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Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for
the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, usually for one song on each album, including " Yellow Submarine" and " With a Little Help from My Friends". He also wrote and sang the Beatles songs " Don't Pass Me By" and " Octopus's Garden", and is credited as a co-writer of four others. Starr was afflicted by life-threatening illnesses during childhood, with periods of prolonged hospitalisation. He briefly held a position with
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...
before securing an apprenticeship as a machinist at a Liverpool school equipment manufacturer. Soon afterwards, Starr became interested in the UK skiffle craze and developed a fervent admiration for the genre. In 1957, he co-founded his first band, the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group, which earned several prestigious local bookings before the fad succumbed to American
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
around early 1958. When the Beatles formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
group, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. After achieving moderate success in the UK and
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
, he quit the Hurricanes when he was asked to join the Beatles in August 1962, replacing Pete Best. In addition to the Beatles' films, Starr has acted in numerous others. After the band's break-up in 1970, he released several successful singles including the US top-ten hit " It Don't Come Easy", and number ones "
Photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now creat ...
" and " You're Sixteen". His most successful UK single was " Back Off Boogaloo", which peaked at number two. He achieved commercial and critical success with his 1973 album ''
Ringo Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
'', which was a top-ten release in both the UK and the US. Starr has featured in numerous documentaries, hosted television shows, narrated the first two series of the children's television program ''
Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'' and portrayed "Mr. Conductor" during the first season of the PBS children's television series '' Shining Time Station''. Since 1989, he has toured with thirteen variations of
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band is a live rock music, rock Supergroup (music), supergroup founded in 1989 with shifting personnel, led by former The Beatles, Beatles drummer and vocalist Ringo Starr. History and description Since 1989, Starr h ...
. Starr's playing style, which emphasised feel over technical virtuosity, influenced many drummers to reconsider their playing from a compositional perspective. He also influenced various modern drumming techniques, such as the matched grip, tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings. In his opinion, his finest recorded performance was on the Beatles' "
Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...
". In 1999, he was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame. In 2011, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'' readers named him the fifth-greatest drummer of all time. He was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a Beatle in 1988 and as a solo artist in 2015, and appointed a
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...
in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to music. In 2020, he was cited as the wealthiest drummer in the world, with a net worth of $350 million.


Early life

Richard Starkey was born on 7 July 1940 at 9 Madryn Street in
Dingle Dingle (Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Killa ...
, an inner-city area of
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
. He is the only child of confectioners Richard Starkey (1913–1981) and Elsie Gleave (1914–1987). Elsie enjoyed singing and dancing, a hobby that she shared with her husband, an avid fan of
swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...
. Prior to the birth of their son, whom they called "Richy", the couple had spent much of their free time on the local ballroom circuit, but their regular outings ended soon after his birth. Elsie adopted an overprotective approach to raising her son that bordered on fixation. Subsequently, "Big Ritchie", as Starkey's father became known, lost interest in his family, choosing instead to spend long hours drinking and dancing in pubs, sometimes for several consecutive days. In an effort to reduce their housing costs, his family moved in 1944 to another neighbourhood in the Dingle, Admiral Grove; soon afterwards his parents separated, and they divorced within the year. Starkey later stated that he has "no real memories" of his father, who made little effort to bond with him, visiting as few as three times thereafter. Elsie found it difficult to survive on her ex-husband's support payments of thirty shillings a week, so she took on several menial jobs cleaning houses before securing a position as a barmaid, an occupation that she held for twelve years. At the age of six, Starkey developed
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...
. Following a routine appendectomy he contracted
peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...
, causing him to fall into a coma that lasted days. His recovery spanned twelve months, which he spent away from his family at Liverpool's Myrtle Street children's hospital. Upon his discharge in May 1948, his mother allowed him to stay at home, causing him to miss school. At age eight, he remained illiterate, with a poor grasp of mathematics. His lack of education contributed to a feeling of alienation at school, which resulted in his regularly playing truant at Sefton Park. After several years of twice-weekly tutoring from his surrogate sister and neighbour, Marie Maguire Crawford, Starkey had nearly caught up to his peers academically, but in 1953, he contracted
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...
and was admitted to a sanatorium, where he remained for two years. During his stay the medical staff made an effort to stimulate motor activity and relieve boredom by encouraging their patients to join the hospital band, leading to his first exposure to a percussion instrument: a makeshift mallet made from a cotton bobbin that he used to strike the cabinets next to his bed. Soon afterwards, he grew increasingly interested in drumming, receiving a copy of the Alyn Ainsworth song "Bedtime for Drums" as a convalescence gift from Crawford. Starkey commented: "I was in the hospital band ... That's where I really started playing. I never wanted anything else from there on ... My grandparents gave me a mandolin and a banjo, but I didn't want them. My grandfather gave me a harmonica ... we had a piano – nothing. Only the drums." Starkey attended St Silas, a
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
primary school near his house where his classmates nicknamed him " Lazarus", and later Dingle Vale Secondary modern school, where he showed an aptitude for art and drama, as well as practical subjects including mechanics. As a result of the prolonged hospitalisations, he fell behind his peers scholastically and was ineligible for the 11-plus qualifying examination required for attendance at a
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school, ...
. On 17 April 1954, Starkey's mother married Harry Graves at the register office on Mount Pleasant, Liverpool. He was an ex-Londoner who had moved to Liverpool following the failure of his first marriage. Graves, an impassioned fan of
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...
music and their vocalists, introduced Starkey to recordings by Dinah Shore, Sarah Vaughan and Billy Daniels. Graves stated that he and "Ritchie" never had an unpleasant exchange between them; Starkey later commented: "He was great ... I learned gentleness from Harry." After the extended hospital stay following Starkey's recovery from tuberculosis, he did not return to school, preferring instead to stay at home and listen to music while playing along by beating biscuit tins with sticks. Beatles biographer Bob Spitz described Starkey's upbringing as "a
Dickensian Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
chronicle of misfortune". Houses in the area were "poorly ventilated, postage-stamp-sized ... patched together by crumbling plaster walls, with a rear door that opened onto an outhouse." Crawford commented: "Like all of the families who lived in the Dingle, he was part of an ongoing struggle to survive." The children who lived there spent much of their time at Prince's Park, escaping the soot-filled air of their coal-fuelled neighbourhood. Adding to their difficult circumstances, violent crime was an almost constant concern for people living in one of the oldest and poorest inner-city districts in Liverpool. Starkey later commented: "You kept your head down, your eyes open, and you didn't get in anybody's way." After his return home from the sanatorium in late 1955, Starkey entered the workforce but was lacking in motivation and discipline; his initial attempts at gainful employment proved unsuccessful. In an effort to secure himself some warm clothes, he briefly held a railway worker's job with
British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...
, which came with an employer-issued suit. He was supplied with a hat but no uniform and, unable to pass the physical examination, he was laid off and granted
unemployment benefits Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a comp ...
. He then found work as a waiter serving drinks on a day boat that travelled from Liverpool to North Wales, but his fear of conscription into military service led him to quit the job, not wanting to give the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
the impression that he was suitable for seafaring work. In mid-1956, Graves secured Starkey a position as an apprentice machinist at Henry Hunt and Son, a Liverpool school equipment manufacturer. While working at the facility Starkey befriended Roy Trafford, and the two bonded over their shared interest in music. Trafford introduced Starkey to skiffle, and he quickly became a fervent admirer.


