Last updated 07/07/2017

The drummer of The Beatles was born on July 7, 1940. Ringo Starr. He is considered the most unknown of the Beatles, the only one of the Fab Four about whom no biographical books have yet been written.

Ringo is called, if not the heart of The Beatles, then at least a connecting link that managed to unite completely different musicians: melancholy Harrison, sweet-voiced McCartney and caustic Lennon. The best description for Starr was the phrase of his colleague John: “Each of us brought something different to the group... Paul was the face, I was the brains, George with his mysticism was the spirit, and Ringo was the heart.”

Ringo Starr as a child. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

A child with no hope

The future rock star was born in 1940 in the family of an ordinary baker, who, by the way, left the family when his son was only three years old. Ringo Starr's real name is Richard Starkey, as a child he did not shine with talent and, according to all canons, should not have become a legend. The boy grew up as a weak child: he spent a lot of time in hospitals, where one day he received his first drum as a gift. Despite the fact that it was an ordinary children's toy, it determined his future fate.

Starr missed entire years of school due to poor health and did not even graduate from school. At the age of 15, he got a job as a steward on a railway ferry that ran between Liverpool and Wales. Like all his peers, the teenager was interested in new American music. In order to become a normal hooligan, he was in too poor health, but he was just right for drums.

Best in town

Like another famous member of The Beatles, John Lennon, in his youth Ringo admired the skiffle musical style. Which is not surprising, because in the 50s of the last century, the records of Lonnie Donegan, who performed music in British folk traditions and the American style of country and western, were very popular among English youth.

In order to play skiffle, performers did not require any special education or expensive instruments. An ordinary acoustic guitar, banjo, harmonica - that's all that was needed. Inspired by his colorful musical style, Ringo Starr, together with his friends Roy Trafford and Ed Clayton, organized an amateur skiffle group, The Ed Clayton Skiffle Group. It turned out that the young man had an excellent sense of rhythm, and already in 1958 he joined the group Rory Storm And The Hurricanes." It was this group that contributed to Ringo’s rise to the musical Olympus, where he was first noticed and began to be considered one of the five best drummers in Liverpool.

Stable striker

Ringo was the last Beatle to join the group. His debut with The Beatles took place in August 1962. Gradually, the musical group gained momentum, for which John Lennon later attributed much of the credit to Starr, and Paul McCartney even called him the most reliable and stable drummer.

Everyone who worked with the musician especially noted two of his qualities: conscientiousness and reliability. Even during rehearsals, Ringo played every double take. And when the Beatles recorded one of the roughest songs in the hard rock genre, “Helter Skelter,” the drummer in charge worked twenty-one takes without a break, shouting at the very end: “I have blisters on my fingers!” The band decided not to delete this desperate cry and included it in the version of the song selected for the album.

Ringo was not only a drummer, but also a vocalist. In total, his voice is heard in 10 songs by The Beatles, including the famous “Yellow Submarine,” and he wrote two of them, “Don’t Pass Me By” and “Octopus’s Garden,” himself. In addition to musical abilities, as it turned out, Starr had acting talent; he starred in many films that, unfortunately, did not become a phenomenon in cinema: “Candy”, “The Magic Christian”, “200 Motels”, “Blindman”.

After The Beatles

Over time, the relationship between the Beatles began to deteriorate, and in 1968, during the recording of the new album “The White Album,” McCartney had a fight with Starr, calling him a “primitive drummer.” In response, he even left the group for a while, acting in films and doing advertising.

After the collapse of the legendary group in 1970, its members went “solo”, Starr, of course, was no exception. His first album, “Sentimental Journey,” which consisted of simple reworkings of pop hits from the 20s to the 50s, was torn to smithereens by critics. They measured the former Beatles by the standards of a supergroup, which individually the stars did not reach. In general, Ringo’s entire work of the 70s cannot be called outstanding, but with the help of other successful musicians (most of all George Harrison), he managed to release successful records. However, in 1983, British and American record companies first turned down Starr when he wanted to record a new album, Old Wave. The Beatle had to release his disc in Canada, Brazil and Germany.

Ringo's acquaintances, journalists and representatives of record companies, stopped calling him. Career failures were not the only problem in the life of a rock star: in 1975, after 10 years of marriage, he divorced his first wife Maureen Cox. The couple has three children, the eldest of whom is Zach Starkey, like his father, became a successful drummer. Starr's second marriage turned out to be more successful: with an American actress, model Barbara Bach Ringo has been alive for over 30 years.

Ringo Starr with his wife Barbara Bach. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

In 1989, the former member of The Beatles released a collection of his best songs, Starr Struck, assembled an all-star ensemble and went on a successful tour of America and Japan. In 1998, Starr gave two brilliant concerts in Russia.

Ringo is sometimes called the happiest man in music: he once received a winning ticket - he was invited to join The Beatles. But Starr owes the title of rock star solely to his hard work. And at 77 years old, the legendary drummer is incredibly vigorous and active, his eighteenth studio album, Postcards from Paradise, was released just a couple of months ago. And in 2012, Ringo was recognized as the richest drummer in the world.

It is worth noting that Starr has not only a huge fortune, an excellent sense of rhythm, but also an excellent sense of humor. Once in an interview he was asked how he felt about Ludwig van Beethoven, the musician replied: “He’s cool. Especially his poems."

“Is Ringo Starr the best drummer in the world?” John Lennon sarcastically quoted news published in one of the magazines. “He’s not even the Beatles’ best drummer,” was Lennon’s predictably quick and witty response.

Despite everything, Ringo, according to many specialists in the history of the Beatles, was indeed, if not the heart of the group, then the connecting link that forced such different characters together: the melancholy Harrison, the sweet-voiced McCartney and the caustic Lennon.

“Each of us brought something different to the group... Paul was the face, I was the brains, George, with his mysticism, was the spirit, and Ringo was the heart,” the same John Lennon once said. “Without Ringo, we wouldn’t have had such success,” and it’s impossible to think of a better description for Ringo Starr, the drummer of the famous Fab Four.

A less talented drummer might not have been able to hold the band together during the important early sessions, while a more technically gifted drummer might have been able to "swamp" their new style and sound. Finding Ringo Starr was never easy, but the band also suffered as a traveling guitar band without a permanent drummer. “We set the rhythm with the guitar,” Lennon quipped when asked about the absence of a drummer.

Half a century ago, on August 18, 1962, Ringo Starr officially replaced Pete Best on the drum kit for one of Liverpool's most popular bands, The Beatles. His arrival in the group was preceded by certain events.

Colin Hanton

The original drummer for Lennon's Quarry Men, Hunton had the honor of being the original drummer for John, Paul and George on stage and in the recording studio.

Two years older than Lennon, Hunton had already left school and was an apprentice in an upholstery shop. His main asset was owning a new set of drums. And, although Hunton admitted that he played unprofessionally, he was still invited to the Quarrymen - having a drummer at that time was an honor: this made it possible to perform early rock and roll.

During his tenure as the band's drummer, Hunton witnessed the succession of several floating members of the Quarry Men and the arrival of future members of the Beatles: Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

Hunton sat behind the drum kit on the day, July 6, 1957, when Paul McCartney first heard the group in the garden of St. Petra in Woolton, Liverpool.

Colin drummed in the band at the Quarrymen's earliest known recording session in 1958 in Liverpool, when the songs "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly and "In Spite of All the Danger" by McCartney and Harrison were recorded.

