RINGO STARR NEWS UPDATED: February 8, 2012 @ 2:00
pm ESTRINGO ANNOUNCES 2012 SUMMER TOUR OF THE
USA READ
RINGO ON TV
RINGO on CRAIG FERGUSON (January
31, 2012) WATCH
Featuring Steve Lukather (Toto),
Gregg Rolie (Journey, Santana), Richard Page (Mr. Mister), Todd
Rundgren, Mark Rivera and Gregg Bissonette
Today Ringo Starr
announced his 13th All Starr Band, which will launch June 14,
2012 from Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario and conclude
July 21, 2012 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California.
New to the All Starrs are Steve Lukather (Toto) and Gregg Rolie
(Santana & Journey) who will join All Starr alumni Richard
Page, Todd Rundgren, Mark Rivera, and Gregg Bissonette.
The tour is being produced
by Dave Hart and as always fans can expect to hear a jukebox worth
of hits. Ringo classic's such as "It Don't Come Easy",
"Photograph", "Little Help From My Friends",
"Yellow Submarine" and "Wings", from Starr's
just released 17th solo record, Ringo 2012 (Hip-O/Ume). All Starr's
hits include "Rosanna," "Broken Wings," "Hello
It's Me," "Black Magic Woman."
Ringo will spend his birthday
on the road, with a performance at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville
on July 7. Following in the tradition of the last few years, at
Noon from the Hard Rock Nashville, Ringo will ask anyone anywhere,
and everyone everywhere, to join him in a wish for Peace &
Love.
The confirmed
dates are as follows:
June 14, 15 Fallsview
Casino, Niagara Falls, ON
June 16 Bethel Woods PAC, Bethel, NY
June 17 Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT
June 19 Bank of America Pavilion, Boston, MA
June 22 Jones Beach Ampitheater, Wantagh, NY
June 23 Ceasar's, Atlantic City, NJ
June 24 Meyerhoff, Baltimore, MD
June 26 State Theater, Easton, PA
June 27 Mayo Center, Morristown, NJ
June 29 St Augustine Theater, St. Augustine, FL
June 30 Seminole Hard Rock Arena, Hollywood, FL
July 1 Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL
July 3 Tuscaloosa Ampitheater, Tuscaloosa, Al
July 4 The Wharf, Orange Beach, Al
July 6 Fox Theater, Atlanta, GA
July 7 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
July 8 Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, IN
July 11 Usana Ampitheater, Salt Lake, UT
July 13 Northern Quest, Spokane, WA
July 14 St Michelle Winery, Seattle, WA
July 15 Edgefield, Portland, OR
July 17 Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
July 19 Humphrey's, San Diego, CA
July 21 The Greek, Los Angeles, CA
Ringo Starr VIP packages are available including great seats and
exclusive merchandise. For details please visit: www.vipnation.com
Ringo Starr will sit down for a rare, exclusive Q&A
session, hosted by Russell Brand and moderated by legendary producer
Don Was, with a select group of SiriusXM subscribers at the Troubadour
in Los Angeles, CA. The "Town Hall" special will also
include live
performance by Ringo, featuring
some of his classics as well as songs from his new album Ringo
2012.
"SiriusXM's Town Hall
with Ringo Starr" airs live on The Spectrum (Ch. 28) Monday,
January 30 at 4 pm ET.
Rebroadcasts: Monday 1/30 at
7pm ET, Tuesday 1/31 at 6 pm ET, Wednesday 2/1 at 12 pm ET, Friday
2/3 at 9 pm ET and Saturday 2/4 at 2 pm ET
Note: This
is an exclusive SiriusXM Subscriber event. No tickets will be
available at the Troubador.
MORE...
Promotion for
former Beatle Ringo Starr's upcoming solo album will include a
"Town Hall" interview with British actor-comedian Russell
Brand.
Brand will
interview the drummer for Sirius XM Radio, one day before Starr
releases his newest album, "Ringo 2012."
"Town
Hall With Ringo Starr" will air live from Los Angeles on
Jan. 30. Music producer Don Was will moderate the interview, and
Starr will perform.
Brand said
in a statement Thursday that he's a "massive fan" of
Starr, "but like most people I am ignorant as to his life
before he rose to prominence with 'Thomas the Tank Engine.'"
Brand was referring to the popular children's series that Starr
narrated in the 1980s.
Added Brand,
"Now we can unravel the enigma of Ringo."