First bands: 1957–1961

Soon after Trafford piqued Starkey's interest in skiffle, the two began rehearsing songs in the manufacturing plant's cellar during their lunch breaks. Trafford recalled: "I played a guitar, and itchiejust made a noise on a box ... Sometimes, he just slapped a biscuit tin with some keys, or banged on the backs of chairs." The pair were joined by Starkey's neighbour and co-worker, the guitarist Eddie Miles, forming the Eddie Miles Band, later renamed Eddie Clayton and the Clayton Squares after a Liverpool landmark. The band performed popular skiffle songs such as " Rock Island Line" and "Walking Cane", with Starkey raking a thimble across a washboard, creating primitive, driving rhythms. Starkey enjoyed dancing as his parents had years earlier, and he and Trafford briefly took dance lessons at two schools. Though the lessons were short-lived, they provided Starkey and Trafford with an introduction that allowed them to dance competently while enjoying nights out on the town. On Christmas Day 1957, Graves gave Starkey a second-hand drum kit consisting of a snare drum, bass drum and a makeshift cymbal fashioned from a
rubbish bin A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...
lid. Although basic and crude, the kit facilitated his progression as a musician while increasing the commercial potential of the Eddie Clayton band, who went on to book prestigious local gigs before the skiffle craze faded in early 1958 as American
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
became popular in the UK. In November 1959, Starkey joined
Al Caldwell Al Caldwell is an R&B musician who mainly plays the bass guitar and banjo with the Travelling Black Hillbillies. He is also a studio engineer and producer. Career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Caldwell started out as a clarinet player and moved o ...
's Texans, a skiffle group who were looking for someone with a proper drum kit so that the group could transition from one of Liverpool's best-known skiffle acts to a full-fledged rock and roll band. They had begun playing local clubs as the Raging Texans, then Jet Storm and the Raging Texans before settling on Rory Storm and the Hurricanes shortly before recruiting Starkey. About this time he adopted the stage name Ringo Starr; derived from the rings he wore and also because it implied a country and western influence. His drum solos were billed as ''Starr Time''. By early 1960, the Hurricanes had become one of Liverpool's leading bands. In May, they were offered a three-month residency at a
Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...
holiday camp in Wales. Although initially reluctant to accept the residency and end his five-year machinist apprenticeship that he had begun four years earlier, Starr eventually agreed to the arrangement. The Butlins gig led to other opportunities for the band, including an unpleasant tour of US Air Force bases in France about which Starr commented: "The French don't like the British; at least I didn't like them." The Hurricanes became so successful that when initially offered a highly coveted residency in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
, they turned it down because of their prior commitment with Butlins. They eventually accepted, joining
the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
at Bruno Koschmiders Kaiserkeller on 1 October 1960, where Starr first met the band. Storm's Hurricanes were given top-billing over the Beatles, who also received less pay. Starr performed with the Beatles during a few stand-in engagements while in Hamburg. On 15 October 1960, he drummed with
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
,
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...
and George Harrison, recording with them for the first time while backing Hurricanes singer Lu Walters on the
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
/ DuBose Heyward
aria In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...
" Summertime". During Starr's first stay in Hamburg he also met Tony Sheridan, who valued his drumming abilities to the point of asking Starr to leave the Hurricanes and join his band.


The Beatles: 1962–1970


Replacing Best

Starr quit Rory Storm and the Hurricanes in January 1962 and briefly joined Sheridan in Hamburg before returning to the Hurricanes for a third season at Butlins. On 14 August, Starr accepted Lennon's invitation to join the Beatles. On 16 August, Beatles manager Brian Epstein fired their drummer, Pete Best, who recalled: "He said 'I've got some bad news for you. The boys want you out and Ringo in.' He said eatles producer George Martin wasn't too pleased with my playing ndthe boys thought I didn't fit in." Starr first performed as a member of the Beatles on 18 August 1962, at a horticultural society dance at
Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village and suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in its ...
. After his appearance at the Cavern Club the following day, Best fans, upset by his firing, held vigils outside his house and at the club shouting "Pete forever! Ringo never!" Harrison received a black eye from one upset fan, and Epstein, whose car tyres they had flattened in anger, temporarily hired a bodyguard. Starr's first recording session as a member of the Beatles took place on 4 September 1962. He stated that Martin had thought that he "was crazy and couldn't play ... because I was trying to play the percussion and the drums at the same time, we were just a four-piece band". For their second recording session with Starr, on 11 September 1962, Martin replaced him with session drummer Andy White while recording takes for what would be the two sides of the Beatles' first single, " Love Me Do", backed with " P.S. I Love You". Starr played tambourine on "Love Me Do" and maracas on "P.S. I Love You". Concerned about his status in the Beatles, he thought: "That's the end, they're doing a Pete Best on me." Martin later clarified: "I simply didn't know what Ringo was like and I wasn't prepared to take any risks." By November 1962, Starr had been accepted by Beatles fans, who were now calling for him to sing. He began receiving an amount of fan mail equal to that of the others, which helped to secure his position within the band. Starr considered himself fortunate to be on the same "wavelength" as the other Beatles: "I had to be, or I wouldn't have lasted. I had to join them as people as well as a drummer." He was given a small percentage of Lennon and McCartney's publishing company, Northern Songs, but derived his primary income during this period from a one-quarter share of Beatles Ltd, a corporation financed by the band's net concert earnings. He commented on the nature of his lifestyle after having achieved success with the Beatles: "I lived in nightclubs for three years. It used to be a non-stop party." Like his father, Starr became well known for his late-night dancing and he received praise for his skills.


