In Ron Howard's documentary film about The Beatles' touring years, "Eight Days A Week
", Jimmie Nicol literally was "the Beatle who vanished". Although briefly seen in the film, his presence was never explained. So the audience were not told that Ringo Starr fell ill on the brink of The Beatles' world tour of 1964, and had to be replaced for almost a fortnight. For concert goers in Denmark, Holland, Hong Kong and Adelaide, the Beatles they saw was a group consisting of John, Paul, George and Jimmie. However, the story now has a chance to be told, as Jim Berkenstadt has sold the film rights to his 2013 book about Nicol, "The Beatle Who Vanished
".Berkenstadt's book tells Nicol's story from the start, including his 13 days, 8 gigs stint with the Beatles, and the aftermath. Berkenstadt's agent is currently shopping around for a publisher for a second edition of the book. The author published the first edition himself. Talking to Billboard's Steve Marinucci, Berkenstadt reveals that there has been further developments since he wrote the book, which could be included in an updated version.
Source: Billboard