The Fifth Beatle

by Stephen V. Rice

 

I arrived in Boston on a cool autumn day in 2017. I was there to meet Arthur Thompkins, the mysterious “Fifth Beatle.” We all know of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but few have heard of Arthur, who was the Beatles’ tambourine player.

 

Arthur greeted me warmly at his music studio on Newbury Street and gave me a quick tour. “I played this tambourine when we recorded Love Me Do in 1963,” he said fondly, as he showed me the most prized tambourine in his collection. “They don’t make ‘em like that anymore,” he said with a laugh.
I had so many questions for him, and we sat down to chat. “How did you become a member of the Beatles?” I asked. “I was born in Liverpool and grew up with the lads,” he said. “We were school chums.” Hmm, he spoke without any hint of an English accent, so I asked him about it. “I was born with an American accent,” he said, “and took a lot of ribbing for it.”
 

“How is it that you were never photographed with John, Paul, George, and Ringo?” He explained, “I was prematurely balding and didn’t fit the image they portrayed, and was forced to remain out of sight. But if you look closely, you will see me on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album. I am wearing a hat, to cover my balding dome.” Later, I inspected that album cover, and indeed there are several men wearing hats. I am not sure which one is Arthur.

 

I got Arthur to reminisce about life as a Beatle.  He told me how he helped Paul write the lyrics to Hey Jude.  “One day I heard Paul singing, ‘Hey Charlie, don’t make it bad, Take a sad song and make it better.’  It just didn’t sound right.  He tried a few other names, and finally, I suggested that he change it to ‘Hey You.’  He liked my idea but altered it slightly from ‘You’ to ‘Jude,’ and well, the rest is history.”

I had so many questions for him, and we sat down to chat.  “How did you become a member of the Beatles?” I asked.  “I was born in Liverpool and grew up with the lads,” he said.  “We were school chums.”  Hmm, he spoke without any hint of an English accent, so I asked him about it.  “I was born with an American accent,” he said, “and took a lot of ribbing for it.”
“How is it that you were never photographed with John, Paul, George, and Ringo?”  He explained, “I was prematurely balding and didn’t fit the image they portrayed, and was forced to remain out of sight.  But if you look closely, you will see me on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album.  I am wearing a hat, to cover my balding dome.”  Later, I inspected that album cover, and indeed there are several men wearing hats.  I am not sure which one is Arthu
Arthur went on. “Chicks LOVE the tambourine. I had so many women chasing me back then. Did you know I dated Yoko Ono’s sister? Her name was Kono – that’s right, Kono Ono. She didn’t speak a word of English, but she spoke to me through her art.”
 

“Was it hard for you to see the Beatles break up?” I asked. “Well, most people don’t know this, but the Beatles broke up because of Kono,” he said. “She insisted that I leave the band, and the lads felt they could not continue without me.”

 

“After the band broke up, I joined up with Crosby, Stills, and Nash. You might remember our album titled Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Arthur. Later, I embarked on a solo career. I played street corners and alleys, mostly.”

 

Arthur received a great honor in 2010 when he was knighted and became Sir Arthur Thompkins. He was not knighted by Queen Elizabeth, though. He was knighted by Queen Prabhati of Mauritius. He explained that in Mauritius, the tambourine is worshipped like a god.

 

I would have chatted longer with Arthur, but one of his tambourine students arrived for a lesson. At Arthur’s invitation, I stayed to observe. It was evident that Arthur is a master of tambourine technique. “I want more jingle, less jangle,” he told the student.