Ritchie Yorke is an Australian-born author, broadcaster, historian and music journalist.
Born in Brisbane, Australia, Yorke left for the UK in 1966 to act as International Operations Manager for Sunshine Records and was responsible for launching Normie Rowe into the European market.
At this time he contributed lyrics to Normie Rowe's song "Mary, Mary."
Yorke managed the international promotions for Chris Blackwell of Island Records. The same year he relocated to Toronto, Canada. He began working for the Toronto Telegram before being appointed the Globe & Mail’s first full-time rock writer in 1968.
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Yorke worked as International Peace Envoy with John and Yoko Lennon on their War Is Over If You Want It peace campaign. With musician Ronnie Hawkins he traveled the globe, carrying War Is Over! posters around the world in 1970 in a “52,000 mile world tour”. When they took their placard messages to the Chinese border (25 miles from Hong Kong), they “were stopped by Red Guards [sic] and warned they would be shot if they didn’t leave.”