gear and I always felt like the odd man out.”Mr Young recalls Beatles manager Brian Epstein asking if he would consider returning to England with the band. He believes Paul, a big fan of Little Richard, was particularly keen to have him augment the group’s sound. He turned down the offer as he had a lucrative three-year contract at The Star Club.“Brian said, ‘You’re crazy, this band is going to go through the roof’.”When the Beatles returned to Hamburg later in 1962, just months away from releasing their first hit ‘Love Me Do’, Mr Young was brought up on stage again as part of the show.He remembers: “John was really the funny guy, you really had to watch your step with him because he would do some strange things. He was my favourite friend. He was a good guy to be around and was a lot of laughs. He just had that sort of magic about him.“It was nice to be in his company and be with him and I found him to be an absolute gentleman, as much as he was fooling around.”Recalling one mischievous incident on stage, he said: “John was always chewing gum when he was singing. I don’t know how he could sing and chew gum. And of course he and I were always on the same microphone and one night he was chewing this gum, he must have thought about it and he spat it out and it hit me on the nose and stuck there, and I looked like Pinocchio.“John started laughing when he saw it and Paul and George looked over. John pointed at my face. I had left it there because I could see the funny side, and Paul and George fell on the floor.”He felt that Mr Lennon stood out in the group. “If you were involved in music in any type of way, you knew that John was something of a special person out of the Beatles because he carried that personality.”The Beatles achieved worldwide fame before disbanding in 1970, while Mr Young tasted success as a member of the group Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, who toured Europe as support to the Beatles in 1966. After leaving the Rebel Rousers, Mr Young formed the Roy Young Band and more recently has recorded as a solo artist. He has worked with major stars including David Bowie, Chuck Berry and Long John Baldry.On September 21, Mr Young will be among the international and local artists performing the music of Mr Lennon at a special tribute concert in the Botanical Gardens. The event is part of Bermuda’s celebration of Mr Lennon and his connection with the Island.In 1980 the star spent a two-month vacation on the Island writing what were to be his final songs. He named his November 1980 album ‘Double Fantasy’ after a flower that was growing in the Botanical Gardens. Mr Lennon was shot dead outside his New York apartment on December 8, 1980.A Lennon sculpture, created by Graham Foster, was unveiled outside the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art earlier this summer, and is being followed by next month’s tribute concert and the release of a double CD of Lennon/Beatles songs sung by many of the artists appearing at the concert together with the publication of a book about Mr Lennon’s stay in Bermuda. A labyrinth of Double Fantasy-esque freesias is also being planted in the Botanical Gardens.The tribute events are being co-ordinated by Tony Brannon and Michael Freisenbruch; the Bermuda Department of Tourism is the title sponsor.Mr Young had no hesitation in agreeing to be involved after being asked by Mr Brannon. He said: “It is right to do this tribute. John chose Bermuda and it is something quite special for the Island.”Other acts scheduled to appear at the Lennon tribute concert include Maxi Priest, Heather Nova, Biggie Irie and Judie Tzuke.For more information visit www.doublefantasybermuda.com, and to book tickets go to www.ptix.bm