"Ringo
2012" is the 17th solo album for Starr, whose real name is
Richard Starkey, and the second he has recorded for Hip-O/UMe.
Past "Town
Hall" specials have featured Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty,
Coldplay and members of Nirvana. January 28, 2012 -- Macca Report News
James, Ringo, Barbara, Joe at the Viper Room
James McCartney's performance
at The Viper Room on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood January 27th, was
attended by
Ringo Starr and his wife Barbara Bach along with Barbara's sister Marjorie, who came with her husband Joe Walsh.
James arrived in a car with his famous guests and was greeted
by fans outside The Viper.
James and his
band was one of three bands playing that night at The Viper. The
place was packed with mostly fans of Macca and his son.
The highlight of the show was a couple of new songs and songs
from his James' current EP Collection including his cover of Neil
Young's "Old Man." January
28, 2012 -- Ringo Starr.com
MAKE THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR WINGS FROM HIS NEW ALBUM RINGO 2012
Ringo Starr
is giving
filmmakers the opportunity to make the official promo for his
new single Wings, from his new album RINGO 2012.
This is an
opportunity for filmmakers to make a music video for one of the
world's most influential artists, and get their work in front
of Universal Music Enterprises, one of the industry's leading
record labels. Ringo will personally choose the winner, which
will be serviced to media as the official promo video for Wings.
Ultimately
what's most impressive about Ringo Starr isn't what he's been,
but rather who he is," wrote Rolling Stone rock critic David
Wild. "The man's great heart and soul, his wit and wisdom."
Ironically, the story of Ringo's evolution from former Beatle
to successful solo artist is still best told from the beginning.
Ringo Starr's
music, as a solo artist and as a Beatle, is permeated with his
personality. His warmth and humor, and his exceptional musicianship
have given us songs we all know and love, including "With
A Little Help From My Friends," "Don't Pass Me By,"
"Octopus' Garden," "Photograph," "It
Don't Come Easy," "Back Off Boogaloo," "You're
Sixteen (You're Beautiful And You're mine)," "Don't
Go Where the Road Don't Go," "The No No Song,"
and "Never Without You."
Since beginning
his career with The Beatles in the 1960s, Ringo Starr has been
one of the world's brightest musical luminaries. He has enjoyed
a successful and dynamic solo career as a singer, songwriter and
drummer, an active musical collaborator, and as an actor. Drawing
inspiration from classic blues, soul, country, honky-tonk and
rock 'n' roll, Ringo continues to play an important role in modern
music with his solo recording...
read more Ringo Starr Official site Ringo Starr facebook page
Ringo Starr twitter page
Ringo Starr
is giving filmmakers the opportunity to make the official promo
for his new single Wings, from his new album RINGO 2012.
This is an
opportunity for filmmakers to make a music video for one of the
world's most influential artists, and get their work in front
of Universal Music Enterprises, one of the industry's leading
record labels. Ringo will personally choose the winner, which
will be serviced to media as the official promo video for Wings.
Ultimately
what's most impressive about Ringo Starr isn't what he's been,
but rather who he is," wrote Rolling Stone rock critic David
Wild. "The man's great heart and soul, his wit and wisdom."
Ironically, the story of Ringo's evolution from former Beatle
to successful solo artist is still best told from the beginning.
Ringo Starr's
music, as a solo artist and as a Beatle, is permeated with his
personality. His warmth and humor, and his exceptional musicianship
have given us songs we all know and love, including "With
A Little Help From My Friends," "Don't Pass Me By,"
"Octopus' Garden," "Photograph," "It
Don't Come Easy," "Back Off Boogaloo," "You're
Sixteen (You're Beautiful And You're mine)," "Don't
Go Where the Road Don't Go," "The No No Song,"
and "Never Without You."
Since beginning
his career with The Beatles in the 1960s, Ringo Starr has been
one of the world's brightest musical luminaries. He has enjoyed
a successful and dynamic solo career as a singer, songwriter and
drummer, an active musical collaborator, and as an actor. Drawing
inspiration from classic blues, soul, country, honky-tonk and
rock 'n' roll, Ringo continues to play an important role in modern
music with his solo recording and touring.
Ringo 2012
is the fabulous sound of a man you know and love working in the
groove of a lifetime and making an album with nine songs that
vividly reflect his life yesterday and today. "This album
is me doing what I do here and now," says Ringo, "and
nobody's more qualified to do that than I am!"
