No he wasn't. He was the drummer for another local band they were friendly with. He stood in with their drummer on several occasions nearly 2 years before joi

No he wasn't. He was the drummer for another local band they were friendly with. He stood in with their drummer on several occasions nearly 2 years before joining, even recorded with them as a backing band for another singer. Their original drummer, Pete Best, could not keep time when recording. George Martin raised the issue that he needed to be replaced, that's when they decided to reach out to Ringo.