Colin played with the Quarrymen until the band's ill-fated, infamous appearance at the Pavilion Theater in Lodge Lane in 1959. During this performance, all the Quarrymen members got terribly drunk and a quarrel broke out and separated Colin and the rest of the guys forever.

Once he met John, Colin learned from him that the group had a new drummer - Pete Best. The drums were put away in the back corner of the storeroom and were seen again only in 1995 at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of St. Peter's Church! And in 1997, Colin joined the new Quarrymen with his drums.

The inclusion of "In Spite of All the Danger" in Anthology 1 in 1995 ensured that Hanton eventually played drums on a Beatles album.

With Hunton's departure, the Quarry Men/Johnny and the Moondogs entered the most inactive period of their musical career.

Ken Wood

On August 29, 1959, the Casbah club opened in West Derby, Liverpool. On the first evening - at the opening of the club - along with John, Paul, George and Stuart Sutcliffe, Ken Wood from the disbanded ensemble "Les Stuart's Quartet", in which George Harrison played for a short time (in 1958), played drums. The owner of the Casbah Club was Mona Best, Pete Best's mother.

Tommy Moore

Tommy Moore was recruited to The Silver Beetles by their manager Alan Williams in May 1960. According to contemporaries, Moore was a solid and capable drummer with excellent command of his drum kit. Moore worked at a glass factory as a forklift driver and was significantly older than the rest of the group, looking like an old man next to them.

At this time, at Alan Williams' Blue Angel club, London-based entrepreneur Larry Parnes was selecting bands for singer Johnny-Gentle's Northern Scotland tour. The best Liverpool bands performed at the audition - "Rory Storm and The Hurricanes", "Cass and The Casanovas", "Derry and The Seniors". The Silver Beatles also decided to try their luck. But Tommy Moore did not show up for the audition at the appointed time. The guys were helped out by Johnny Hutchinson from the band "Cass and the Casanovas", whom Alan Williams persuaded to sit on the drums. Parnes didn't like the Beatles any more than anyone else, but he chose them because they alone did not demand an increase in the less than modest amount of remuneration for the tour. The Silver Beatles went on tour in Scotland with drummer Tommy Moore.

The tour was successful, but without triumph. On the way back, the van in which the musicians were traveling (Johnny Gentle himself was driving) crashed into a parked car, and the drums, along with cymbals and microphone stands, fell from the shelf onto the sleeping Tommy Moore. Having received a lot of abrasions, a concussion and having lost his front teeth, he decided to quit the stage and returned to the factory. The Beatles kept the drum kit. Moore subsequently undertook one more gig with the group (before leaving for Germany with Pete Best) as drummer in August 1960.

Hutchinson, also known as Johnny Hutch, was the drummer for Cass and the Casanovas when he replaced Tommy Moore in Larry Parnes' audition and was considered one of Liverpool's top three drummers at the time.

Far from being a fan of the Silver Beatles, Hutchinson, possessing an imposing figure and allegedly “intimidating” John Lennon himself, declared: “...they (the Silver Beatles) are not worthy of attention and are a bunch of posers.”

After Cass decided to go solo in January 1961, Cass and the Casanovas disbanded. The three of them left, Barber, Gustafson and Hutchinson took the name "BIG THREE" (since they were all six feet tall) and continued performing. Their impressive stage presence, aggressive production and impeccable production quickly made "BIG THREE" one of the main attractions of the local scene. However, the big three split up and Hutchinson retired from music.

The editor of Mersey Beat magazine, Bill Harry, claimed that Brian Epstein initially offered Johnny to fill the vacant position of The Beatles drummer after the dismissal of Pete Best, but the latter categorically refused, stating, in particular, that “...Pete Best is a very good friend of mine...”

Hutchinson also sat behind the drum kit between Pete Best's sacking on August 16 and Ringo Starr's arrival on August 18, 1962, and had a brief taste of the Beatles' fame, playing with them at the Majestic club in Birkenhead in August 1962.

Cliff Roberts

Bill Harry (editor of Mersey Beat magazine) recalled that when the Silver Beatles performed at Lathom in Liverpool in May 1960, the drummer - most likely Tommy Moore - was unable to bring his drum kit. Upon arrival, he asked the drummer of a rival band, Cliff Roberts and The Rockers, to borrow a drum kit. However, drummer Cliff Roberts turned Moore down, but offered his services as a drummer and played six songs with the Silver Beatles. So here we have another fleeting addition to the long line of Beatles drummers.

It should be noted that information has recently appeared on the Internet refuting this version. According to Cliff himself, he did not play with the Beatles that evening, but performed with his band at another venue.

Norman Chapman

After the departure of drummer Tommy Moore, while at Williams' club Jacaranda, the guys heard the sounds of a practicing drummer drifting in the warm air of a summer night. After tracking down the source of the noise, they discovered Norman Chapman, a picture frame maker. Drums were his hobby and he never played on stage. Before Chapman had time to join the group - to play a few concerts - the British army made him an offer that he could not refuse. Chapman was called up for service in June 1960 and thus missed his chance to become one of the "fab four". He joined the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment and served in Kenya and Kuwait, fighting terrorists there.
After completing his service, Chapman worked as a teacher in southern England. Died in 1995, at the age of 58.

Towards the end of the summer of 1960, the Silver Beatles were offered a contract to play in clubs in Hamburg. But the specifics of the work require that they have a permanent drummer. Their choice fell on Pete Best, whose group "The Black Jacks" had just broken up.

Pete Best

Pete Best's story is well documented. The Beatles' drummer from August 1960 to August 1962 was unceremoniously fired from the group by Brian Epstein, who told him: "The guys want you to leave and Ringo to take your place. They don't think you're a good enough drummer, Pete. And George Martin thinks that You’re not a good enough drummer.”

To this day, debate continues regarding the reasons for Pete Best's dismissal. Either he was asked to leave because of his poor playing, or because Pete was not actually a full member of the group due to his relationships with other band members. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison spent almost all their free time together, playing music and just talking, while Best walked alone at this time. Lennon later admitted that they were cowards for firing him in that way, but the fact remains that Best was cut from a different cloth than Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. He was never particularly close to any of the group members. He did not recognize the general style of the group: he did not agree to have the same hairstyle as the other Beatles, and did not wear the same clothes. Pete did not get along with the other members of the group in character.

George Martin said honestly: “I never said that Pete Best should go. I just suggested, in the interests of the Beatles, to invite a studio musician for the first recording. I had no idea that Brian Epstein would let him go. He was a hot commodity for "Pete's kickoff was a surprise to me. The drums were exciting for me in terms of the upcoming recording, but otherwise they don't mean that much. The fans don't pay much attention to the quality of the drummer's sound."

The fans expressed a terrible protest and chanted: “Pete is Best.” Brian Epstein was forced to hire a bodyguard. And in another fight, George Harrison received a black eye.

However, the protests quickly subsided. A couple of years later, when the Beatles became a huge success, the name Pete Best was lost.

Pete has played in various bands. By 1969 he had left the music world and taken a job as a social worker at the unemployment office in Liverpool. In the late 80s he left his previous job and returned to music. In 1993, The Pete Best Band released the disc "Back To The Beat" with recordings of compositions from the early Beatles repertoire. During the year-long tour they visited 20 countries. And for several tracks published on the Beatles Anthology, he received a seven-figure reward.

Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr made his debut as a member of the Beatles on August 18, 1962, but his first steps in the group were somewhat overshadowed. When recording the first single, “Love Me Do,” on September 4, 1962, George Martin was dissatisfied with Ringo’s playing and invited reliable studio musician Andy White to record the 9/11 take (included on the Beatles’ first album).

