When The Ronettes supported The Beatles at their last ever show – and Ronnie was banned

27 April 2026, 14:36 | Updated: 30 April 2026, 09:08

Ronnie Spector and John Lennon were good friends, but she missed out on the final Beatles' show.

The Ronettes were never as prolific as The Beatles, releasing just one studio album, but at their peak – hits like 'Be My Baby' and 'Baby I Love You' – you could argue their star burned just as brightly.

And despite having the Atlantic Ocean between them, the two groups crossed paths more than you might have expected.

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The groups first met in January 1964 when The Ronettes were touring England following the success of 'Be My Baby', and the Fab Four asked to be introduced.

"They had seen us on Sunday Night at the London Palladium and they said, 'We have got to meet these girls with the black long hair and slits up the side'," Ronnie told People back in 2018.

John Lennon apparently made a romantic play at Ronnie, despite being married to Cynthia at the time, and despite the future Mrs Spector apparently rebuffing his romantic advances, they became close.

"We were friends with The Beatles when they got to America," Ronnie had told the same magazine a year earlier.

The Ronettes - Be My Baby (Music Video)

"They came to our record party! So I knew all those guys before they hit it really big. Great guys! I mean, I dated John Lennon for a little while.

"I have to say that in secrecy. He was so nice and polite. He'd take me to clubs, and he took me to Carnaby Street to get all the T-shirts. We didn't know what was in London. So John was all, 'Don't worry, Ronnie: I will take you'."

The Beatles would go on to help Ronnie launch her own career after the demise of The Ronettes. Her post-group solo single 'Try Some By Some' was written by George Harrison and released on The Beatles' Apple label.

And a few years earlier at The Beatles' last ever proper live show at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, The Ronettes were the main supporting band on the bill.

But while Estelle Bennett (Ronnie's sister) and Nedra Talley were there doing their thing, Ronnie was nowhere to be seen.

In fact, Ronnie Spector didn't appear on any of The Beatles' final 14 US tour dates with her sister and cousin.

Instead, she was replaced by her other cousin Elaine Mayes, and the revamped trio were accompanied by another of the support band on the bill - The Remains.

It wasn't Elaine's first stint with the group. She had been an early member alongside the Bennett sisters and Nedra, as well as fellow cousins Ira and Diane Linton, before they left the band to become that core trio.

[NEW 4K SCAN] The Beatles - Live at Candlestick Park, San Francisco (August 29th, 1966) [8mm Film]

But Ronnie wasn't ill. And she didn't miss her plane. She was actually banned from playing these historically significant shows by the person who was supposed to be supporting her most.

The story goes that Phil Spector, who produced The Ronettes singles and their sole album, and also wrote the bulk of their material together with either Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, or Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, forbade Ronnie from playing the shows.

As well as being professionally intertwined, Phil and Ronnie started dating soon after they started working together (this despite Phil being married to Annette Merar until 1966).

Phil and Phil would eventually marry in 1968, and a controlling Phil is said to have banned his wife from performing live and had a stranglehold over her limited studio time.

Try Some, Buy Some (Remastered)

Ronnie would leave Phil in 1972, and they would formally divorce two years later. Spector would eventually be convicted in 2009 of the murder of actress Lana Clarkson and would die in prison in 2021.

Back to The Beatles at Candlestick Park.

"The support acts include The Remains, who I don’t remember at all... and the Ronettes, the only female act ever to tour with The Beatles — minus lead singer Ronnie Bennett, whose jealous future husband Phil Spector wouldn’t let her travel with the tour," fan Joe Nesbitt told Beatles Magazine.

"Ronnie was replaced by cousin Elaine Mayes."

Ronnie herself addressed her absence in a Facebook post in 2016.

"August 29, 1966 at San Francisco's Candlestick Park would be the last live show The Beatles ever performed," she said.

"No one knew that then. My group The Ronettes opened up the tour. My sister and cousins sang backed up by The Remains."