ENGLAND'S `LITTLE RICHARD': `I ALMOST JOINED THE BEATLES'

ENGLAND'S `LITTLE RICHARD': `I ALMOST JOINED THE BEATLES'

TORONTO (Wireless Flash) -- Add another name to the list of musicians who claim they almost joined The Beatles: Roy Young, who was once known as the Little Richard of England. Young first met the Fab Four when Paul McCartney and John Lennon tackled him outside a club in Hamburg, Germany. He thought they were trying to mug him, but then realized they were simply fans. Young claims he and the Beatles played gigs off and on in Germany until Beatles manager Brian Epstein asked Young to return to England to become the fifth member of the band. He says the only reason he didn't take the offer was because he was already locked into a 3-year contract with a Hamburg club that he thought was a much sweeter deal. Nowadays, Young admits he regrets his decision, but he hopes to give music lovers a glimpse of what the Beatles might have sounded like with an upcoming album called "Now & Then." The CD will feature Young's spin on Beatles' hits like "Nowhere Man" and "Money."