“The studio had a terrible effect on me, I got nervous,” said Ringo. “When we came back to record the second side, I saw that George Martin had put another person in the drummer’s place. It was terrible ... Another person was playing drums, and they gave me maracas. I thought this was the end. They would treat me like Pete Best..."

However, this was the first and last case of Ringo's mistrust. It soon became obvious that his style of playing was highly optimal for the Beatles. Starr's contributions to various Beatles songs become as elevated and important as the vocals, melodies and various instrumentals. This became most noticeable in songs such as "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "A Day in the Life".

George Martin recalled: "Ringo didn't make much of an impression on me. He couldn't do fractions... although he's grown a lot since then."

In addition, Starr was instrumental in introducing the drummer as an equal member and integral part of the emerging rock band. Paul McCartney expressed this idea in detail in an interview with the French newspaper Liberation (1985): “It is extremely important for a singer to have a drummer behind him who can be forgotten. This is what caused problems for Led Zeppelin.” Not because John Bonham was a bad drummer, but because there was a lack of consistency between him and the same Jimmy Page - a reliable, stable drummer."

Ringo's influence outside of the Beatles was massive, with Phil Collins (Genesis), Dave Grohl (Nirvana), Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) and many others citing his enormous influence.

Often, flippantly, Ringo is called the luckiest man in music - one could argue that he undoubtedly received a winning lottery ticket at the time.

On the other hand, it should be remembered that Ringo was invited to the group for one simple reason - he was the best in town. And he agreed because, in turn, THE BEATLES were the best band in Liverpool. You could say they found each other. And everyone was very happy about the accomplished union of forces. No Ringo. No Beatles. Ringo Starr combined an inexhaustible sense of humor and acting talent with a very serious attitude to his professional responsibilities. This was well known to colleagues who greatly valued these qualities of their drummer, with whose arrival the group sounded much more professional. Starr was a giant in his field and was an equal partner and participant in the inimitable phenomenon that was the Beatles.

Andy White

Drummer Andy White was booked to play drums on the third attempt to record "Love Me Do" in September 1962. He played on both sides of the single, "Love Me Do"/"PS. I Love You". He appeared in the credits of The Beatles' debut album "Please Please Me".

Jimmy Nicol

In June 1964, the Beatles were scheduled to tour Scandinavia, Holland, the Far East and Australia. The day before the start of the tour, Ringo caught a cold and was rushed to the hospital with a temperature of 38.9 °C and inflamed tonsils.

George Martin suggested session drummer Jimmy Nichol. Nicol was familiar with the band's recordings and within 24 hours of being called to audition, he found himself on stage in Denmark in front of thousands of screaming Beatles fans.

At first, George Harrison didn't want anyone to replace Ringo and refused to go on tour without him, but Brian Epstein and George Martin convinced him to agree. Brian thought it was a good choice, as he thought Jimmy "was like a Beatle, not something alien." Within two weeks, he had gone from being an unknown drummer for The Shubdubs to being a world-famous star. . Nicol hoped that his temporary involvement with The Beatles would boost his popularity and his career as a musician would take off, but when Ringo left hospital and joined the band in Melbourne, Nicol realized that his popularity was gone. The subsequent lack of commercial success eventually led him to bankruptcy in 1965. After this, Nikol tried to create new musical projects, which in turn did not lead him to success, and he finally left the music business.

Paul McCartney

The role of the band's drummer, especially in the early years of the band - during the Quarry Men and at various times in Hamburg and Liverpool, particularly during Pete Best's absence - was often filled by Paul McCartney.

When Ringo Starr left the band during the recording of the White Album (ironically in a dispute with McCartney over his drums), individual songs feature McCartney's drumming ("Back in the USSR", "Dear Prudence, Martha My Dear, Why") Don't We Do It in the Road? Wild Honey Pie), and then on "The Ballad of John and Yoko". However, the same album released a song written by Ringo, “Don’t Pass Me By,” and Ringo was greeted in the studio with flowers on his drum kit.

John Lennon and George Harrison

According to some sources, during the same recording session for Back in the USSR, in which Starr did not participate, Harrison and Lennon also overdubbed the drum tracks. Supposedly, on the stereo mix of the track, McCartney's drums can be heard in the left speaker, with Harrison and John Lennon on the right.

Ringo was the first real rock drummer to appear on television. All the rock and roll drummers who worked with Elvis, Little Richard, and Lewis were primarily rhythm and blues musicians. They wore tuxedos and suits and held their wands in a traditional grip. Ringo showed the world that rock music needed strength, he wielded sticks like hammers and laid the foundation for rock.
Ringo popularized the symmetrical pose. Almost all drummers in the Western world before Ringo held sticks using the traditional method. This lock was invented by military drummers in order to adjust to the angle of the drum hanging on the shoulder. Today, rock drummers, as well as marching drummers and orchestral percussionists, primarily play with a symmetrical lock, and percussion companies have developed straps and accessories to match.
Ringo started the tradition of placing the drum kit on a podium so that the drummer was as visible as the rest of the musicians. When Ringo appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, he instantly attracted the attention of thousands of aspiring drummers, towering over the other three Beatles.
Numerous drummers noted that Ringo played Ludwig drums, and they went out and bought thousands of these drum kits, making Ludwig a respected brand in rock and roll drums at the time.
Ringo changed the way drums were recorded. Around the time of the Abbey Road album (1969), the sound of the drum kit became more distinct and clear. With the help of engineers at Abbey Road Studios, Ringo popularized a new sound of drums tuned lower, muted, and he made them sound closer by placing a microphone on each drum.
Ringo had an almost perfect sense of rhythm. This made it possible for the Beatles to record a song 50 or 60 times and then put together different pieces from numerous takes to get the best possible result. Today electronic metronomes are used for this purpose, but the Beatles had to rely on Ringo's tempo being the same across multiple takes. If he had not possessed this quality, the Beatles' recordings would have been completely different.
Ringo's beats became the standard for pop rock sound producers and drummers. They are relaxed and at the same time not sluggish, dense but always breathing. And Richard has a lot of musical taste, which helps him decide what and when to play. In most recording sessions, the drummer's performance acts as a barometer for the rest of the musicians. Stylistic direction, dynamics and emotions are passed through the drummer; if the drum part is bad, then the efforts of all other musicians come to nothing.
Ringo hated drum solos, he believed that they were only interesting to a very small audience of listeners. He only played one solo with the Beatles. His 8 bar solo can be heard on the song “The End” on the Abbey Road album. Some may say that this is not the best demonstration of technology, they would be partly wrong. You can set an electronic metronome to exactly 126 beats per minute, play it along with a Ringo solo and you won't hear the slightest deviation from the tempo.
Ringo's ability to play in complex time signatures opened up uncharted territory for popular music. Two examples are "All you Need is Love" in 7/4 time, and "Here Comes the Sun" with repeating 11/8, 4/4, and 7/8 in the chorus.
Ringo's ability to play in a variety of styles, such as swing ("When I'm Sixty-Four"), ballad ("Something"), rhythm and blues ("Leave My Kitten Alone" and "Taxman") and country (the album The Rubber Soul) allowed the Beatles to easily move in different musical directions. The rumor that Ringo Star did not play on many Beatles albums because he was not good enough is false. He played on all the Beatles albums released (except Anthology 1). there are drum tracks with the following exceptions: "Back In The USSR" and "Dear Prudence", which featured Paul on drums because Ringo temporarily left the band, "The Ballad of John and Yoko", with Paul on drums because Ringo was busy filming the film, and the 1962 release "Love Me Do" with session drummer Andy White.
John Lennon - “We were all different. Paul was the face of the group, I was the head, George with all his mysticism was the soul and Ringo was the heart. I never felt any negative emotions towards him, there was no reason.”
Paul Macartney - “We were four parts of one whole... each adding something of his own to the whole. Ringo is very sentimental. He loves soul music. That’s probably why we wrote such slightly sentimental songs for him.”
Buddy Rich – “Ringo Star is adequate and nothing more.” (note: Buddy Rich's views are colorful, as is his playing style, so don't worry, he was complimenting Ringo).
Don Vas - "He influenced three generations of rock drummers. He didn't play very technically, but he played very musically. Instead of counting bars, he played a song, inserting breaks in unusual places based on the vocal line."
Phil Collins - “I think he's very underrated. For example, the drum breaks on “A Day In The Life” are very complex. You can take great drummers today and say, “I want that same thing.” They won't know what to do. ”
Greg Bissonnette – “I can't tell you what an honor it is to play with Ringo and how exciting it is. Not only is he a legend, but he's also an incredibly funny and cool guy. He's also my favorite drummer that I've listened to my whole life. My brother Matt and I saw the Beatles in 1966 when I was 7 and my brother was 5. They played at the Olympia Hockey Arena in Detroit. Playing two sets with Ringo is like wearing your favorite and most comfortable slippers... the ones you've worn your whole life. I feel so right and natural. His timing is always impeccable, he never gets in the way of the vocals, and when he sings and plays the tambourine, no one else can interact with the drums as well.”

