Word: ringo
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Like each of his ex-Fab Four bandmates, the former drummer for the Beatles has become an accomplished solo artist. His new album, Liverpool 8, comes out on Jan. 15. Ringo Starr will now take your questions...
Still, a little more recognition wouldn't go amiss. So here it is, starting with his role in the Beatles. There's a joke that Ringo isn't the world's greatest drummer - he wasn't even the greatest drummer in the Beatles. Record producer Chris Thomas, who worked with George Martin on the Beatles' White Album, begs to differ: "They were a great band and to be a great band you have to have a great drummer." "Ringo rooted everything musically," says Geldof. "He does beats when it's necessary. These songs are all over the place and seamless...
...Ringo's post-Beatles canon rarely attracts such superlatives, although singles like It Don't Come Easy and Photograph made the charts and won plaudits. So did his acting, most notably in the 1973 film That'll Be the Day. He gave it up anyway. "I came to the conclusion that there are a lot of good actors out there," he says. "I'm really just a personality who can learn a few lines...
...question isn't what Ringo did post-Beatles. The question is what any of the Beatles did post-Beatles," says Geldof. (Geldof's assessment matches the broad consensus: none of them individually matched the Beatles' stratospheric standard.) One thing Ringo won't do is join Geldof in using his celebrity status to campaign for any causes. That, says Ringo firmly, was Lennon's province. Ringo believes in leading by example or, as he says of his vegetarianism, "I am the campaign...
...then I got a kit of drums and it was to play with people and then to play with really good people, and that hasn't stopped ... I'm not an electrician, I'm a musician. And I still get great joy out of it," he says. In Ringo's world, the sun shines almost every day, and, if it gets chilly once in a while, some decent thermal underwear should keep him warm. (Please, Barbara: take note...