In fact, one
of the only things that didn't come easy for Ringo Starr making
Ringo 2012 was the title. Ringo 2012 cannot help but recall the
title of another classic album by Starr, 1973's Ringo -- in fact,
Ringo 2012 features a startlingly new and improved version of
"Step Lightly' from the massively successful Ringo, as well
as "Wings" from 1978's Ringo The 4th.
"But for
a moment there, I was going to call this album Motel California
because of a cool picture of an L.A. motel I wanted on the back
cover," Ringo says with a laugh. "But then I figured
my good friend and now brother-in-law Joe Walsh was already on
a good album with a similar name. Then I considered Another #9
because there are nine songs on the album. And because I covered
one of my old songs "Wings," I even thought that Wings
would be a nice album title. I'm sure Paul would have been cool
with me calling my album Wings, but someone else would have found
a way to misinterpret that too. So Ringo 2012 it is, pure and
simple, just the way I like things."
"At first
I was thinking about 2012 because according to the Aztec calendar
the world is going to end in 2012, but it's just Ringo 2012 because
this is where I am now. These recent albums are my audio-biographies,
and I do live to the best of my ability in the now, and of course,
I can revisit the past when I want to, but I don't live there.
I try to have the good day today, not next Wednesday. That's just
part of my make up. I've always been more of an optimist than
a pessimist that's just how I was born. It came with the
body."
Ringo 2012
-- released January 31 on HIP-O/UMe Records finds Starr working
with a little help from his musical friends including guitarist
Joe Walsh and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Michael Bradford, Steve Dudas,
Charlie Haden, Amy Keys, Kelly Moneymaker, Richard Page, Van Dyke
Parks, Dave Stewart, Bruce Sugar, Benmont Tench, Don Was and Edgar
Winter. But more than ever, the focus on Ringo 2012 is firmly
on the man calling the shots Ringo, who produced the album
just as he did 2010's Y Not.
As Starr says
with a smile, "I got out of bed in the morning, and thought
who can produce this album? Then I looked in the mirror, and there
he was. I do feel like I've found my best producer. We're back
to making records in real time, and not wasting time. I like the
pace I'm working at. It's the old pace, it's about where I come
from, and it worked well then too. Now because of technology,
I can do it at home -- I don't have to go to any studio. I can
have a cup of tea with Barbara in the morning, and walk the dog,
I can live and make a record and we get it done right. There's
a lot of space on this record because when you have someone great
like Benmont Tench playing his organ or piano, there's room for
him to play. I'm not cluttering anything up on these last two
albums. I like it very open and sparse, sort of old rock &
roll-ish in its way. And in the end, it's all on the groove because
I'm the drummer and I say so!"
DATES
Closes Mar
7
23:59 GMT -- 6:59pm ET
PRIZES
$3,000 for
the winner
& serviced to media as the official video
Beatles legend Ringo Starr
has removed himself from the line-up of a potential supergroup
tipped to perform at the London Olympics next year. insisting
he will be busy on tour at the time of the games.
Gold medal-winning rower Steve
Redgrave hinted that organisers want to reteam Starr with Sir Paul McCartney as part of a spectacular ensemble which
would include Sir Mick Jagger and John Lydon to kick off the Olympics'
opening ceremony, which is being directed by Danny Boyle.
But Starr insists he won't
be involved in any such line-up as he will be performing in the
U.S.
He tells Sky News, "I'll
be touring America so I won't be doing it."
McCartney says nobody has asked him yet.
December
8, 2011 -- Ringo Starr News
NEW ALBUM OUT JAN 31 - PRE-ORDER NOW Ringo Starr's 17th solo studio record, and his second
on Hip-O/Ume will
be released on January 31, 2012 in the United States (Internationally,
January 30, 2012.)
Titled simply "Ringo 2012"
and produced by Ringo, it was recorded in LA and mixed in England
by Ringo and Bruce Sugar, and features 9 songs.
Of the 9 tracks two are covers,
"Think It Over," and "Rock Island Line" and
two are new versions of his own songs, "Wings" and "Step
Lightly."
