“We were in Hamburg with Gene Vincent and [later] Little Richard and there’s still many a story going round about the escapades, especially with Gene Vincent, who was a rather wild guy. We met Gene backstage. ‘Backstage’ - I mean, it was a ‘toilet’ and we were thrilled.”
“Gene had been a marine and he was always offering to knock me out; he knew two pressure points. I said, 'Get out of it. Sod off!’ He’d say, 'Oh come on, you’ll only be out for a minute.'”
“I met Gene Vincent in the Star-Club bar one day, in a break. He said, 'Quick, come with me.’ We jumped in a taxi and went up the Reeperbahn to the apartment where he was staying. I began to notice that he was all uptight - he thought the tour manager was bonking his girlfriend!
“We ran inside, up to the front door and Gene opened his coat and pulled out a gun. He handed it to me saying, ‘Hold this,’ and started knocking on the door and shouting, ‘Henry, Henry, you bastard!’ I thought to myself, ‘I’m out of here,’ gave him the gun back and cleared off quick.”
The Beatles with Gene Vincent at the Star Club, Hamburg, April or May, 1962.