Worldwide success

During 1963, the Beatles enjoyed increasing popularity in Britain. In January, their second single, " Please Please Me", followed "Love Me Do" into the UK charts and a successful television appearance on '' Thank Your Lucky Stars'' earned favourable reviews, leading to a boost in sales and radio play. By the end of the year, the phenomenon known as Beatlemania had spread throughout the country, and by February 1964 the Beatles had become an international success when they performed in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
on '' The Ed Sullivan Show'' to a record 73 million viewers. Starr commented: "In the States I know I went over well. It knocked me out to see and hear the kids waving for me. I'd made it as a personality ... Our appeal ... is that we're ordinary lads." He was a source of inspiration for several songs written at the time, including Penny Valentine's " I Want To Kiss Ringo Goodbye" and Rolf Harris's "
Ringo for President "Ringo for President" is a 1964 novelty song by The Young World Singers released on Decca Records. Released during the 1964 U.S. presidential elections, it advocates Beatles drummer Ringo Starr as the ideal presidential candidate ''because he doe ...
".
Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...
released her first single, " Ringo, I Love You" in 1964 under the pseudonym Bonnie Joe Mason. In 1964, "I love Ringo" lapel pins were the bestselling Beatles merchandise. The prominent placing of the
Ludwig Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...
logo on the bass drum of his American import drum kit gave the company such a burst of publicity that it became the dominant drum manufacturer in North America for the next twenty years. During live performances, the Beatles continued the "Starr Time" routine that had been popular among his fans: Lennon would place a microphone in front of Starr's kit in preparation for his spotlight moment and audiences would erupt in screams. When the Beatles made their film debut in '' A Hard Day's Night'', Starr garnered praise from critics, who considered his delivery of deadpan one-liners and his non-speaking scenes highlights. The extended non-speaking sequences had to be arranged by director Richard Lester because of Starr's lack of sleep the previous night; Starr commented: "Because I'd been drinking all night I was incapable of saying a line." Epstein attributed Starr's acclaim to "the little man's quaintness". After the release of the Beatles' second feature film, '' Help!'' (1965), Starr won a '' Melody Maker'' poll against his fellow Beatles for his performance as the central character in the film. During an interview with ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...
'' in 1964, Lennon explained that Starr had filled in with the Beatles when Best was ill; Starr replied: " esttook little pills to make him ill". Soon after, Best filed a
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...
suit against him that lasted four years before the court reached an undisclosed settlement in Best's favour. In June, the Beatles were scheduled to tour Denmark, the Netherlands, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Before the start of the tour, Starr was stricken with a high-grade fever, pharyngitis and tonsillitis, and briefly stayed in a local hospital, followed by several days of recuperation at home. He was temporarily replaced for five concerts by 24-year-old session drummer Jimmie Nicol. Starr was discharged from the hospital and rejoined the band in Melbourne on 15 June. He later said that he feared he would be permanently replaced during his illness. In August, the Beatles were introduced to American songwriter
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, who offered the group cannabis cigarettes. Starr was the first to try one but the others were hesitant. On 11 February 1965, Starr married Maureen Cox, whom he had met in 1962. By this time the stress and pressure of Beatlemania had reached a peak for him. He received a telephoned death threat before a show in Montreal, and resorted to positioning his cymbals vertically in an attempt to defend against would-be assassins. The constant pressure affected the Beatles' performances; Starr commented: "We were turning into such bad musicians ... there was no groove to it." He was also feeling increasingly isolated from the musical activities of his bandmates, who were moving past the traditional boundaries of rock music into territory that often did not require his accompaniment; during recording sessions he spent hours playing cards with their road manager Neil Aspinall and roadie Mal Evans while the other Beatles perfected tracks without him. In a letter published in ''Melody Maker'', a fan asked the Beatles to let Starr sing more; he replied: " amquite happy with my one little track on each album".


Studio years

In August 1966, the Beatles released '' Revolver'', their seventh UK LP. It included the song " Yellow Submarine", their only British number-one single with Starr as the lead singer. Later that month, owing to the increasing pressures of touring, the Beatles gave their final concert, a 30-minute performance at San Francisco
Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...
. Starr commented: "We gave up touring at the right time. Four years of Beatlemania were enough for anyone." By December he had moved to a larger estate called Sunny Heights, in size, at St George's Hill in Weybridge, Surrey, near to Lennon. Although he had equipped the house with many luxury items, including numerous televisions, light machines, film projectors, stereo equipment, a
billiard table A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which cue sports are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables (whether for carom billiards, pool, pyramid or snooker) provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, ...
, go-kart track and a bar named the Flying Cow, he did not include a drum kit; he explained: "When we don't record, I don't play." For the Beatles' seminal 1967 album, ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...
'', Starr sang lead vocals on the Lennon–McCartney composition " With a Little Help from My Friends". Although the Beatles had enjoyed widespread commercial and critical success with ''Sgt. Pepper'', the long hours they spent recording the LP contributed to Starr's increased feeling of alienation within the band; he commented: " twasn't our best album. That was the peak for everyone else, but for me it was a bit like being a session musician ... They more or less direct me in the style I can play." His inability to compose new material led to his input being minimised during recording sessions; he often found himself relegated to adding minor percussion effects to songs by McCartney, Lennon and Harrison. During his downtime, Starr worked on his guitar playing, and said: "I jump into chords that no one seems to get into. Most of the stuff I write is twelve-bar". Epstein's death in August 1967 left the Beatles without management; Starr remarked: "
t was T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is de ...
a strange time for us, when it's someone who we've relied on in the business, where we never got involved." Soon afterwards, the band began an ill-fated film project, '' Magical Mystery Tour''. Starr's growing interest in photography led to his billing as the movie's Director of Photography, and his participation in the film's editing was matched only by that of McCartney. In February 1968, Starr became the first Beatle to sing on another artist's show without the others. He sang the Buck Owens hit " Act Naturally", and performed a duet with Cilla Black, "Do You Like Me Just a Little Bit?" on her
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...
television programme, ''Cilla''. In November 1968, Apple Records released ''
The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
'', commonly known as the "White Album". The album was partly inspired by the band's recent interactions with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. While attending the Maharishi's intermediate course at his
ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints medita ...
, India, they enjoyed one of their most prolific writing periods, composing most of the album there. Starr left after ten days, but completed his first recorded Beatles song, " Don't Pass Me By". During the recording of the White Album, relations within the Beatles deteriorated; at times only one or two members were involved in the recording for a track. Starr had grown weary of McCartney's increasingly overbearing approach and Lennon's
passive-aggressive behaviour Passive-aggressive behavior is characterized by a pattern of passive hostility and an avoidance of direct communication. Inaction where some action is socially customary is a typical passive-aggressive strategy (showing up late for functions, st ...
, exacerbated by Starr's resentment of the near-constant presence of Lennon's wife,
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
. After one particularly difficult session during which McCartney harshly criticised his drumming, Starr quit the Beatles for two weeks, holidaying with his family in
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...
on a boat loaned by actor Peter Sellers. During a lunch break the chef served octopus, which Starr refused to eat; a conversation with the ship's captain about the animal inspired Starr's '' Abbey Road'' composition " Octopus's Garden", which Starr wrote on guitar during the trip. He returned to the studio two weeks later to find that Harrison had covered his drum kit in flowers as a welcome-back gesture. Despite a temporary return to congeniality during the completion of the White Album, production of the Beatles' fourth feature film, '' Let It Be'', and its accompanying LP, further strained band relationships. On 20 August 1969, the Beatles gathered for the final time at Abbey Road Studios for a mixing session for " I Want You". At a business meeting on 20 September, Lennon told the others that he had quit the Beatles, although the band's break-up would not become public knowledge until McCartney's announcement on 10 April 1970 that he was also leaving.