The track listing
is as follows:
1. Anthem (Richard Starkey/Glen
Ballard)
2. Wings (Richard Starkey/Vince Poncia)
3. Think It Over (Buddy Holly/Norman Perry)
4. Samba (Richard Starkey/Van Dyke Parks)
5. Rock Island Line (Arrangement by Richard Starkey)
6. Step Lightly (Richard Starkey)
7. Wonderful (Richard Starkey/Gary Nicholson)
8. In Liverpool (Richard Starkey/Dave Stewart)
9. Slow Down (Richard Starkey/Joe Walsh)
Joining Ringo in the studio
for Ringo 2012 were musicians (in alphabetical order): Michael
Bradford, Ann Marie Calhoun, Matt Cartsonis, Steve Dudas, Charlie
Haden, Amy Keys, Kelly Moneymaker, Richard Page, Van Dyke parks,
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dave Stewart, Bruce Sugar, Benmont Tench,
Joe Walsh , Don Was, Edgar Winter.
"Ringo
2012" will be released digitally, on CD and vinyl.
June 19, 2011 -- Liverpool Echo
Review: Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band at the Empire, Liverpool
THREE years
after infamously saying there was nothing he missed about Liverpool,
the Prince Phillip of rock and roll, Ringo Starr, returned to the city for a homecoming,
peacemaking gig at the Empire.
Understandably,
Starr let the music do much of the talking. And with such a blistering
band around him, he couldn't really go wrong.
The line-up
was impressive, with Rick Derringer (the McCoys), Edgar Winter
(The Edgar Winter Group), and Wally Palmer (The Romantics) providing
a solid wall of sound both as Starr took the audience on a musical
journey from his first real Beatles hit,
I Wanna Be Your Man ("This is one I used to do with that
other band I used to be in", he said, ever the king of understatement),
Boys, Act Naturally, With A Little Help From My Friends and Yellow
Submarine, which had his 92-year-old Auntie Ev dancing in the
aisles.
To say he's
70, Ringo hasn't changed much, neither in voice or playing style.
It's amusing to see that even after all these years, he still
uses a relatively modest kit of very few drums, where most modern
rock drummers' stature is measured by how many trucks they need
to carry their tom-toms in. But, as was always the case with the
Beatles, he is a master at doing just what is necessary
no less, and certainly no more.
The other musicians
in the line-up are responsible for some extremely famous songs
in their own right. Richard Page of Mister Mister performed his
anthem Broken Wings, Derringer gave us Hang On Sloopy, while Gary
Wright pulled out his Dream Weaver, which he insists was inspired
by a book on Indian philosophy given to him by George Harrison (I've only ever heard it in Wayne's World,
to be honest). But for all their collective talents, they probably
couldn't aspire to be one tenth as famous as Starr between them
-- a reminder that a phenomenon like the Beatles only happens
once a millennium, if that.
Given headlines
over recent years, Starr did not miss the opportunity to remind
people, peace signs aloft, that "I love Liverpool",
to rapturous applause. But there was a sense there was still something
he wanted to explain, singing one of his more contemporary tunes
The Other Side of Liverpool ("The other side of Liverpool
is cold and damp"), which he said his Aunt Ev could empathise
with. It was as though he was saying the Liverpool I left behind
wasn't such a great place to live at that time, but I still love
the place.
And as such,
Starr brought the show to a close with Lennon's Give Peace A Chance, to uproarious applause. The
house was packed, there were no Jarvis Cocker-esque stage rush
protests, and whatever the Scouse fundamentalists will tell us,
this is a man who still loves Liverpool, and Liverpool clearly
still loves him. May
23, 2011 -- Spinner.com
Ringo Starr Says He Was 'Being Flippant' When He Made Joke About
Liverpool
Ringo Starr
has finally weighed in on
an interview he gave back in 2008 which incited Liverpool residents
to vandalize a Beatles memorial after he made an apparent gaffe
about his birthplace, according to PR Inside.
"It was funny. I thought
the whole of Liverpool would laugh," Starr tells British
magazine Live.
But clearly some folks couldn't
find the humor in the former Beatle telling the BBC's Jonathan
Ross that he missed "nothing" about his old stomping
grounds.
"I played the Echo Arena
(in Liverpool) and everything was great," Starr told BmL.
"Then I did the Jonathan Ross show and he said, 'Is there
anything you miss about Liverpool?' I said, 'No.' I was being
flippant."
The singer wants to set the
record straight once and for all and is shocked that his hometown
fellows took his sarcastic comment seriously -- some residents
even beheaded the beloved Beatle's topiary representation.
Spinner recently reported that
Starr's childhood Liverpool, England home is set to be demolished,
but the project has been met with much resistance. Thankfully,
not everyone in Liverpool has turned their back on the musician.