The Beatles had recorded their last album, they wanted to go out in style, and Ringo delivered some of his best work on the record, "Abbey Road." Congratulations to engineers Geoff Emerick and Phil McDonald. Working with an eight-track for the first time, they gave Ringo his own track on most songs, resulting in the transparency and presence of the drums reaching the level of modern recordings. The album opens with a work in which Ringo's part is completely unlike anything he's done before, it doesn't even have anything to do with Merseybeat! On "Come Together" we find a couple of quick crashes, four sixteenth notes on the hi-hat and a break on all three toms, all in the opening riff. The verse features a syncopated floor tom that leads into a lone kick that drives the beat until the chorus, where the snare drum makes its first appearance. There's also an impressive break that comes unexpectedly just before the solo, Tim Riley said it took his breath away, which in itself is a good description of what a surprise it was. Later on, the drumming is more standard, but Ringo plays his parts with great creativity, adding subtle tricks to almost everything.
“Something” - here he does without a hi-hat in the first two verses - just a kick and snare, and a few signature breaks. The bridge has a fantastically complex pattern (possibly an overdubbing recording?) with triplets on the toms and hi-hat.
"Oh! Darling" and "Octopus's Garden" - the rhythm is standard, but each song has one wonderful moment - a long triplet tom break that turns into the bridge in the first song, and a wonderful tom-tom pattern in the guitar bridge in the second.
Even "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", in which one might expect very simple tapping, still has its own zest - a kick drum with a neat hi-hat and lively worker breaks during the transition to the chorus.
"I Want You" - Ringo plays a modified Latin beat, part of the pattern is done by the tom, though without the swing. In the "She"s so heavy" section he continues to use a ride, which is probably a mistake. An open hi-hat, or even a floor tom, would have better emphasized the "heavy" nature of this section.
"Here Comes the Sun" - Here George uses Lennon's old time signature trick, but Ringo does it in an unconventional way. When the bridge goes into 11/8, Ringo turns on the break with a seven-beat tom and repeats it exactly several times. It's progressive rock drumming wrapped up in an attractive pop number package! Note also the delicate sound of the worker (tuned quite high) in his performance.
The medley has a lot going on melodically and harmonically, so Ringo makes the wise decision to emphasize the backbeat in most of these numbers. In "Sun King" he plays interesting fills and performs his part in the lyrical song differently than, for example, in "Michelle", now he has a very low-tuned kick and light-sounding cymbals.
"Polythene Pam" sounds a little rough, especially pounding the tom-tom in front of closely spaced microphones - reminiscent of "Bow Wow Wow"! (a "new wave" group that borrowed African rhythms).
Ringo takes part in stitching the medley together. Many breaks are repeated from one song to the next. I played the entire album in random order, and it turned out that the transition from "Sun King" to "Carry That Weight" sounded exactly the same as it usually does when it transitions into "Mean Mr. Mustard." The signature Ringo breaks in "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" can also be found in "Golden Slumbers" (though slower) and at the very end of the medley.
And of course, a drum solo. This is the only drum solo I wanted to hear again. Reason: Ringo Starr knows what drummers are for - to keep the beat. Many drum solos lose rhythm and become jumbled percussive noise. If I wanted random rumbling noise, I would visit a stamping shop somewhere in our area. If I want to hear a drummer play, I choose "Abbey Road". Ringo tunes the kick drum tighter and plays what might be called a melody on the toms. It's just fascinating how he increases the frequency of the breaks, they get faster and crescendo into the guitar part. But the most interesting thing is yet to come - then he plays a Beatlemaniac beat. Let us remind you what we are talking about. Ringo Starr may not be a virtuoso, but when we hear the reliable beat that is the basis of good rock and roll, it is clear that without Ringo there is nowhere.

Past Masters
This collection spans completely different periods, so it's impossible to talk about a general style, so I'll just highlight the most memorable moments of his playing.
“She Loves You” is a typically Beatlemaniac performance, with some good syncopation in the chorus, with Ringo adding a couple of flams to contrast the overall momentum of the group. “I Feel Fine” has a wonderful Latin rhythm that moves from toms to ride, in this case played by a bell for extra brightness.
"Rain" is considered by many, including Ringo, to be his most brilliant work. I suspect it all depends on what you consider a good drummer to do. If you mean dramatic breaks that smear the vocalist across the soundscape and hide the location of the downbeats, this is top-notch work. If you're looking for a solid rhythm that underpins the arrangement and helps develop the energetic potential of the composition as it moves, then this is no good number.
"Hey Jude" is a great performance, but I love the story that follows even more. They say Ringo went to the restroom between takes, and Paul forgot about him and started singing. The drummer had to quietly take his place in the studio and pick up the beat with a very successful break in the second verse. This take was eventually used on the disc!
"Don't Let Me Down" - Ringo applies Occam's razor to the drums. Faced with another time signature change coming from John Lennon (the chorus starts in 5/4), he simply decided not to play anything at all. Everything ingenious is simple.

Anthology
I don't have much to say about this collection, except that the Beatles were right to get rid of Pete Best. Ringo's playing, since it was almost always recorded as a "first layer", sounds essentially the same as on the official albums. However, I cannot ignore the incorrect use of the word in the title of this collection. An anthology is a collection of previously published works. "1967-1970" is an anthology. "Anthology" is not an anthology. A more accurate name for this collection is “Ephemera” (“Ephemeral”).

Richard Starkey was born on July 7, 1940 in Dingle, one of the poorest areas of Liverpool. When he was three years old, his father left the family, and Richard was raised only by his mother. She married again only 10 years later. In the first grade, Richard suffered from a burst of purulent appendicitis, which caused inflammation of the peritoneum and other complications. After two surgeries and more than a year in the hospital, he returned to school, but began to fall behind in his studies. At the age of 13, Richard fell ill again, a cold turned into pneumonia, and he had to spend two long years in the hospital. After returning from the hospital, his more than formal schooling ended; Richard began working as a messenger for the railroad. Later, he changed several more low-paying jobs until he finally settled in the group "Rory Storm and the Hurricanes", where he decided to devote himself to music as his main profession. During the same period, he took the pseudonym Ringo Starr.