Solo career


1970s

Shortly before McCartney announced his exit from the Beatles in April 1970, he and Starr had a falling out due to McCartney's refusal to cede the release date of his eponymous solo album to allow for Starr's debut, '' Sentimental Journey'', and the Beatles' ''Let It Be''. Starr's album – composed of renditions of pre-rock standards that included musical arrangements by
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
, Maurice Gibb, George Martin and McCartney – peaked at number seven in the UK and number 22 in the US. Starr followed ''Sentimental Journey'' with the country-inspired '' Beaucoups of Blues'', engineered by
Scotty Moore Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968. Rock critic D ...
and featuring renowned Nashville session musician Pete Drake. Despite favourable reviews, the album was a commercial failure. Starr subsequently combined his musical activities with developing a career as a film actor. Starr played drums on Lennon's '' John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'' (1970), Ono's '' Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band'' (1970), and on Harrison's albums '' All Things Must Pass'' (1970), '' Living in the Material World'' (1973) and '' Dark Horse'' (1974). In 1971, Starr participated in the Concert for Bangladesh, organised by Harrison, and with him co-wrote the hit single " It Don't Come Easy", which reached number four in both the US and the UK. The following year he released his most successful UK hit, " Back Off Boogaloo" (again produced and co-written by Harrison), which peaked at number two (US number nine). Having become friends with the English singer Marc Bolan, Starr made his directorial debut with the 1972
T. Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' liv ...
documentary '' Born to Boogie''. In 1973 and 1974, Starr had two number one hits in the US: "
Photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now creat ...
", a UK number eight hit co-written with Harrison, and " You're Sixteen", written by the
Sherman Brothers The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard M. Sherman (born June 12, 1928). Together they received various accolades inc ...
. Starr's third million-selling single in the US, "You're Sixteen" was released in the UK in February 1974 where it peaked at number four. Both tracks appeared on Starr's debut rock album, ''
Ringo Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
'', produced by Richard Perry and featuring further contributions from Harrison as well as a song each from Lennon and McCartney. A commercial and critical success, the LP also included " Oh My My", a US number five. The album reached number seven in the UK and number two in the US. Author Peter Doggett describes ''Ringo'' as a template for Starr's solo career, saying that, as a musician first rather than a songwriter, "he would rely on his friends and his charm, and if both were on tap, then the results were usually appealing". '' Goodnight Vienna'' followed in 1974 and was also successful, reaching number eight in the US and number 30 in the UK. Featuring contributions from Lennon,
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
and Harry Nilsson, the album included a cover of the Platters' " Only You (And You Alone)", which peaked at number six in the US and number 28 in the UK, and Hoyt Axton's " No No Song", which was a US number three and Starr's seventh consecutive top-ten hit. The Elton John-written " Snookeroo" failed to chart in the UK, however. During this period Starr became romantically involved with Lynsey de Paul. He played tambourine on a song she wrote and produced for Vera Lynn, "Don't You Remember When", and he inspired another De Paul song, "If I Don't Get You the Next One Will", which she described as being about revenge after he missed a dinner appointment with her because he was asleep in his office. Starr founded the record label Ring O' Records in 1975. The company signed eleven artists and released fifteen singles and five albums between 1975 and 1978, including works by David Hentschel, Graham Bonnet and Rab Noakes. The commercial impact of Starr's own career diminished over the same period, however, although he continued to record and remained a familiar celebrity presence. Speaking in 2001, he attributed this downward turn to his " ottaking enough interest" in music, saying of himself and friends such as Nilsson and Keith Moon: "We weren't musicians dabbling in drugs and alcohol; now we were junkies dabbling in music." Starr, Nilsson and Moon were members of a drinking club, the Hollywood Vampires. From the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, Starr and the designer Robin Cruikshank ran a furniture and interior design company, ROR. ROR's designs were placed on sale in the department stores of Harvey Nichols and Liberty of London. The company designed the interiors of palaces in Abu Dhabi and Oman, and the apartments of Paul Raymond and Starr's friend Nilsson. In November 1976, Starr appeared as a guest at the Band's farewell concert, featured in the 1978 Martin Scorsese documentary '' The Last Waltz''. Also in 1976, Starr issued '' Ringo's Rotogravure'', the first release under his new contract with
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...
for the North American market and Polydor for all other territories. The album was produced by
Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ...
and featured compositions by Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. Starr promoted the release heavily, yet ''Rotogravure'' and its accompanying singles failed to chart in the UK. In America, the LP produced two minor hits, "
A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" is a song written by Carl Groszman, who at the time was signed to Ringo Starr's record label, Ring O' Records. Starr released his own recording of the song on his 1976 album ''Ringo's Rotogravure''. Also issued as the albu ...
" (number 26) and a cover of "
Hey! Baby "Hey! Baby" is a song written by Margaret Cobb and Bruce Channel, first recorded at Clifford Herring Studios in Ft. Worth Tx, and recorded by Channel in 1961, first released on LeCam Records, a local Fort Worth, Texas label. After it hit, it wa ...
" (number 74), and achieved moderate sales, reaching a chart position of 28. Its disappointing performance inspired Atlantic to revamp Starr's formula; the result was a blend of disco and 1970s pop, '' Ringo the 4th'' (1977). The album failed to chart in the UK and peaked at number 162 in the US. In 1978 Starr released '' Bad Boy'', which reached number 129 in the US and again failed to place on the UK albums chart. In April 1979, Starr became seriously ill with intestinal problems relating to his childhood bout of peritonitis and was taken to the Princess Grace Hospital in
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino i ...
. He almost died and during an operation on 28 April, several feet of intestine had to be removed. Three weeks later he played with McCartney and Harrison at Eric Clapton's wedding. On 28 November, a fire destroyed his Hollywood home and much of his Beatles memorabilia.


1980s

On 19 May 1980, Starr and Barbara Bach survived a car crash in Surrey, England. Following Lennon's murder in December 1980, Harrison modified the lyrics of a song he had originally written for Starr, "
All Those Years Ago "All Those Years Ago" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in May 1981 as a single from his album ''Somewhere in England''. Having previously recorded the music for the song, Harrison tailored the lyrics to serve as a personal T ...
", as a tribute to their former bandmate. Released as a Harrison single in 1981, the track, which included Starr's drum part and overdubbed backing vocals by McCartney, peaked at number two in the US charts and number 13 in the UK. Later that year, Starr released ''
Stop and Smell the Roses Stop and Smell the Roses may refer to: * Stop and smell the roses, a 20th-century proverb (see Paremiography) * ''Stop and Smell the Roses'' (Mac Davis album), a 1974 Mac Davis album ** "Stop and Smell the Roses" (song), a 1974 song written and f ...
'', featuring songs produced by Nilsson, McCartney, Harrison, Ronnie Wood and Stephen Stills. The album's lead single, the Harrison-composed "Wrack My Brain", reached number 38 in the US charts, but failed to chart in the UK. Lennon had offered a pair of songs for inclusion on the album – " Nobody Told Me" and " Life Begins at 40" – but following his death, Starr did not feel comfortable recording them. Soon after the murder, Starr and his girlfriend Barbara Bach flew to New York City to be with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono. Following ''Stop and Smell the Roses'', Starr's recording projects were beset with problems. After completing ''
Old Wave ''Old Wave'' is the ninth studio album by English rock musician Ringo Starr. It was originally released in June 1983, on the label Bellaphon, and is the two-year follow-up to his 1981 album ''Stop and Smell the Roses''. The title is a play on n ...
'' in 1982 with producer Joe Walsh, he was unable to find a record company willing to release the album in the UK or the US. In 1987, he abandoned sessions in Memphis for a planned country album, produced by Chips Moman, after which Moman was blocked by a court injunction from issuing the recordings. Starr narrated the 1984–86 series of the children's series ''
Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'', a Britt Allcroft production based on the books by the
Reverend W. Awdry Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997) was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He was best known for creating Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas and several other characters he created appeared in ...
. For a single season in 1989, Starr also portrayed the character Mr. Conductor in the American ''Thomas & Friends'' spin-off, '' Shining Time Station''. In 1985, Starr performed with his son Zak as part of Artists United Against Apartheid on the protest song " Sun City", and, with Harrison and Eric Clapton, was among the special guests on
Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998) Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 19 ...
' TV special '' Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session''. In 1987, he played drums on Harrison's Beatles pastiche " When We Was Fab" and also appeared in Godley & Creme's innovative video clip for the song. The same year, Starr joined Harrison, Clapton, Jeff Lynne and Elton John in a performance at London's Wembley Arena for the Prince's Trust charity. In January 1988, he attended the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in New York, with Harrison and Ono (the latter representing Lennon), to accept the Beatles' induction into the Hall of Fame. During October and November 1988, Starr and Bach attended a detox clinic in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive ...
; each received a six-week treatment for alcoholism. He later commented on his longstanding addiction: "Years I've lost, absolute years ... I've no idea what happened. I lived in a blackout." Having embraced sobriety, Starr focused on re-establishing his career by making a return to touring. On 23 July 1989,
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band is a live rock music, rock Supergroup (music), supergroup founded in 1989 with shifting personnel, led by former The Beatles, Beatles drummer and vocalist Ringo Starr. History and description Since 1989, Starr h ...
gave their first performance to an audience of ten thousand in
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas. Setting a pattern that would continue over the following decades, the band consisted of Starr and an assortment of musicians who had been successful in their own right at different times. The concerts interchanged Starr's singing, including selections of his Beatles and solo songs, with performances of each of the other artists' well-known material, the latter incorporating either Starr or another musician as drummer.