Watch Ringo Starr's Video for
'Fading In, Fading Out' CLICK
May 23, 2011 -- Daily Mail (UK)
'Paul likes to think he's the only remaining Beatle': Ringo Starr
on why the world's most famous band was lucky to have him
Sir Paul McCartney won't go on Ringo's new tour either. Is he bothered? If you
got to keep a sense of humour, £200 million and a Bond girl,
would you be?
'It's difficult, because people don't want you to grow up. A lot
of people outside The
Beatles want
to keep me in that world,' said Ringo Starr
'It's difficult,
because people don't want you to grow up. A lot of people outside
the Beatles want to keep me in that world,' said Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
looks at a photograph of his young self and laughs.
'We didn't
know what was ahead of us. You never do. We didn't think it would
last.'
The black-and-white
image shows the Beatles in suits in the early Sixties, waiting
to appear on a television show. He's not sure which one. Paul
is whistling, George is distracted, John is wide-eyed and Ringo is staring at the camera,
his feet up on a seat. In the picture (below) he looks the most
assured, by far.
'Even Paul
thought, "Well, I'll probably end up as a writer." So
did John. George was going to have a garage.'
But
Ringo was a drummer before the Beatles and he still is, long after
them. Nearly half a century later, at the age of 70, the boy in
that picture is preparing to go on the road again, touring Britain
and Europe with the latest incarnation of his All Starr Band.
He rarely gives
interviews, and gets frustrated when all people want to talk about
is the Fab
Four, but
today says he's 'at ease with it'. So here goes. How does it feel
to be a Beatle, at his age?
'It is difficult,
because people don't want you to grow up. A lot of people outside
the Beatles want to keep me in that world. They look at that guy
from A Hard Day's Night and think, "That's still him."
They want you to be that person they related to, in a movie, on
record.'
The cheeky
chappy? 'Yeah. Exactly.'
What would
he say to that young Ringo, if he could?
'Who, me? I
don't know. "Hey, how you doing?" Or, "Hey, cool!"'
He gives the
peace sign with both hands, and chuckles. Ringo has never pretended
to be deep. He was always the natural clown in the band, the friendly
face the kids and grannies loved, the yin to the yang of John
Lennon's caustic wit. But he hasn't given up on the Sixties idealism,
even after all this time. 'Peace and love' is his catchphrase,
and his T-shirt says 'Give Love'.
He's still dressing like a rock star dark suit, dark glasses,
three big silver rings in his ear lobe, making it droop
with brushed-forward hair and a closely cut beard, both of which
look suspiciously black. Ringo is small, skinny and familiar
that habit of sitting back in the chair, head up like a meerkat,
echoes the images of him drumming in the Cavern, at Shea Stadium,
on the roof of the Apple building. And we are surrounded by such
ghosts, here in the offices of Apple,
the company the Beatles set up to run their business affairs.
The Beatles
brand is bigger than ever: they passed a billion record sales
a long time ago, and they've conquered the world again lately,
thanks to new technology. More than two million of us own the
computer game The Beatles: Rock Band. But the masterstroke was
to wait a long time before releasing their 13 albums on iTunes
making sure they were remastered and repackaged, and the
clamour was intense.
Yet Ringo has
'only' made an estimated £200 million from the Beatles
far less than Sir Paul McCartney, one of the two main songwriters.
As the only two members left to face old age, how do they get
on?
'We are as
close as we want to be,' he says, laughing. 'We're the only two
remaining Beatles, although he likes to think he's the only one.'
Ringo has a habit of saying
audacious things with a poker face, so you can't tell if he's
being funny or mad. It's safer to laugh, and in this case right
to do so because he and Macca made glorious fun of that
idea of themselves for this year's Comic Relief.
If you haven't
seen the sketch, look it up online. James Corden and a room full
of superstars are arguing about who should be picked to film a
special appeal in Africa, until Sir Paul butts in, as pompous
as a knight of the realm can be.
'You all know
that the only person round this table who can go is me. I was
in the biggest rock 'n' roll band in the history of music I am
the last remaining Beatle.'
They all fall
silent in awed agreement until a familiar, flat voice pipes
up from the corner: 'What about me?'
It's funny
and self-aware, but how on Earth did Comic Relief persuade Ringo
to do it?
'I thought
it was a great sketch; it worked really well. I did my bit in
Los Angeles, where I live half the time. I just sat in a hotel
with a camera.'
The best jokes
are based on truth, so does he feel like the forgotten man sometimes?
And is Paul that self-important?
'There is an
element of truth in it,' Ringo says, before pausing for thought.