It doesn't make sense at this point to go into detail about why Beatles manager Brian Epstein wanted Ringo to replace Pete Best, the band's former drummer. This happened in August 1962. Later, when the Beatles became popular all over the world, Ringo participated in the creation of all the group's albums and starred in their films, the most famous of which were "A Hard Day's Night." and "Help". After the group's official breakup in 1970, Ringo began releasing solo albums: "Sentimental Journey", "Beaucoups of Blues", "Ringo" and others. Some songs from these albums became hits. He continued to act in films. Here are some films with his participation: "Candy", "The Magic Christian", "Lisztomania", "Sextette", "200 Motels" by Frank Zappa. During the filming of the film "Caveman", where Ringo played the main role, he met actress Barbara Bach. Soon, in the spring of 1984, they got married. Both stood before the altar for the second time, having already had several children in their first marriage.

During the phone call that preceded the interview, Ringo cautioned that he doesn't know much about drums, but talking to him is like meeting one of the most pivotal drummers in music history, who has inspired many to get behind the kit. Fellow journalists warned me not to ask Ringo about the past or the Beatles, as he doesn't like to talk about it. But thanks to the help of Jim Keltner (session drummer from the USA - approx. website - drummers forum), Ringo not only agreed to be interviewed, but also willingly talked about the Beatles and his role in the group, shared his memories and refuted many popular legends.

We met on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the garden of the house he rents in Beverly Hills.

Why drums?

My grandparents were very musical people, they played the mandolin and banjo. We had a piano at home, which I played with all my might when I was little. I was the only child in the family and was often sick, and my mother allowed me everything. I went to take piano lessons, but didn't learn much. When I was seven years old, my grandfather bought me a harmonica. I didn't achieve much success in playing it either. A similar story repeated itself with the banjo. However, from an early age I had a warm relationship with drums. When I was 13 years old and in the hospital, I was constantly busy beating out a rhythm on the bedside table. To keep us from getting too bored, a special band of percussionists came to the hospital once a week. They taught us music when they showed a green note to play on a drum, a yellow note to play on a plate or a triangle, and stuff like that.

When I was discharged, the only musical instrument I missed was the drum. To play in a band I needed an instrument, and at the age of sixteen I bought myself a bass drum for three dollars and cut sticks out of logs. I played it for the amusement of the neighbors. Of course, I didn’t know how to play and just knocked. Then I made myself a setup out of tin cans. Flat tins played the role of plates, the medium one was small, and the deep tins were tom-toms.

My stepfather Harry Graves was from the south of England and we are northerners. One Christmas he went to visit his relatives. One of his uncles was just selling a drum kit for 12 pounds, which is about 30 dollars at that time. It was a great old rig and my stepfather bought it for me. I received it in January 1958.

Was this a proprietary setup?

No, it was made up of different parts. I had two main problems with this setup. Firstly, I didn’t have a car to transport it, and secondly, I didn’t have a group where I could play. I solved the second problem a month later. In February I was accepted into the group, although I did not know how to play. However, at that time no one really knew how to play. Everyone was just getting started. These were the skiffle days.

What was the name of this group?

They were called the Eddie Clayton Skiffle group. My neighbor played guitar in it, another friend played a double bass made from a large tin tea box. We performed skiffle songs like "Hey Lidy Lidy Lo". We mostly played for factory workers during their lunch break. Then everything is simpler - if you have an instrument, then you are a welcome member of the team. Whether you can play or not didn’t matter. I had the worst time of all, because we mostly traveled to concerts by bus, and I couldn’t carry the whole kit with me. Later we began to perform more often. We played anywhere and, of course, for free. We played wherever we were expected. We didn't have well-rehearsed songs, and most importantly, we didn't feel the rhythm. Thus, each number began with a countdown - one, two, three, four, the rhythm increased, like that of a train moving with acceleration. We played faster and faster, and people were jumping on the floor like fleas and shouting to us - “Hey, slow down the rhythm, can’t you play slower?..”, and we continued playing like clockwork, and they jumped without rest like fleas. We performed a lot. I didn't need a full drum kit back then, but I always dreamed of playing one...

When the dream came true, I played it in the bedroom and said to myself, like a true professional, “So, from today on I will rehearse regularly.” This was my only rehearsal, because within a minute the neighbors began shouting - “Get into the forest and knock there!” From that day on, I never worked out again. The only thing I do is play with the band on stage.

Which drummer was your role model?

The only record I had with a drum kit sound was Cozy Cole “Topsy.” I liked Gene Krupa, but I didn't buy records of him playing. These were drummers with an emphasis on powerful tom sounds. I've always liked the depth of tom sound.

You have always used volumes more than many others.

Oh, and besides, I usually had a deep snare drum. But I never studied the playing of other drummers, was not interested in them and did not play solo. I hate drum solos. I always wanted to be a drummer in a band, not a soloist. The longest solo I ever played lasted no more than 13 bars.

What was your first professional gig?

One day we were offered 10 shillings each to perform. Then it was equal to one and a half dollars. However, by the end of the evening the customer was so drunk that we were not paid anything again. We were terribly upset, but still it was our first professional performance. While still in Eddie Clayton's group, we participated in various competitions and even won several. Over time, we began to play for money, but continued to work at the factory.

I played in various skiffle bands until I ended up in Rory Storm's band, which was also a skiffle band in principle, but was already starting to lean towards rock and roll. We were the first group to be kicked out of the "Cave" club for playing rock and roll, since at that time it was a jazz club.

Our lead guitarist brought a radio on stage, it was his amplifier. He added a guitar to it and soon we became too rock for the jazz club and they asked us from there.

When did you join Rory Storm's band?

In 1959. The next year we decided to leave our jobs at the factory and devote ourselves to music.

This was a rather fundamental decision, since musicians, especially at that time, were not paid much.

Yes, it was a fundamental decision, but it was exactly what I had always dreamed of. Relatives said, “It’s good as a hobby, but stick to your job.” I might have been glad to obey, but I took up what was given to me in life.

We decided to play at a summer camp in Butlins. People came there for a two-week vacation. And so, when we turned professional, we bought ourselves red suits, matching shoes and everything. We also decided that we needed to change the names, because in show business there should be sonorous names. It was very cool, a person could take whatever name he wanted. So our guitarist changed his name to Johnny Guitar and, although we were all English, we gave ourselves cowboy names, like Ty Hardin, Lou O. Brian, Rory Storm and Ringo Starr. My pseudonym was of course associated with the rings that I was wearing even then.

Why were you so fascinated by the Wild West?

English teenagers idolized cowboys, their leather clothes and black gloves. However, let's return to the previous topic of conversation. We performed for many hours at a time, and so everyone sang. Each of us had several solo numbers. The guitarist had a lot of instrumental and solo compositions in stock, then the vocalist came in. I sang a few things too. Not only "Star Time", but also "Twist Again", "Hally Gally", the Ray Charles song "Sticks And Stones" and several others.

So, have you really never played solo anywhere?

Never played, never had to, never wanted to in the first place. At summer camp, we played at the "Rockin" Calipso restaurant. The best thing there was on Sunday evenings. Besides us, the Happy Travelers jazz band also played there. They had a marching bass drum, a trumpet and a clarinet. They usually walked on the streets of London and played, and one of them collected money in a hat. When our performances ended in the evening, everything ended with a traditional drum solo. I called the musician with the bass drum of this jazz orchestra and he beat the rhythm - boom Boom Boom.

