IT’S no secret that I love the music of The Beatles. And it’s always been a dream of mine – since I was a young lad - to be able to sit down and chat with any of remaining Fab Four. (I also harboured hopes to jam with George Harrison, he seemed to be doing a lot of that at the time). I remember thinking, “If I could manage that, I’d retire a happy man.”
Of course, I said that because I never thought that in a million years, I’d be sitting down and chatting with the one and only Ringo Starr.
(photo by Rob Shanahan)
Many things have already been said about Ringo – and if you consider the Beatles Anthology they did in the 1990s, most of it was said by the man himself. How he grew up in Liverpool; why he changed his name from Richard Starkey to Ringo Starr; how he joined The Beatles; his modest success after The Fab Four broke up as he entered acting and other entertainment-related activities; how he formed the All-Starr Band; and so on…
But what’s interesting is that while many consider him to be the affable Beatle, he had enough cajones to be the first one to quit the band in 1968 when they started infighting. He may not regularly make the Top 10 list of best drummers of all time, but just listen to tracks like The Beatles’ version of Long Tall Sally, Rain, She Said She Said and Strawberry Fields Forever, and you can instantly tell he’s more than a human metronome. And many musicians – not just John, Paul and George – have credited Ringo for redefining the way drums are played (eg, using the “matched grip” to hold the drum sticks; or leading off with the left hand on a right-handed drumset).
I mean, Ringo is so cool, he was the voice of Thomas The Tank Engine (and the train conductor on Shining Time Station), and the guy who got the Bond babe Barbara Bach.
And he has more friends than you can shake a stick – nay a whole caber – at, should he ever need a little help when recording his albums, like this latest one, Ringo 2012. The guests musicians on the roster here read like a who’s who – including regular collaborator Joe Walsh (James Gang, The Eagles), jazz legend Charlie Haden, Richard Page (Mr Mister), Don Was and Benmont Tench (of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers).
And with his All-Starr Band, he’s also worked with Randy Bachman, Levon Helm and Rick Danko (of The Band), Todd Rundgren, Jack Bruce, Gary Brooker, Billy Preston, John Entwistle, Ian Hunter, John Waite, Sheila E, Howard Jones, Paul Carrack, Gregg Bissonette, Gary Wright, and the list goes on…
So you can imagine I was over the moon knowing that I could talk to the legendary drummer on Tuesday night. (True, it was a shared interview with two other journos rather than a one-on-one, which I would have preferred, but interviews with Ringo – they don’t come easy. And so what if the interview only lasted 12min and 27 seconds instead of the 15 minutes we were promised because the connection was dropped and it took a while to get everybody back online? – Never let it be said I can’t complain like an aunty.)
But anyway, did the interview, can now retire, but won’t because I’ve yet to interview The Edge of U2 or Madonna or Sarah McLachlan, so… enough of my yakkin’. Here is the unexpurgated interview with Ringo Starr as it happened on Tuesday night. Enjoy…
(Some portions have been edited – mostly our longwinded questions – but the outcome was unaffected.)
Hi, Ringo, how are you? I’m good, thank you. I’m talking to this crazy thing in the middle of the table and you’re right there.
Well, let’s get to it. On Ringo 2012, you once again collaborate with a bunch of top musicians like Charlie Haden and Benmont Tench. Is there anyone you haven’t worked with but would like to? To be honest, there’re hundreds. There are lots of great players out there. You mentioned Charlie Haden, who’s one of the premier upright bass players, and then there’s Don Was, an old friend, playing his three-quarter upright bass. When I make a record, I find the track then I find the players whom I feel will augment it to come and play. So we have a good time. As long as you’re musical, I mean I don’t go, oh I can’t have that guy, he’s heavy metal or whatever. If it’ll work on the record I’ll give you a call.
Does Ringo 2012 signify a certain period of your life? Why I call it 2012 is because that’s where I am right now. I’m not living in the future and I’m not dwelling too much on the past. I went through a lot of moments thinking let’s call it this or that, but then I thought, you know I really like the easy life so I said I’m just going to call it “2012″. That’s where I’m at now.