1990s

The first All-Starr excursion led to the release of ''
Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band is a live rock supergroup founded in 1989 with shifting personnel, led by former Beatles drummer and vocalist Ringo Starr. History and description Since 1989, Starr has toured with fourteen variations of the ...
'' (1990), a compilation of live performances from the 1989 tour. Also in 1990, Starr recorded a version of the song " I Call Your Name" for a television special marking the 10th anniversary of John Lennon's death and the 50th anniversary of Lennon's birth. The track, produced by Lynne, features a supergroup composed of Lynne,
Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the late ...
, Joe Walsh and Jim Keltner. The following year, Starr made a cameo appearance on ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' episode " Brush with Greatness" and contributed an original song, "You Never Know", to the soundtrack of the John Hughes film '' Curly Sue''. In 1992, he released his first studio album in nine years, '' Time Takes Time'', which was produced by Phil Ramone, Don Was, Lynne and Peter Asher and featured guest appearances by various stars including Brian Wilson and Harry Nilsson. The album failed to achieve commercial success, although the single " Weight of the World" peaked at number 74 in the UK, marking his first appearance on the singles chart there since "Only You" in 1974. In 1994, he began a collaboration with the surviving former Beatles for the '' Beatles Anthology'' project. They recorded two new Beatles songs built around solo vocal and piano tapes recorded by Lennon and gave lengthy interviews about the Beatles' career. Released in December 1995, " Free as a Bird" was the first new Beatles single since 1970. In March 1996, they released a second single, "
Real Love Real Love may refer to: Film and television * ''Real Love'' (film), a film by Claire Burger Music Albums * ''Real Love'' (Derek Johnson album) * ''Real Love'' (Dolly Parton album), or the title song (see below) * ''Real Love'' (Lisa Stansf ...
". The temporary reunion ended when Harrison refused to participate in the completion of a third song. Starr then played drums on McCartney's 1997 album '' Flaming Pie''. Among the tracks to which he contributed, "Little Willow" was a song McCartney wrote about Starr's ex-wife Maureen, who died in 1994, while "
Really Love You "Really Love You" is a song written by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr—their first-ever shared credit—and originally released on McCartney's 1997 album ''Flaming Pie''. In 2005, a reworked version was released as a limited edition 12" v ...
" was the first official release ever credited to McCartney–Starkey. In 1998, he released two albums on the Mercury label. The studio album ''
Vertical Man ''Vertical Man'' is the 11th studio album by Ringo Starr, issued in 1998. The album served as Starr's attempt at a commercial comeback following the success of ''The Beatles Anthology'' project. Starr enlisted the help of many of his musician fri ...
'' marked the beginning of a nine-year partnership with Mark Hudson, who produced the album and, with his band the Roundheads, formed the core of the backing group on the recordings. In addition, many famous guests joined on various tracks, including Martin, Petty, McCartney and, in his final appearance on a Starr album, Harrison. Most of the songs were written by Starr and the band. Joe Walsh and the Roundheads joined Starr for his appearance on '' VH1 Storytellers'', which was released as an album under the same name. During the show, he performed greatest hits and new songs and told anecdotes relating to them. Starr's final release for Mercury was the 1999 Christmas-themed '' I Wanna Be Santa Claus''. The album was a commercial failure, although the record company chose not to issue it in Britain.


2000s

Starr was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 2002, joining an elite group of drummers and percussionists that include
Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York ...
, William F. Ludwig Sr. and William F. Ludwig Jr. On 29 November 2002 (the first anniversary of Harrison's death), he performed "Photograph" and a cover of Carl Perkins' " Honey Don't" at the Concert for George held in the Royal Albert Hall, London. Early the following year, he released the album ''
Ringo Rama ''Ringo Rama'' is the 13th studio album by Ringo Starr, released in 2003. Background and recording As the follow-up to ''I Wanna Be Santa Claus'' (1999), it continues Starr's alliance with Mark Hudson as well as most of his collaborators fro ...
'', which contained a song he co-wrote as a tribute to Harrison, "
Never Without You "Never Without You" is a tribute song from Ringo Starr to his former Beatles bandmate George Harrison, who died on 29 November 2001. The recording appeared on Starr's 2003 album ''Ringo Rama'', and was also released as a single. History "Never Wit ...
". Also in 2003, he formed Pumkinhead Records with All-Starr Band member Mark Hudson. The label was not prolific, but their first signing was Liam Lynch, who produced a 2003 LP entitled ''
Fake Songs ''Fake Songs'' is the third studio album by American musician Liam Lynch, released on April 1, 2003 through S-Curve Records and distributed worldwide by Capitol Records. The album is known for featuring his best-known song " United States of What ...
''. Starr served as an honorary Santa Tracker and voice-over personality in 2003 and 2004 during the London stop in Father Christmas's annual Christmas Eve journey, as depicted in the annual NORAD tracks Santa program. According to NORAD officials, he was "a Starr in the east" who helped guide North American Aerospace Defense Command's Santa-tracking tradition. His 2005 release '' Choose Love'' eschewed the star-guests approach of his last two studio albums but failed to chart in the UK or the US. That same year, Liverpool's City Council announced plans to demolish Starr's birthplace, 9Madryn Street, stating that it had "no historical significance". The LCC later announced that the building would be taken apart brick by brick and preserved. Starr released the album '' Liverpool 8'' in January 2008, coinciding with the start of Liverpool's year as the European Capital of Culture. Hudson was the initial producer of the recordings, but after a falling out with Starr, he was replaced by David A. Stewart. Starr performed the title track at the opening ceremony for Liverpool's appointment, but thereafter attracted controversy over his seemingly unflattering comments about his city of birth. Later that year, he was the object of further criticism in the press for posting a video on his website in which he harangued fans and autograph hunters for sending him items to sign. In April 2009, he reunited with McCartney at the David Lynch Foundation's " Change Begins Within" benefit concert, held at New York's Radio City Music Hall. Having played his own set beforehand, Starr joined McCartney for the finale and performed "With a Little Help from My Friends", among other songs. Starr also appeared on-stage during Microsoft's June 2009 E3 press conference with Yoko Ono, McCartney and Olivia Harrison to promote '' The Beatles: Rock Band'' video game.