Was there rock and roll in England even then?

Rock and roll and Elvis were something great. I'm talking about 1959 - 1960, when we were moving from skiffle to rock. Somehow, suddenly we got amplifiers and started playing other songs. Rock and roll became my direction. Drummers and musicians were generally divided into jazzmen and rockers. We met in a cafe, and I was annoyed by the guys who wanted to play jazz. I liked the thick rock sound of the drums.

Were you a big fan of all things drums at the time?

No, I was a rock fan and my instrument was the drum kit. I wanted all the drummers to play rock. Rock had a lot more emotion than jazz. I once devoted a whole week to listening to jazz. I've had enough. But I never got tired of rock. I always felt good with him.

When did you first cross paths with the Beatles?

I played with Rory for less than two years, 18 months. We played with the Beatles at the same venues, and our group was usually the first number on the program. Besides us, many different groups performed, including the Beatles. This is the only band I went to listen to. Even then they were very good.

One morning, while I was still in bed, and I didn't like to get up early because I had a night life, there was a knock on the door and Brian Epstein came into the room. He said, "How about playing with the Beatles at the Cavern this afternoon?" To which I answered him: “Okay, I’ll just get out of bed.” I played with the Beatles then, and it was just great. I thought the band was great and it was an incredible pleasure to play with them.

Were the Beatles different from other groups?

Yes, they performed more interesting songs. Back then they had few of their own compositions, and they sang a lot of old songs. The stuff of "The Shirelles*, Chuck" and Berry* did it very well. They had a surprisingly attractive style. There was something special about these guys. I don't want to disrespect Pete Best, but I never thought he was a great drummer. He mastered only one style, which, however, suited them at that time, but they themselves decided that they needed something else. That day I played with them, returned home and went back to bed.

Although this was the first time, we all knew each other well. We met in West Germany, where our band and the Beatles were performing at the same time. But we didn't play together. There was a lot of competition there and we played 12 hours a day on the weekends. Two other bands played with us, and this attracted the audience. Usually at 4-5 in the morning, when the Beatles were still performing, I would sit and listen to them. Sometimes I asked them to play something sentimental, and they did. The Beatles performed in one club, we in another, but usually finished at the same time. We became friends then, but we never played together. And then suddenly, out of the blue, Brian came and asked me to play with them.

Maybe this was a kind of audition for you?

No, Pete Best was sick at the time and they asked Brian to call me. I came and played with them. That's all. Another five or six months passed, during which I played with them once every two weeks. Then there were offers to join the group. I said that I didn’t mind and went with Rory to play at the summer camp, because these three months paid well and at the same time you could play whatever you wanted. Five weeks later Brian called and formally offered to join the Beatles. I told him, “Yes, I’d love to. But when? I have to play with Rory for another six weeks and I wouldn’t want to let them down.” As a result, they agreed on the option that I would join later, when Rory found a replacement for me.

Why did you decide to join the Beatles, since both groups were constantly in poverty?

I decided that it is better to live in poverty in the group that you prefer. I felt the Beatles were better. In reality, we weren't that poor. Our earnings were small, but quite sufficient to live on. The Beatles were something different, they progressed dramatically. And I also loved them very much. It was clear to me that this group was better than the one I played in. And besides, I did everything I could at Rory's. They have already begun to repeat themselves. And in general, the time has come to change the group. And I liked the guys from the Beatles and their music.

Later the entire local press reported this. Unrest began. As long as I played with them occasionally, no one cared. And suddenly I became the drummer for the Beatles. Pete Best had many fans, I was also known in Liverpool for many years, and I had my own fans. Verbal battles broke out at concerts - “Ringo - never, Pete - forever!” or "Pete - never, Ringo - forever!". But over time, everything calmed down, and soon we left to record our first single.

I don't know for sure, but they say that one of the reasons why Pete was kicked out of the group was music producer George Martin, who didn't like Pete's playing. But when we got to the studio, he didn't like me either, so he brought in professional drummer Andy White. Ten years later, George admitted to me that he regrets it. I played on all subsequent recordings. But not the first one; a professional drummer was invited to perform.

As far as I know, there are two versions of the first "Love Me Do" recording. Andy White plays on one, and you play on the other.

Yes, you are right, there are two versions. I play on the recording that's on the album, and he plays on the single. It’s hard to tell the difference, because I played his part in his style, that’s what they wanted.

I heard that Martin slipped a tambourine into your hand during the recording.

Yes, and besides, he told me to get out of sight. I had to obey. Putting out a record meant a lot to us back then.

A person, in the end, must feel the material side of his talent. And so began the exciting time of records - our first singles. When we hit the top fifty on the hit list, we celebrated somewhere. When we got to fourteenth place, we celebrated that too. We knew about every broadcast of our song on the radio and listened to it in the car or at someone's house. During these three minutes we didn't even move. And soon we received our first gold record - the first at the top of the charts.

But soon all this began to get boring. This usually happens in everything when you have five singles one after another in the hit parade, in first place and as many gold discs as you can carry. And as exciting as it was with the first disc, it never happened again. Something similar happens when you start eating cakes. It's great at first, but then you get used to it.

When the producer brought in a studio drummer, I felt like a beaten dog. However, the record came out, took its place, and since then, on all other records only I played in my “stupid” style. Many people said about my playing style - “This is a stupid (silly) game.”

Who spoke?

Everyone said something like - "Stupid way of playing with fills."

And this despite the fact that for many this will become a model of the game.

We didn't know it then. Everyone shouted at me that I couldn’t play. They didn't understand that this was my style.

You preferred to play a lot in volumes.

This was my style. I still don’t know how to play fractions, and I start with the left, when most drummers do it with the right. It may be strange, but it was my style. I also don't play the snare, top, middle, and floor toms in sequence. I play differently. All this formed my style, but it was the only thing I knew how to do. When I came to America and met Keltner and other drummers, they told me that they no longer wanted to go to the studio because they were required to play like me. It was very nice for my ego - it finally turned out that my playing style was not so stupid.

How did it happen that later George Martin allowed you to play on the second recording?

Perhaps he thought that I was not quite in my right mind and it would be easier not to touch me. The only song recorded without me was Back to Ussr, where Paul played because I was absent. I was told that my acting was fine, but my work was not appreciated.

In those days, drums were like a separate part. There was always a guitarist, a bassist and, of course, a vocalist in front. The drummer was not highly respected.

Yes, you are right, but I wanted to be respected.

It was you who helped change this situation. You were the first drummer to achieve great fame.

For example, Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones, still a great drummer, plays even less fill than I do. I don't think there is a need for fills when the soloist sings. This makes it difficult to listen to him. When the soloist stops singing, then please. I had two rules - do not rehearse and play steadily when the singer is soloing. It goes without saying that you can raise and lower the tone a little, but do not knock it down.

Ringo Starr & George Harrison It Don't Come Easy

Let's get back to the notes. How much creative space did you have, and how much was dictated to you by George Martin.

In the beginning, George Martin dictated some things, but that was until John and Paul had fully established themselves as composers. As for me, there were always three failed drummers nearby. Each of them, for unknown reasons, wanted to be a drummer. John, Paul and George could play, but they were monotonous. I don’t remember exactly, but it seems that I had discussions with John of approximately this type, he played me some record and said dryly, “This is roughly how you should play.” And I explained to him: “John, there are two drummers playing here,” but of course he didn’t believe me. They played me a record where two drummers were recorded, and each had their own idea of ​​how to play, and I had my own. I finally combined my playing style with theirs and the sound of those two drummers on the record. They got what they wanted. In fact, the biggest benefit came from working long hours on the drum kit in West Germany, where I played the most. There I developed my own style, which I still play in now, although I never played the same song in the same place in the same way. Now I do many things not quite the same way as before, but still similar.

