Starr (2026)
1964 Remo Weather King bass drumhead, mounted on a Ludwig bass drum shell.

Exact size of original instrument.

24” x 24”
Original, acrylic on canvas
Ready to hang.

1 of 1 exclusive original painting.
Each instrument in this collection is only ever painted once.

Ringo Starr, The Beatles. 1964 Remo Weather King bass drumhead, mounted on Ludwig bass drum shell.

This drum was played by legendary musician Ringo Starr of The Beatles.

Raised on a podium at the front of Ringo Starr’s bass drum and emblazoned with the band’s famous black on white drop-T logo, this distinguished drum head announced to 73 million Americans that ‘THE BEATLES’ had arrived in the United States. The Beatles’ historic debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday 9 February 1964 would be the most important performance of their careers, sparking a wave of Beatlemania across America, launching the British Invasion, and changing the face of popular music for ever.

Accompanying the Beatles for the duration of their two-week trip across the Atlantic, this logo drum head was at the epicenter of their first U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum, their two performances at New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall, and a further two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show on 16 and 23 February – the former broadcast live from the Deauville Hotel in Miami. Along with their matching suits and mop-top haircuts, the Beatles’ logo drum head was essential to establishing the image of the band on stage that remains so instantly recognisable.

The Beatles flew in to the freshly named JFK Airport on 7 February 1964 and were met by thousands of screaming American fans. Prior to departure, it was decided that Ringo Starr would travel without his drum kit, with the intention that a second Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl Downbeat drum kit would be acquired from the famous Manny’s Music Store in Manhattan on arrival in the States. Starr brought only his 1963 Jazz Festival snare drum, his cymbals, and a new Beatles drop-T logo bass drum head.

With its oversized ‘B’ and elongated ‘T’, the now iconic Beatles drop-T logo had been designed on the spot by the owner of London’s specialist drum store Drum City, Ivor Arbiter. Arbiter’s design was hand-painted on the drum head by the store’s part-time sign painter Eddie Stokes. When Drum City were commissioned to prepare a second logo drum head for the Beatles’ upcoming American trip, Stokes hand-painted the second Beatles drop-T logo with a bolder, thicker lettering than the first, spanning the full width of the drum head, edge to edge.

Manny’s delivered Starr’s second Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl Downbeat kit to CBS Studio 50 in time for the morning dress rehearsal for the Beatles’ hotly anticipated debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday 9 February 1964,

This drumhead is an iconic piece of music history and recently sold at auction for $2.1m USD.

ARTWORK
24” x 24” x 1.5”
100% cotton premium canvas on timber frame
Archival acrylic paints with artist quality satin varnish finish.

1 of 1 exclusive original painting.
Each instrument in this collection is only ever painted once.

Accompanied by this original artwork is a Certificate of Authenticity, Reverb collection card with hand-written note, two exclusive custom Kelly Maddocks logo guitar picks and a one-of-a-kind painted business card to match this artwork.

SHIPPING

Shipping Australia-wide is free of charge.
International shipping is an additional charge of $30.00AU.

Each piece is packed carefully and shipped via tracked, express courier.
You will receive tracking information once your artwork is dispatched. 

SHIPPING TIMES
Shipped from the studio via tracked, express courier between 9 - 15 November 2026.

This artwork and Kelly Maddocks Studio has no affiliation with Remo, Ludwig or Ringo Starr.