2010s

In 2010, Starr self-produced and released his fifteenth studio album, ''
Y Not ''Y Not'' is the 16th studio album by Ringo Starr, released on 12 January 2010 on the UMe and Hip-O Records labels. Music, lyrics and recording "Peace Dream" features former Beatle Paul McCartney on bass; another Beatle, John Lennon is re ...
'', which included the track "
Walk with You "Walk with You" is a song by Ringo Starr, released as a single from his 2010 studio album ''Y Not''. It features fellow former Beatle Paul McCartney on backing vocals. The track was not originally conceived as a collaboration with McCartney, who or ...
" and featured a vocal contribution from McCartney. Later that year, he appeared during '' Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief'' as a celebrity phone operator. On 7 July 2010, he celebrated his 70th birthday at Radio City Music Hall with another All-Starr Band concert, topped with friends and family joining him on stage including Ono, his son Zak, and McCartney. Starr recorded a cover of
Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
's "Think It Over" for the 2011 tribute album '' Listen to Me: Buddy Holly''. In January 2012, he released the album '' Ringo 2012''. Later that year, he announced that his All-Starr Band would tour the
Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of ...
during 2013 with select dates in New Zealand, Australia and Japan; it was his first performance in Japan since 1996, and his debut in both New Zealand and Australia. In January 2014, Starr joined McCartney for a special performance at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where they performed the song " Queenie Eye". That summer he toured Canada and the US with an updated version of the Twelfth All-Starr Band, featuring multi-instrumentalist Warren Ham instead of saxophonist Mark Rivera. In July, Starr became involved in "#peacerocks", an anti-violence campaign started by fashion designer John Varvatos, in conjunction with the David Lynch Foundation. In September 2014, he won at the '' GQ'' Men of the Year Awards for his humanitarian work with the David Lynch Foundation. In January 2015, Starr tweeted the title of his new studio album '' Postcards from Paradise''. The album came a few weeks in advance of Starr's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was released on 31 March 2015 to mixed to positive reviews. Later that month, Starr and his band announced a forthcoming Summer 2016 Tour of the US. Full production began in June 2016 in Syracuse. On 7 July 2017 (his 77th birthday), Starr released "Give More Love" as a single, which was followed two months later by his nineteenth studio album, also titled ''
Give More Love ''Give More Love'' is the 19th studio album by English musician Ringo Starr. It was recorded primarily in Starr's home studio in Los Angeles and was released on 15 September 2017 by UM. The album features Starr's frequent collaborators such as ...
'' and issued by UMe. The album includes appearances by McCartney, as well as frequent collaborators such as Joe Walsh, David A. Stewart, Gary Nicholson and members of the All-Starr Band. On 13 September 2019, Starr announced the upcoming release of his 20th album, ''
What's My Name What's My Name? or What's My Name may refer to: * "What's My Name" (China Anne McClain, Thomas Doherty and Dylan Playfair song) * "What's My Name?" (Rihanna song) * "What's My Name?" (Snoop Doggy Dogg song) * "What's My Name?" (DMX song) * "Wh ...
'', to be released by UMe on 25 October 2019. He recorded the album in his home studio, Roccabella West in Los Angeles.


2020s

In celebration of his 80th birthday in July 2020, Starr organised a live-streamed concert featuring appearances by many of his friends and collaborators including McCartney, Walsh, Ben Harper, Dave Grohl,
Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three ...
, Sheila E. and
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...
. The show replaced his annual public birthday celebration at the Capitol Records Building, which was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. On 16 December 2020, Starr released the song "Here's to the Nights". An accompanying video was released on 18 December. The song of peace, love and friendship was written by Diane Warren and features a group of his friends, including McCartney, Joe Walsh, Corinne Bailey Rae, Eric Burdon,
Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three ...
,
Finneas Finneas Baird O'Connell (born July 30, 1997), known mononymously as Finneas (stylized in all caps), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has written and produced music for various artists, most notably his sister, B ...
, Dave Grohl, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz, Jenny Lewis, Steve Lukather, Chris Stapleton and Yola. The song was the lead single from his EP '' Zoom In'', which was released on 19 March 2021 via UMe. On 16 March 2021, Starr stated in an interview with ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' that it was unlikely that he would record another full-length album, preferring to release EPs instead. On 24 September that year, he released the EP '' Change the World'', a sequel to the previous EP ''Zoom In''. On 7 February 2022, Starr announced his intention to return to touring with his band for the first time since 2019. The tour was announced to run from 27 May to 26 June, but several concerts held in June would end up being postponed till October due to two members of the band catching
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...
. These postponed events were added to the band's previously announced fall tour to be held in September and October. On 1 October, he cancelled a concert at the Four Winds New Buffalo casino due to an unspecified illness affecting his voice. Another concert to be held at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel the following day was also postponed. On 3 October, it was confirmed that Starr had tested positive for COVID-19, after which several shows in Canada were cancelled.


Musicianship


Influences

During his youth, Starr had been a devoted fan of skiffle and blues music, but by the time he joined the Texans in 1958, he had developed a preference for rock and roll. He was also influenced by
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
artists, including Hank Williams, Buck Owens and Hank Snow, and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
artists such as
Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleade ...
and Yusef Lateef, whose compositional style inspired Starr's fluid and energetic drum fills and
grooves Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station * ...
. While reflecting on Buddy Rich, Starr commented: "He does things with one hand that I can't do with nine, but that's technique. Everyone I talk to says 'What about Buddy Rich?' Well, what about him? Because he doesn't turn me on." He stated that he "was never really into drummers", but identified Cozy Cole 1958 cover of
Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conce ...
" Topsy Part Two" as "the one drum record" he bought. Starr's first musical hero was
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
, about whom he commented: "I remember getting shivers up my back when he sang, ' South of the Border'". By the early 1960s he had become an ardent fan of Lee Dorsey. In November 1964, Starr told ''Melody Maker'': "Our music is second-hand versions of negro music ... Ninety per cent of the music I like is coloured."


Drums

Starr said of his drumming: "I'm no good on the technical things ... I'm your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills ... because I'm really left-handed playing a right-handed kit. I can't roll around the drums because of that." Beatles producer George Martin said: "Ringo hit good and hard and used the tom-tom well, even though he couldn't do a roll to save his life", but later said, "He's got tremendous feel. He always helped us to hit the right tempo for a song, and gave it that support – that rock-solid back-beat – that made the recording of all the Beatles' songs that much easier." Starr said he did not believe the drummer's role was to "interpret the song". Instead, comparing his drumming to painting, he said: "I am the foundation, and then I put a bit of glow here and there ... If there's a gap, I want to be good enough to fill it." In 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' readers voted Starr the fifth-greatest drummer of all time. Journalist Robyn Flans wrote for the Percussive Arts Society: "I cannot count the number of drummers who have told me that Ringo inspired their passion for drums". Drummer Steve Smith said: Starr said his favourite drummer is Jim Keltner, with whom he first played at the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971. The pair subsequently played drums together on some of Harrison's recordings during the 1970s, on ''Ringo'' and other albums by Starr, and on the early All-Starr Band tours. For ''Ringo's Rotogravure'' in 1976, Starr credited himself as "Thunder" and Keltner as "Lightnin'". Starr influenced
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...
drummer Phil Collins, who said: "I think he's vastly underrated, Ringo. The drum fills on ' A Day in the Life' are very, very complex things. You could take a great drummer from today and say, 'I want it like that', and they really wouldn't know what to do." Collins said his drumming on the 1983 Genesis song " That's All" was an affectionate attempt at a "Ringo Starr drum part".HITMEN, 1986 Part Two
''Hitmen'', 1986. reprinted at Collins's website in 2009; archived copy at archive.org.
In an often-repeated but apocryphal story, when asked if Starr was the best drummer in the world, Lennon quipped that he "wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles". The line actually comes from a 1981 episode of the BBC Radio comedy series ''Radio Active'', although it gained more prominence when used by the television comedian Jasper Carrott in 1983, three years after Lennon's death. In September 1980, Lennon told ''Rolling Stone'' that Starr was a "damn good drummer" whose talent would have surfaced even without the Beatles. Tjinder Singh of the indie rock band Cornershop highlighted Starr as a pioneering drummer, saying: "There was a time when the common consensus was that Ringo couldn't play. What's that all about? He's totally unique, a one-off, and hip hop has a lot to thank him for." In his book '' The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions'', Mark Lewisohn says there were fewer than a dozen occasions in the Beatles' eight-year recording career where session breakdowns were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped due to mistakes by the other Beatles. Starr influenced various modern drumming techniques, such as the matched grip, tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings. According to Ken Micallef and Donnie Marshall, co-authors of ''Classic Rock Drummers'': "Ringo's fat tom sounds and delicate cymbal work were imitated by thousands of drummers." In 2021, Starr announced a ten-part MasterClass course called "Drumming and Creative Collaboration".


