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5 questions for Ringo Starr as The Beatles drummer prepares for Boston, Foxwoods Casino shows
from: masslive.com
By Ray Kelly | Photo by Getty Images
At a time when any pop star with two Top 40 hits is hailed as a legend, Ringo Starr is the genuine article.
Born 75 years ago in the Dingle section of Liverpool, Starr, along with Paul McCartney and the late John Lennon and George Harrison, forever redefined and altered the course of popular music.
Starr's drumming anchored The Beatles at rowdy Hamburg dives and over the screaming din at Shea Stadium. He has fended off crazed fans and battled an army of Blue Meanies.
Some would rest on their laurels, but not Richard Starkey, MBE.
Indeed, it has been a particularly busy year for the once and still fab drummer.
Starr released a new album, "Postcards From Paradise"; was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by McCartney; published "Photograph," a collection of images from his private collection; announced plans to auction off 800 personal effects to benefit the Lotus Foundation charity he established with wife Barbara Bach; and kicked off a North American tour with his All Starr Band.
He is in the midst of a North American tour this month, which brings him to the Wang Theatre in Boston on Oct. 23 and the following night at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. His artwork will be exhibited on Oct. 21-23 at the Wang, where he will attend a private reception for customers.
Starr fielded questions from The Republican before the start of the tour.
You launched the All Starr Band in 1989 with a talented lineup that changed with each tour. The current lineup has remained with you since 2012. Why have you stayed with these particular musicians?
In 1989, I didn't have a band - and I wanted to have a band. I wanted to play drums with really cool people and I wanted to be the entertainer and get down up front. The first band I had was with Joe Walsh, Levon Helm, Billy Preston and Dr. John. It went on from there. Usually I do a tour, then we disband the band and then we form another band. Anyway, I am having so much fun with this band and the songs are great and they are great musicians. We are like a band, do you know what I mean? We get along with each other. We have a lot of fun. We keep rolling.
On your most recent albums, you have written and recorded autobiographical songs - "Liverpool 8," "Rory and the Hurricanes" and "In Liverpool." Has this been deliberate and do you plan to continue this in the future?
Yes. I was asked to do my autobiography and I said to myself, "I'm not going to do an autobiography." Instead, every record will have a song like "Rory" about my early music life... And with this book ("Photograph"), I am showing where I was at the time, who I was with and I then talk about the photos, of course. So that's another way I'm doing it any way other than writing an autobiography (laughs).
Why not an autobiography?
You have got sit there too long. What was great about "Photographs" is they gave your mind a push - "Oh yeah, I remember that." I don't want to sit there thinking, "What happened in 1964 on Tuesday, November 10th. Do you know what I mean? [Note to Ringo: On Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1964, The Beatles performed two evening shows at Colston Hall in Bristol for £850.]
There will be a sale of your artwork in Boston in the days leading up to your performance at the Wang Theatre there. In December, you're auctioning off hundreds of Beatles-related items. The proceeds from both benefit the Lotus Foundation. For those unfamiliar with the foundation, what is its purpose?
It is a charity that Barbara and I started 10 years ago. We kept it sort of wide open. We did not have a narrow field where we only help this or that. We have helped from Haiti to the David Lynch Foundation to something in our local village in England. It helps people find a rest from violence. It helps addictive personalities. It helps children. The other thing we have found is if we help you, we can nominate to help you for three years so you don't have to scramble when the lease is up on the building you are working out of. There's MusicCares and so many others that we have helped along the way. We did one in England to help the Variety Club charity give handicapped children a holiday. We're pretty well spread out. We are not just dialing in on one thing.
"1+," a DVD and Blu-ray collection of 50 promotional and performance videos by The Beatles, goes on sale next month. Looking back at those videos, do you have a particular favorite?
The one live performance I really love is from The David Frost Show, ("Hey Jude"), where all the kids in the back are singing along (sings) "Nah nah nah nah nah nah..." That was really cool. And I love "Strawberry Fields," where we were painting the piano - we were just making it up that time - and Paul went up a tree. It was a magical thing. In "Penny Lane," they put us on horses. We had never seen a live horse where we came from. (laughs)
Earlier this year, you were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. How important was that to you?
It made me feel good. We were in as a band, but I thought it was about time I was in as a solo artist. What was even better than the award was that I got to play with all those great players. Paul got up and played - actually inducted me as you well know - and Joe (Walsh) came out. I got to play with Green Day. JOAN JETT, a beautiful human being, was there and I got to meet her after all this time. It was one of those occasions where a lot goes on - and in my case, it was all good. |
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