'But I think
it's people on the outside who perceive Paul as thinking he's
the only one left. Actually, it's me. I am the last remaining
Beatle.'
Deadpan is
his default setting. Once you realise that, Ringo is a very engaging
man. I'm not surprised he's still mates with Macca.
'We are good
friends. We don't live in each other's pockets, but if we're in
the same country, we get together. He's singing and playing on
my latest album and I played on several of his. We're just pals.
We're the only two who've experienced all this who are still here.'
The pair of
them work with the widows of John and George, Yoko Ono and Olivia
Harrison,
on managing the Beatles legacy. But how close is that relationship?
'I was with
Yoko and Olivia in Iceland in October for the celebration to mark
what would have been John's 70th birthday. She and my wife Barbara are really good friends. She got up on
stage with me on my birthday. We're all OK together. What's your
point?'
Only that the rancour which followed the Beatles split, and which
lasted for years, seems to have gone now. Yoko performed at Ringo's
70th birthday bash at Radio City Music Hall in New York last summer,
and Sir Paul sang the Beatles song Birthday. Doesn't it make him
wonder if a reunion might have become possible by now, had they
all survived?
'We
don't know,' says Ringo with a sigh, which may be because the
question irritates him, or because it makes him sad.
'We didn't
do it when we'd just split up. God knows. It would have been a
great moment for me if the four of us were just sitting around
talking about it. It's never going to happen with us.'
He's getting
restless, wanting questions about the present day, so I ask him
if he's annoyed that he hasn't been given a knighthood like Sir
Paul.
'Well. That's
up to them. It doesn't grate with me. It doesn't alter my life.
People have tried campaigns, but it never goes anywhere. Maybe
you should start one. What can I say? That's why I called my last
album Y Not. To all the questions like that, I just say, "Well,
why not?" I thought I was cool, just using the letter Y.'
Ringo's idea
of cool is unique. He won't shake hands, but prefers to bump elbows.
British crowds will see it a lot this summer, as he plays stately
homes and theatres with the All Starr Band, which has toured every
few years since 1989. Why does he still do it?
'I still love
to play. I go down the front and sing Photograph or whatever,
then I get to go back to the drums and play with all these other
musicians. It's a win-win situation. I get the chance to be both
the entertainer and the musician. Everyone's a star, but I'm the
big star. The band gets to play 12 numbers between them and I
do 12 numbers.'
Ringo does
Beatles songs, as well as his solo hits from some of the 16 albums
he has released since the Beatles broke up. Has he ever invited
Sir Paul to join him?
'Every
time I ask him to join the All Starrs he says he's too busy. I
tell him he'll have his two numbers'.
So Ringo sticks
to the songs he sang in the first place.
'I have to
do With A Little Help From My Friends. I have to do Yellow Sub.
And for myself, I have to do Boys, because I've done that since
I was with Rory Storm and The Hurricanes, the band I was in before
the Fabs. People love to see me playing and singing from the drums.
There is a responsibility to do stuff that people have come to
hear.'
Today is the
30th anniversary (May 23) of his marriage to Barbara Bach.
'There's a
song on the new record that says, "The worst it ever was,
was wonderful." That's a cool line. Everything in it relates
to Barbara. I loved the woman from when we met and I still love
the woman, and I know she loves me. It's not like we don't have
a row, but underneath it all there's always love.'
Bach was a
Bond girl, hailed as one of the most beautiful women in the world,
when he first set eyes on her in 1980.
'I met her
at Los Angeles airport. Her boyfriend was putting her on the plane.
I was on the other side of the counter dealing with my ticket,
and I just fell in love with the woman. Then we went off to Mexico
to do a movie together, Caveman, and I got to know her through
that.'
Ringo had been married before, to Maureen Cox, and had two sons and a daughter (his
son Zak is a drummer who has
played with Oasis). But he was divorced and free to marry Barbara
in 1981. They seemed to have everything, but checked into a rehab
clinic in Arizona seven years later; Ringo has said, 'We both
have addictive personalities.'
They've been
through some hard times, then?
'We've been
together for 30 years, so we've been through all the times. And
we're still together.'
The couple
have a charity, The Lotus Foundation, which supports projects
to assist those affected by addiction, as well as domestic violence,
cerebral palsy and cancer. They live in Los Angeles and Surrey.
'Home is England.
But we split it pretty even.'
He's not one
of those wealthy men who flee the country, saying it's going to
the dogs?