Vocals

Starr sang lead vocals for a song on most of the Beatles' studio albums as part of an attempt to establish a vocal personality for each band member. In many cases, Lennon or McCartney wrote the lyrics and melody especially for him, as they did for "Yellow Submarine" from ''Revolver'' and "With a Little Help from My Friends" on ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. These melodies were tailored to Starr's limited baritone vocal range. Because of his distinctive voice, Starr rarely performed backing vocals during his time with the Beatles, but they can be heard on songs such as "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Carry That Weight". He is also the lead vocalist on his compositions "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". In addition, he sang lead on "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Boys", "Matchbox", "Honey Don't", "Act Naturally", "Good Night" and " What Goes On".


Songwriting

Starr's idiosyncratic turns of phrase or "Ringoisms", such as " a hard day's night" and " tomorrow never knows", were used as song titles by the Beatles, particularly by Lennon. McCartney commented: "Ringo would do these little malapropisms, he would say things slightly wrong, like people do, but his were always wonderful, very lyrical ... they were sort of magic." Starr also occasionally contributed lyrics to unfinished Lennon–McCartney songs, such as the line " darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there" in " Eleanor Rigby". Starr is credited as the sole composer of two Beatles songs: " Don't Pass Me By" and " Octopus's Garden", the latter written with assistance from Harrison. While promoting the ''Abbey Road'' album in 1969, Harrison recognised Starr's lyrics to "Octopus's Garden" as an unwittingly profound message about finding inner peace, and therefore an example of how "Ringo writes his cosmic songs without knowing it." Starr is also credited as a co-writer of " What Goes On", "
Flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ''Flying'' (UFO album), 1971 * ''Fl ...
" and " Dig It". On material issued after the band's break-up, he received a writing credit for "Taking a Trip to Carolina" and joint songwriting credits with the other Beatles for " 12-Bar Original", " Los Paranoias", "
Christmas Time (Is Here Again) "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" is a Christmas song by the English rock band the Beatles, originally recorded for their fifth fan club Christmas record, '' Christmas Time Is Here Again!'' (1967). One of the few Beatles songs credited to all fo ...
", " Suzy Parker" (from the ''Let It Be'' film) and "Jessie's Dream" (from the ''Magical Mystery Tour'' film). In a 2003 interview, Starr discussed Harrison's input in his songwriting and said: "I was great at writing two verses and a chorus – I'm still pretty good at that. Finishing songs is not my forte." Harrison helped Starr complete two of his biggest hit songs, " It Don't Come Easy" and " Back Off Boogaloo", although he only accepted a credit for "
Photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now creat ...
", which they wrote together in France. Starting with the ''Ringo'' album in 1973, Starr shared a songwriting partnership with Vini Poncia. One of the pair's first collaborations was " Oh My My". Over half of the songs on ''Ringo the 4th'' were Starkey–Poncia compositions, but the partnership produced just two more songs, released on ''Bad Boy'' in 1978.


Personal life

Starr met hairdresser Maureen Cox in 1962, the same week that he joined the Beatles. They married in February 1965. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was best man and Starr's stepfather Harry Graves and fellow Beatle George Harrison were witnesses. Their marriage became the subject of the
novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wi ...
"Treat Him Tender, Maureen" by the Chicklettes. The couple had three children: Zak (born 13 September 1965), Jason (born 19 August 1967) and Lee (born 11 November 1970). In 1971, Starr purchased Lennon's home Tittenhurst Park at Sunninghill in Berkshire and moved his family there. The couple divorced in 1975 following Starr's repeated infidelities. Maureen died from
leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
at age 48 in 1994. Starr met actress Barbara Bach in 1980 on the set of the film ''
Caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin ...
'', and they were married at Marylebone Town Hall on 27 April 1981. In 1985, he was the first of the Beatles to become a grandfather upon the birth of Zak's daughter Tatia Jayne Starkey. Zak is also a drummer, and he spent time with the Who's Keith Moon during his father's regular absences; he has performed with his father during some All-Starr Band tours. Starr has eight grandchildren: two from Zak, three from Jason, and three from Lee. In 2016, he was the first Beatle to become a great-grandfather. Starr and Bach split their time between homes in Cranleigh, Los Angeles, and
Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino i ...
. He was listed at number 56 in the ''
Sunday Times Rich List 2011 The ''Sunday Times Rich List 2011'' is the 23rd annual survey of the wealthiest people in the United Kingdom, published by ''The Sunday Times'' on 8 May 2011. Since its earliest inception, the Rich List has been widely previewed in the UK media an ...
'' with an estimated personal wealth of £150 million. In 2012, he was estimated to be the wealthiest drummer in the world. In 2014, Starr announced that his 200-acre Surrey estate at Rydinghurst was for sale, with its
Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...
-listed Jacobean house. However, he retains a property in the London district of Chelsea off
King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...
, and he and Bach continue to divide their time between London and Los Angeles. In December 2015, Starr and Bach auctioned some of their personal and professional items via Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles. The collection included Starr's first
Ludwig Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...
Black Oyster Pearl drum kit, instruments given to him by Harrison, Lennon, and Marc Bolan, and a first-pressing copy of the Beatles' White Album numbered "0000001". The auction raised over $9 million, a portion of which was set aside for the Lotus Foundation, a charity founded by Starr and Bach. In 2016, Starr expressed his support for the
United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (E ...
. "I thought the European Union was a great idea," he said, "but I didn't see it going anywhere lately." In 2017, he described his impatience for Britain to "get on with" Brexit, declaring that "to be in control of your country is a good move". In October 2021, Starr was named in the Pandora Papers which allege a secret financial deal of politicians and celebrities using tax havens in an effort to avoid the payment of owed taxes. Starr is a vegetarian and meditates daily. His catchphrase and motto for life is "peace and love".