Why re-record Wings and Step Lightly? I was just thinking of them. They were just two songs that I wrote and I loved and I just wanted to relook at them. I felt now I’d like to redo those two. I don’t in the future if I’m going to do any others, but these two came to mind. I wanted to do Wings – I love the sentiment – and of course, Step Lightly. It was just one of those ideas I had, and it was working still. If you play it against the original. Now, there’s nothing wrong with the originals, but these are my ideas – now – of how I want the songs to go.
But you don’t tap dance anymore. I can still tap dance, brother. By recording the change – in those days I would tap dance and a lot of that kind of stuff – but now we just get down to the tracks. And right now, I believe less is more.
Speaking of old songs, you also recorded Think It Over and Rock Island Line. Think It Over started me making this record, because Peter Asher, of Peter And Gordon, and who also used to work at Apple, heh heh, he was putting a compilation to celebrate the 50 years of Buddy Holly’s death and so he asked me if I would do a track and I said yes and he suggested Think It Over. So I went into my studio to get the track done and I did the track – mainly synthesizer and drums and then we brought a guitar in and Richard Page did the harmonies. And I loved what we did to it. I put the steel drums – synthesizer, of course – and I thought, “well, I’m going to carry some more tracks” and it ended up I’d made enough to make a record.
Rock Island Line, that was the music I listened to when I started playing. Lonnie Donegan made that a huge hit, but it’s actually an old blues song. And I wanted to – for a moment – pay homage to where I came from. I started out with skiffle and here I am now.
Why do you still make music when you don’t have to? Because I love to play. I am a musician and I’ve always loved to play and I’m still blessed to get the opportunity to play with such great players. That was my dream when I was 13, first to get a kit of drums; secondly, to play with musicians, and then to play with good musicians; and that unfolded and it’s still unfolding. I mean what would I do with myself if I didn’t do this? I mean, I’d have to come over and hang out with you. Ha ha. No, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
What are your thoughts about this being the 50th anniversary of you joining The Beatles?
I was surprised when someone mentioned that earlier in another interview. I have no recollection! Ha ha! It’s something I wasn’t thinking about. But I think it’s fabulous that I’m still here doing what I love to do and God bless The Beatles! I mean, it’s not like I’m going to stop or do anything special. I’ll be just done doing 28 gigs by August, but you know, I’m doing what I was doing 50 years ago and that’s a great sign.
Apart from music, you also acted and did things like Thomas The Tank Engine and Shining Time Station. Do you like trains, would you want to do stuff like that again? I love trains. I do! Those big old steam trains. In Liverpool, we have those old overhead railways. And no, I mean I just love trains. The movement and the sound of the train is very romantic to me because when I was a kid we’d go around on a train. But I didn’t do Thomas because of that. I was surprised when Thomas and Shining Time got so big really. In the 80s, I thought it would be more people with ray guns, you know? But they convinced me I could do a good job of this and I did. People are still holding up babies to me, saying, “There he is, that’s Thomas!” I haven’t done it since, like, what, 1988? But everybody who has a child seems to get Thomas so it’s a huge success.
Now, you’ve got a voice…
I have!
But when writing with other people do they write for your voice? I write and they write with me for my voice. I’m not going to do anything in the key of “F demented”. We have to put it in a key that I can handle, that’s all we do really. The interesting thing on this record is more and more, I’m singing harmonies with myself, which knocks me out. I do not have the greatest range in the world, so we have to really look at that.
Did you ever feel underrated as a drummer? I never felt underrated as a musician. Never. And travelling around the world, when we got to America, and meeting musicians over there, they were all being forced to play like me. Ha ha! So I never had any doubts of my musicianship. Ever.
Anyway, that’s our lot. I want to say thank you, it’s been very… interesting. And it was August 16, 1962, what a day. I remember it so well! Alright, peace and love.
Ringo 2012 will be released at the end of the month.
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