'Not our house,'
he says dryly, the Scouse in his voice overpowering the Californian
for a moment.
'Our house
is great.'
A 17th-century
mansion in 200 acres of prime Surrey countryside is certainly
great, compared to where he came from. No 9 Madryn Street in the
Dingle area of Liverpool is scheduled for demolition by the city
council, although the housing minister Grant Shapps is resisting
the plan. Ringo isn't sentimental about the place at all, and
clearly on the side of local residents who want new homes.
'You only have
to go walking round there to see where I lived. It was dark and
damp. I have to tell you those lyrics on my song The Other Side
Of Liverpool are
true: "The house I lived in was cold and damp/My mother was
a barmaid/At the age of three, my father was gone."
'As a kid you
didn't care. That's what we knew. Every woman in our street was
a mother if mine wasn't there. If you fell over they'd pick you
up. If you had a cough they'd be putting cough mixture in you.
I had a great childhood, besides being a little ill. But then
you move out. I grew up. I'm not a child. I've moved on.'
Not everybody
appreciates that.
'When the Beatles
moved south to London there were people in Liverpool calling us
traitors. You know, like they said it to Bob Dylan when he went
electric? I was there that night, by the way. People who are like
that don't want you to grow in any way.'
After the last time he went
back, in 2008, there was a huge fuss about something he said.
'Not at the gig. I played the
Echo Arena and everything was great. Then I did the Jonathan Ross
show and he said, "Is there anything you miss about Liverpool?"
I said, "No." I was being flippant. It was funny. I
thought the whole of Liverpool would laugh.'
It didn't. There were complaints
to the BBC. Somebody vandalised a Beatles tribute in the city,
cutting his head off.
'My auntie and my relations
laughed at what I said to Jonathan. You know, I'd just had my
whole family those that are left round for tea on
the Sunday.'
At his house?
'Like I have a house in Liverpool!
No. Round the back of the Arena. We took a room and we put on
a great thing. The family are still important. My mother's dead,
so I don't go back that often.'
He hasn't been to Liverpool
since and hasn't spoken about the controversy until now.
'But I'm going back this summer
to do what I do best.'
He nearly spent his life doing
something else, as it happens. The career of Richard Starkey, born in 1940, would have been very different if
the boy had listened to his family. Having made his first drum
kit out of biscuit tins and bits of firewood at the age of 13,
he faced a huge decision in the summer of 1960.
'I was working in a factory,
for Henry Hunt and Sons, a light engineering company. I was an
apprentice engineer, which was very big news in our family. But
I was also playing with Rory and The Hurricanes, and we got the
offer of a three-month gig in Butlin's at Skegness and Pwllheli,
so we had to give up our jobs. All my uncles and aunties came
over to try and tell me that drumming was OK as a hobby. I had
to stand there and defend myself. I said, "No, I'm a drummer,
I'm off." That's a Sliding Doors moment. Some decisions are
good.'
Butlin's led to a season in
Hamburg at the same time as the Beatles were there, which led
to an invitation to join them. John Lennon said people forget
that Ringo was a star before he joined the band.
'I was. Within Liverpool I
was a lot more well known than them. Rory and The Hurricanes were
big shots in the city. We had suits. That was our claim to fame.'
So rather than Ringo being
lucky to join the Beatles as lots of jealous people have
said over the years the opposite was true?
'Yeah.
They were lucky to get me. It wasn't just that I was a big shot;
I was a cool drummer. Brian
Epstein asked if I would play
a lunchtime at the Cavern with them. That's how I got started.'
There's your reason why he's
still on the road. He was joking earlier, but maybe Ringo is the
one who has stayed closest to the original spirit of the Beatles,
as lads from Liverpool who played the clubs, worked at their music
and made people feel good. He's the only one of the Fab Four who
doesn't get treated as a legend, which is exactly what he wants.
'That's your word. I'm a dad
and a grandfather and a husband. I'm a regular guy. I like doing
regular stuff. But we did leave music behind. The moptops, the
style you see around you on the wall, was all transient, but the
records are still holding up. The remasters are great because
you can hear the drums. The drums are up, brother.'
Now that you can hear what
he's playing clearly, on all those remastered songs, Ringo is
finally getting the credit he deserves. John's quip about him
not even being the best drummer in the Beatles was put to rest
when Rolling Stone magazine recently chose Ringo as the fifth
greatest rock drummer of all time.
'I did do some great music.
And I'm not done yet.'
He gets up to go, and I tell
him it's been an honour. Ringo laughs loudly.