Awards and honours

Starr and the other members of the Beatles were appointed
Members of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(MBE) in the 1965 Birthday Honours; they received their insignia from Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
at an
investiture Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian k ...
at Buckingham Palace on 26 October. He and the other Beatles were collectively nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer for their performances in the 1964 film ''A Hard Day's Night''. In 1971, the Beatles received an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...
for Best Original Song Score for the film ''Let It Be''. The minor planet 4150 Starr, discovered on 31 August 1984 by
Brian A. Skiff Brian A. Skiff is an American astronomer noted for discovering numerous asteroids and a number of comets including the periodic comets 114P/Wiseman–Skiff (with Jennifer Wiseman) and 140P/Bowell–Skiff (with Edward Bowell). Biography Skiff ...
at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory, was named in Starr's honour. Starr was nominated for a 1989
Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his role as Mr. Conductor in the television series ''Shining Time Station''. In 2015, 27 years after he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Beatles, Starr became the last Beatle to be inducted for a solo career. Unlike the other three Beatles who were inducted within the "Performers" category, Starr was inducted within the "Musical Excellence" category. During the 50th Grammy Awards, Starr, George Martin and his son Giles accepted the Best Compilation Soundtrack award for ''
Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
''. On 9 November 2008, Starr accepted a Diamond Award on behalf of the Beatles during the 2008 World Music Awards ceremony in
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word ...
. On 8 February 2010, he was honoured with the 2,401st star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...
by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. It is located at 1750 North Vine Street, in front of the
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
building, as are the stars for Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. Starr was appointed a
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...
in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to music. He was knighted in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace by
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was edu ...
on 20 March 2018. In 2022, Starr received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...
for his "immeasurable impact on music, film and television, and popular culture".


Film career

Starr has received praise from critics and movie industry professionals regarding his acting; director and producer
Walter Shenson Walter Shenson (June 22, 1919 – October 17, 2000) was a film producer, director and writer, best known for producing the Beatles' films '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) and ''Help!'' (1965), as well as the 1959 comedy ''The Mouse That Roared'', s ...
called him "a superb actor, an absolute natural". By the mid-1960s, Starr had become a connoisseur of film. In addition to his roles in ''A Hard Day's Night'' (1964), ''Help!'' (1965), ''Magical Mystery Tour'' (1967) and ''Let It Be'' (1970), Starr also acted in ''
Candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies ( Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, ...
'' (1968), '' The Magic Christian'' (1969), ''
Blindman ''Blindman'' (also known in Italian as ''Il Pistolero Cieco'', lit. "The Blind Gunfighter") is a 1971 Spaghetti Western film directed by Ferdinando Baldi and co-written and co-produced by Tony Anthony. The film's protagonist, played by Anthony, i ...
'' (1971), '' Son of Dracula'' (1974) and ''
Caveman The caveman is a stock character representative of primitive humans in the Paleolithic. The popularization of the type dates to the early 20th century, when Neanderthals were influentially described as " simian" or " ape-like" by Marcellin ...
'' (1981). In 1971, he starred as Larry the Dwarf in Frank Zappa's ''
200 Motels ''200 Motels'' is a 1971 surrealist musical film written and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer, and featuring music by Zappa. An international co-production of United States and the United Kingdom, the film stars the Mothers of Invention, T ...
'' and was featured in Harry Nilsson's animated film '' The Point!'' He co-starred in '' That'll Be the Day'' (1973) as a Teddy Boy and appeared in '' The Last Waltz'', the Martin Scorsese documentary film about the 1976 farewell concert of the Band. Starr played the Pope in Ken Russell's '' Lisztomania'' (1975), and a fictionalised version of himself in McCartney's '' Give My Regards to Broad Street'' in 1984. Starr appeared as himself and a downtrodden alter-ego Ognir Rrats in ''
Ringo Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
'' (1978), an American-made television comedy film based loosely on '' The Prince and the Pauper''. For the 1979 documentary film on the Who, '' The Kids Are Alright'', Starr appeared in interview segments with fellow drummer Keith Moon.


Discography

Since the breakup of the Beatles, Starr has released 20 solo studio albums: * '' Sentimental Journey'' (1970) * '' Beaucoups of Blues'' (1970) * ''
Ringo Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
'' (1973) * '' Goodnight Vienna'' (1974) * '' Ringo's Rotogravure'' (1976) * '' Ringo the 4th'' (1977) * '' Bad Boy'' (1978) * ''
Stop and Smell the Roses Stop and Smell the Roses may refer to: * Stop and smell the roses, a 20th-century proverb (see Paremiography) * ''Stop and Smell the Roses'' (Mac Davis album), a 1974 Mac Davis album ** "Stop and Smell the Roses" (song), a 1974 song written and f ...
'' (1981) * ''
Old Wave ''Old Wave'' is the ninth studio album by English rock musician Ringo Starr. It was originally released in June 1983, on the label Bellaphon, and is the two-year follow-up to his 1981 album ''Stop and Smell the Roses''. The title is a play on n ...
'' (1983) * '' Time Takes Time'' (1992) * ''
Vertical Man ''Vertical Man'' is the 11th studio album by Ringo Starr, issued in 1998. The album served as Starr's attempt at a commercial comeback following the success of ''The Beatles Anthology'' project. Starr enlisted the help of many of his musician fri ...
'' (1998) * '' I Wanna Be Santa Claus'' (1999) * ''
Ringo Rama ''Ringo Rama'' is the 13th studio album by Ringo Starr, released in 2003. Background and recording As the follow-up to ''I Wanna Be Santa Claus'' (1999), it continues Starr's alliance with Mark Hudson as well as most of his collaborators fro ...
'' (2003) * '' Choose Love'' (2005) * '' Liverpool 8'' (2008) * ''
Y Not ''Y Not'' is the 16th studio album by Ringo Starr, released on 12 January 2010 on the UMe and Hip-O Records labels. Music, lyrics and recording "Peace Dream" features former Beatle Paul McCartney on bass; another Beatle, John Lennon is re ...
'' (2010) * '' Ringo 2012'' (2012) * '' Postcards from Paradise'' (2015) * ''
Give More Love ''Give More Love'' is the 19th studio album by English musician Ringo Starr. It was recorded primarily in Starr's home studio in Los Angeles and was released on 15 September 2017 by UM. The album features Starr's frequent collaborators such as ...
'' (2017) * ''
What's My Name What's My Name? or What's My Name may refer to: * "What's My Name" (China Anne McClain, Thomas Doherty and Dylan Playfair song) * "What's My Name?" (Rihanna song) * "What's My Name?" (Snoop Doggy Dogg song) * "What's My Name?" (DMX song) * "Wh ...
'' (2019)


Books

*'' Postcards from the Boys'' (2004) *'' Octopus's Garden'' (2014) *''
Photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now creat ...
'' (2015)


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * *


External links

* *
Starr and His All-Starr Band


* * * * *



{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Ringo 1940 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English singers Apple Records artists Atlantic Records artists Beat musicians Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners British male drummers Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Composers awarded knighthoods English baritones English expatriates in Monaco English expatriates in the United States English male film actors English male singer-songwriters English male voice actors English rock drummers Grammy Award winners Knights Bachelor Male actors from Liverpool Members of the Order of the British Empire Mercury Records artists MNRK Music Group artists Musicians awarded knighthoods Musicians from Liverpool Musicians from Los Angeles Parlophone artists People from Dingle, Liverpool People from Monte Carlo People from Sunninghill People from the Borough of Waverley People named in the Pandora Papers Plastic Ono Band members RCA Records artists
Ringo Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band members Rory Storm and the Hurricanes members Singers awarded knighthoods Singers from Liverpool Swan Records artists The Beatles members Vee-Jay Records artists World Music Awards winners Writers from Liverpool