We played and made records and were sort of freewheeling creative rockers in our own way, but it was more monolithic than psychedelic rock. Two of us were established music writers, we recorded their songs, and it was creative work, not free jam sessions.

In 1968 I bought a drum kit with calfskin heads, which changed a lot of things for me. During concert tours, we thanked God that plastic drumheads were invented, because leather drumheads could not be used outdoors in wet and rainy weather. But since 1966, we constantly worked in a studio where there was constant temperature and humidity. Here I could play leather drums. But I couldn't do it outdoors. When we played two days in a row in Passadena and Denver, on the first evening the membrane almost burst from tension, and on the second it was completely saturated with water and sagged. The drums were always out of tune, and a special person had to constantly tune them. So we can say that membranes made of artificial materials were literally sent down to us by heaven itself for the period of concerts. However, for studio work I used calfskin membranes.

On what other album did you start using them?

During the recording of "Abbey Road".

Why Ludwig? Have other companies offered you their installations?

Yes, some offered, but I liked the Ludwig drums more. The Premiers were too heavy for me and the Gretschs too fast, but the Ludwigs had the tone that suited me and also suited my style better.

Before this I had a setup that my stepdad bought for me for £12. Great old rig, but old fashioned. I started playing with a band when I was 18 and, stupidly enough, I thought I needed a new kit. I bought myself drums from the English company Ajax. The installation was black and cost me £47. In addition, they gave me drumsticks. It was a “buy and play” type setup.

When I was already in the Beatles, the guys got themselves new instruments. And I also wanted a new installation. I chose the Ludwig brand. They provided me with free installations in different cities of our tours. On stage I played on a mini kit. She couldn’t be heard very well, but behind her I could be seen better, since I’m not tall.

As a matter of fact, at that time it made absolutely no difference how you played at concerts. Is not it?

Naturally. That's why we stopped playing live.

The Beatles - She Loves You (1963 Live)

George Harrison once said that the Beatles were a way for people to release pent-up adrenaline. The four of you must have been quite amazed at what was happening around you.

People bought our records, and at concerts they shouted and screamed that four years later I was already playing at concerts without any effort, because no one heard anything anyway. In this incessant noise I could hardly keep a rhythm. If you look at documentary footage of those years, you will notice that I literally do not take my eyes off the mouths of the singing guys. By the movements of my lips, I guessed what part of the song we were in, because the sound of the speakers was not audible. Gradually we became bad musicians. We talked about this often. No matter where and how we played, the result was almost the same. The reviews for our concerts were always the same, even if we played poorly, and nothing could be done about it, so there was no point in performing on stage anymore, and we plunged headlong into studio work.

I've never had such a reaction to music before. I myself can serve as an example of this, for I also succumbed to this atmosphere of hysteria. And even now I can't understand it.

The media contributed to this, or it was all due to those crazy times.

So, on stage you could only determine the place in the song by their mouths?

Well, yes, otherwise I wouldn’t know what place we were playing, but I had to keep the rhythm. And only then, in the studio, we were able to start playing decently again. On the open stage we performed basically the same constant 12 songs. The concert lasted about half an hour. It's probably funny now that, for example, Bruce Springsteen is on stage performing for over four hours. These are the best concerts I have seen in the last ten years. I recently listened to it for two hours and that was enough for me. Now each band plays for at least an hour and a half. Bruce is unique, he plays twice as long. Our performances lasted half an hour, but if we weren't in the mood, we cut the time and performed the program in 25 minutes. We were fed up with live performances, so we holed up in the studio for many months. We started playing well again and experimenting with various studio equipment that now seems as primitive as Mickey Mouse.

Eight-track recording was a great advance at the time.

Yes, by the way, we didn’t have one. And we really needed it, since we recorded the entire “Sergeant...” on two four-track tape recorders. The result was a double four-track recording. EMI Studios was technically good, with excellent studio technicians and electronic wizards. When recording is done on two tape recorders and then everything is mixed, losses are inevitable. However, then the losses were practically zero, since we had highly qualified technicians. And listeners usually perceive the recording as they hear it from the record.

How did you perceive this sound?

It was a lot of work on the tracks we recorded. And it was amazing work. Let's say we played the sound through Hammond speakers, we played the sound of the guitar on tape backwards, and generally did all sorts of similar things. We have reached the stage of experimental madness. And at the same time, these were variants of the same song. Although we still played our music, we hadn't done that kind of stuff before.

At the same time, you had to understand that you would never be able to recreate it on stage.

First of all, we knew that we would never return to the stage. Even if we wanted to perform “Sergeant...” at a concert, we would have to bring a whole orchestra with us. But none of us had the slightest desire to give concerts. We just wanted to make records. The sonic possibilities we discovered were enormous. But later the group broke up and after a long period of working in one group, I finally had the opportunity to work with such different and interesting musicians as Leon Russel, Stephen Stills, B.B. King and Howling Wolf. And it was great.

Did you have any desire to leave the Beatles or try yourself somewhere else?

No never. I liked everything. I wouldn't want to play anywhere else. I played a little with Jackie Lomax and a few others. But when the group broke up, I started playing with a lot of people. In 1970, every musician in England wanted to make a record. And I helped with a lot of recordings, like recording with Jim Webb and Harry Nilsson.

Rumor has it that after the breakup of the group you wanted to give up drums.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to play anymore, but I didn’t really know what to do next in life. I played in the same band for so long - and suddenly it was all over. I sat at home and didn’t know what to do next. I was neither a producer nor a composer.

Let's go back in time for a while, to the time of recording the "White Album". I read that during its recording you left the group for a week.

For two weeks. I suddenly felt that I was no longer part of the group. The other three were very close, and I fell out of their company. Because of this feeling of inferiority, I could no longer play well. Then I went to John, knocked on the door and said, “Dude, I’m leaving the group. All three of you are as one, and I’m still passing by.” To which he answered me: “I thought that you three were close, and I was the odd one out.” After that, I visited Paul and told him, “I’m leaving. I’m playing poorly because you three are pulling everything on your own, and I’m falling out of your circle.” To this he answered me: “I thought that it was you three who were pulling, and I was falling out.” I answered him: “In short, I don’t know which of us is the odd one out, but I’m taking a vacation.” And I went to Sardinia for two weeks to clear my head a little. During this time they recorded "Back In USSR" without me. Then I returned and the recording of the White Album continued. In my opinion, this album is better than "Sergeant...".

Why do you think so?

On this album we feel more like a single band. On "Sergeant..." we are like hired studio musicians along with an orchestra and a lot of sound effects. This is, of course, a joke. But I always liked it better when we sounded like a solid group, and this only showed up again on the White Album. Since it was a double album, there was more than enough information for many listeners. That record, "Abbey Road" and "Rubber Soul" were our best albums.

Your music became more and more complex. Surely, you personally were required to play more complex compositions.

I don't think The White Album is more difficult, but I enjoyed it more than Sergeant..., which is definitely no simpler. Initially, “Sergeant” was planned as a whole musical show. But the idea was not fully realized, we recorded only two tracks as a performance, and the rest as a regular album.

Is it a show in the sense of a concept album or a show that you can take on the road?