'An honour, you say? Ha! That's
great. Put that in your damn article. Peace and love, brother,
peace and love.'
Ringo Starr
& His All Starr Band are on tour in the UK from June 17. ringostarr.com
May 22, 2011 --
Littlehampton Gazette (UK)
Littlehampton woman meets hearthrob Ringo Starr
When Kath Moore first met Beatles hearthrob Ringo Starr almost
half a century ago, she thought all her dreams had come true.
So it was a surprise when,
more than 46 years later, she was given the chance to come face-to-face
with him once more.
Kath, 55, of North Ham Road,
Littlehampton, first met Ringo when she was only eight years old,
after he visited the town in July, 1964.
"It was all such a huge
surprise," she said. "I couldn't believe my eyes.
"I remember I was working
with my dad on his boat, when he told me that Ringo was in town.
I thought he must have been joking or pulling my leg. But when
I looked around, there he was.
"I went up and asked for
his autograph. I was so shy and quiet. But he was really lovely
and friendly.
"When I showed my friends
at school they were so jealous. We all used to play at being the
Beatles during lunch and I was always Ringo.
"It was just a once-in-a-lifetime
experience."
Kath had her photo taken by
the Gazette as she was asking for Ringo's autograph she
is pictured, right, with the original photograph and the story
as it appeared in the paper.
It was this photo that was
the key to her second meeting with the world-renowned drummer.
"I watching the One Show
on the Thursday and they said that Ringo would be coming on.
"That's when I decided
to email the show and tell them about my meeting with Ringo."
Kathy contacted the producers
of the BBC programme, sending the photo taken by the Gazette of
her first encounter with the drumming legend and they invited
her into the audience on Friday's show.
"It was all very exciting,"
she said. "They phoned me up the next day and invited me
onto the show that evening!
"I phoned my husband and
we literally dropped everything to get to London.
"It was brilliant
we were picked up in a Mercedes and driven around the city for
a bit.
"Then they brought us
into the studio and I saw Ringo again."
Kathy's photo, sadly, was not
shown during the show but she did get a parting gift from the
Beatles icon.
"He smiled at me and nodded.
My stomach turned over when he did that.
"It was like I was a little
girl again. I'll never forget it. It really was the icing on the
cake."
Kath now has her fingers crossed
that she will meet Ringo for a third time.
According to the Gazette report
in 1964, Ringo was visiting Littlehampton to get away from London.
He had lunch at the Cairo Club
in Surrey Street now the closed-down Lemon Tree restaurant
and took a boat ride up the River Arun, to Amberley, before
heading back to London for a private screening of the Beatles'
first movie, A Hard Day's Night.
March 23, 2011 -- MSN.com
(NZ)
Ringo to apologise to the people of Liverpool
Ringo Starr is preparing to make peace with fans
in his native Liverpool after declaring he missed "nothing"
about the English city - he's returning to his hometown for a
special show in June.
The former Beatles
star angered his loyal following in 2008 when he announced during
a TV interview that he was content with living in Los Angeles,
after moving from his birthplace many years ago.
He was slammed by political
leaders and tourism chiefs over the remarks - but Starr is heading
back to Liverpool for his first concert since making the comments,
according to Britain's Daily Express.
"Obviously Ringo is going
to be asked about it before he performs there and he's keen to
set the record straight," a source told the publication.
"It was a joke that got
taken out of context and Ringo is going to make it clear publicly
that Liverpool remains very special to him.
But
Ringo was a drummer before the Beatles and he still is, long after
them. Nearly half a century later, at the age of 70, the boy in
that picture is preparing to go on the road again, touring Britain
and Europe with the latest incarnation of his All Starr Band.
Ringo has a habit of saying
audacious things with a poker face, so you can't tell if he's
being funny or mad. It's safer to laugh, and in this case right
to do so because he and Macca made glorious fun of that
idea of themselves for this year's Comic Relief.
'We
don't know,' says Ringo with a sigh, which may be because the
question irritates him, or because it makes him sad.
'Every
time I ask him to join the All Starrs he says he's too busy. I
tell him he'll have his two numbers'.
are
true: "The house I lived in was cold and damp/My mother was
a barmaid/At the age of three, my father was gone."
'Yeah.
They were lucky to get me. It wasn't just that I was a big shot;
I was a cool drummer. Brian
Epstein asked if I would play
a lunchtime at the Cavern with them. That's how I got started.'
Jorie Gracen