The concept of the album is a show where tracks smoothly transition into each other, accompanied by applause from a grateful audience. But we quickly got bored with it and continued recording as a regular album. The "White Album" didn't do the old tricks, it was supposed to bring us closer together as a single group, which, by the way, it succeeded and it was great.

I read that Paul had big complaints about your drumming during the recording of the White Album, literally before you left the band for two weeks and that this was the main reason for your departure.

No, I left precisely for the reason that I already told you about. I needed to go away to clear my head. While I was away I received a telegram from John saying "to the best rock 'n' roll drummer in the world" and when I showed up again George had the whole studio decorated with flowers. Maybe that made Paul angry. However, he never said anything to me about this. And there was never anything like “This is not very good” or anything like that. I don't know how this gossip started.

At least I haven't read about it anywhere (laughter). And I read a lot of rumors. I was especially amused by one about a drummer from New York, who claimed that he played drums on all our songs. You shouldn't pay attention to all this. A certain drummer wanted to become famous by saying that he allegedly played with the Beatles on all the records, and I did not play on any of them. The question is, what did I do with them in this case?

In the studio, were Paul and John the main roles?

These were their songs.

And how did it all happen? Could you take us through the stages of songs?

Let's say one of us said, “I have such a sketch.” During the first years, Paul and John did not write together. Sometimes it all started as a joint improvisation. Has anyone added a piece of text to an existing version. For example, "Helter Skelter" was pure improvisation. Or "Birthday", which at the time of its appearance in the studio was not yet in existence. Often they only had a version of a song and a chorus, and then they would finish it in the studio. Or one of them proposed a text and, if the other agreed, then it remained unchanged. If one of the guys had a good idea, or the girl who prepared tea for us came up with something, then that also went into action. Opportunities were open to everyone. If someone had a more interesting text, they used it. It didn't matter who came up with it. Nobody emphasized later: “I invented this place.” Of course, this was not always the case. 90% of their songs were already designed, but not always musically worked out, and we weren’t always able to play what we had planned. "Birthday" is one of those exceptions. "You Say It's Your Birthday..." Remember?

So, we went to Paul's house to do a rock 'n' roll song because he was getting into Little Richard again at the time. Paul began to play some chords, which became increasingly louder. There was some kind of newspaper on the floor that announced someone's birthday. Paul started humming these lines and we joined in. That's how the song came about. No one had any idea beforehand. We returned to the studio, I sat down at the kit, the rest took guitars, and we immediately recorded "Birthday".

If the song had already been written, then first it was played on the piano, then a few changes were made collectively. Anyone could do it, the authors were very open to new ideas. If these ideas worked, then everyone quickly accepted them.

To call Ringo just a drummer is to clearly understate his merits. He also sang in the Beatles - the famous "Yellow Submarine", for example. And even wrote songs. And when the musicians parted ways, he took up solo work. Perhaps he was the only one who managed to collect all the former members of the “four” on one album, when a black cat ran between them. Which is not surprising. Everyone who knows the musician assures: Ringo is a bright person. An Izvestia correspondent was convinced of this by talking to the ex-Beatle about the upcoming anniversary.

There is no answer for a very long time, and I am about to hang up. Apparently, the long chain of familiar English musicians and PR agents through whom I got to Ringo Starr did not work... But suddenly I hear a voice with a Liverpool accent.

He is congratulated everywhere

Having introduced myself, I say:

-You have very hot days now, of course?

“I just melted,” Ringo agrees with a laugh.

He's clearly in a good mood, and how can you not take advantage of it?

No comments,” Ringo interrupts. “It’s not for nothing that they call me the “wandering Beatle.” During my endless travels, I learned not to compare anyone to anyone. And don’t oppose anyone to anyone.

Best of the day

Perhaps the biggest celebrations take place these days in Liverpool. After all, today’s hero of the day was born in one of the poor neighborhoods there and it was in this city that he became famous.

While performing in the popular local orchestra Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, Richard Starkey took the stage name Ringo Starr. And after John Lennon and Paul McCartney founded the Beatles ensemble in Liverpool in 1960, the drummer joined them.

However, almost the whole of Britain congratulates the star. And millions of Americans. They also consider Ringo their hero. For almost four decades, Starr has been living in several houses: in Los Angeles, in Monte Carlo, in the English town of Cranley in the county of Surrey... In the USA, several television channels now broadcast programs about the legendary Liverpudlian. An exhibition at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art is dedicated to him. It features a gold-plated drum that Ringo carried on stage back in 1964 while touring the United States. This truly precious instrument was presented to Starr by the Chicago company Ludwig. The exhibition will last until the end of the year.

He conquered himself

- How do you celebrate your anniversary? - I’m interested.

I do not drink. “Absolutely,” Ringo replies.

His voice sounds serious. In the seventies and eighties, the musician tirelessly attended all kinds of parties. The rampant spree ended in 1988 at a rehabilitation center in Arizona, where he was treated for several months. Since then, Starr has not touched a glass.

Moreover, he transfers the lion's share of income from performances and albums to the Lotus Foundation. Ringo created this charitable organization together with his wife Barbara Bach (she once played Agent 007’s girlfriend in one of the Bond films). The Lotus Foundation helps those who are "addicted" to drugs and strong drinks.

“Barbara and I, alas, know very well what it is,” the star admits.

He willingly “writes prescriptions” to those who have an unhealthy psyche, are susceptible to stress, or have a craving for drugs or alcohol. The most important thing, Starr is convinced, is will, will and will again. Having once said “no” to alcohol, the musician managed to keep his word for the rest of his life.

His second recipe is meditation. Ringo, like another former Beatle, the famous Paul McCartney, tries to meditate daily. One more thing. While fighting the disease, the drummer always remembered that the legacy of the Beatles was on him, and he had no right to disgrace himself. Of course, not everyone has enormous fame behind them, but you need to find something in yourself that will support you in difficult times, Ringo is sure.

In many ways I had to start from scratch. “I learned to live again,” he said.

"I still have strength"

- How do you like the gift you gave yourself for your seventieth birthday - the album Y Not? - I ask. - Critics call it your best work.

Again, I won’t compare,” Ringo objects. And he adds: “Perhaps my best work is yet to come.” But I'm happy with this gift.

- What's in your creative program now?

I don’t want to look too far ahead,” Starr snaps.

Then I dare to ask a daring question:

- Do you feel the weight of years?

The drummer answers without the slightest offense:

When I was a Beatle, fifty-year-olds, and even more so sixty-year-olds, seemed like ancient fossils to me. And now I’m far ahead of them... But my head is still in my twenties.

- If John Lennon and George Harrison were alive, would you, like most of today's rock veterans, go on a reunion tour?

Hardly. And even if we decided to do this, it would not be because of money. Except for charity. After all, we gave up many hundreds of millions of dollars. However, I don’t think we would have persuaded John for any money.

I have long “exceeded the plan” on questions, nevertheless I continue to torture my interlocutor:

- Several years ago, at the Dorchester Hotel in London, you told me about your trips around the world. And then they noticed that you feel best where you feel spiritual comfort. But the specific place was not named.

You stubbornly incline me to confrontation! - exclaims the star. - Why name something? I'll tell you about the most important thing. Since the 60s I began to search for God. And now he is firmly in my soul.

- You were the first of the Beatles to perform in Moscow, and in Russia you are well known and loved. Readers of Izvestia convey warm congratulations to you!

And tell them my big thanks. I remember Moscow. You have wonderful viewers! Who knows, maybe I’ll come to you again? I still have the strength to remain a “wandering Beatle.”

And Ringo laughs happily again.