Superlatives
A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers.
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What else remains to be said about him?
He was in that band with his friends.
Hes now in thatotherband with his friends.
The extraris for extra talent.
(He thanks broccoli and a small gym for his relentlessly youthful disposition.)
Starr promises hell feel them.
I was recently blessed with a trifecta of Ringos on a video call.
This was a little guest house we have and Ive turned it into my studio, he explains.
All the records Ive made for the last 12 years we made here.
(My mother didnt call meLiverpool, he jokes of my namesorigin.)
Passage of time aside, Starr continues to thrive with a little help from his friends.
Career-defining song
Because it was the first song, my answer is Love Me Do.
We were on vinyl.
We were just blessed that George Martin took a chance on us because many record labels sent us down.
But the fun was the fact that we were still touring.
And only the BBC was playing the song.
It would say, Oh, at 3:14 p.m., this song will be on the BBC.
So wed all pull over and think,Wow, were on the radio.
I mean, it was a really big moment.
It was magic because we were on this piece of vinyl all to ourselves.
A lot of tracks we did after that I loved, of course.
The Love Me Do arrangement just came out of our heads.
We didnt read music.
Theres nothing quite like the first.
George Martin apologized every time I met him after we recorded that song.
He would say, Im sorry, Ringo, because he didnt know that we changed drummers.
Most underrated Beatles drumming performance
Well, thats hard.
There are so many great songs so many rock songs or ballads that I just sit down and play.
Thats one of the good things in the Peter Jacksondocumentary.
But while theyre writing the songs, Im holding the tempo.
And then, when the song is finished, I can do my stuff.
I cant do that drum fill twice.
Its mad because it comes off as an emotion.
Its not like, Okay, three and a half bars, then you go boom, boom.
Ive never played like that.
I play how it feels.
Its just what I do.
Thats how I play.
Im not thinking of anyone else but the track.
With those three boys, we were psychic.
Bang, and okay, pull it back.
Its like we didnt have to talk to each other.
Once we had the count in, we knew what we did.
Song that gives you the most joy to perform live
Boys.
Ive been doing it forever and its a girls song.
A wonderful girl group called the Shirelles did the original.
I was performing it with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes before the Beatles, and it just rocks.
It makes me smile that Im still doing this song after all these years.
Favorite Beatles conspiracy theory
We only ever had one that stuck.
That was Paul is dead.
And there were some songs people pointed out as being secret.
Theyre actually singing, Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
It just made us all laugh.
All of those interesting things we said were not that interesting.
We had a great laugh about that.
Look at what theyre saying now.
Ive never received a no.
I remember my first call was toJoe Walshand everyone else followed.
We played two or three tours with the first All-Starrs and we even went to Japan.
Then I thought,Well, Im going to change the whole band now.
Which was very hard when I now think about it, because the rehearsals were always difficult.
A lot of these musicians had never even met.
So we had to really get it down.
No time to goof around.
Thats how its been now.
Well see how long this band lasts.
Theres no set time.
Weve added quite a few years with a few changes, but basically its the same band.
Well wait and see.
How you were convinced to becomeThomas the Tank Engines inaugural narrator
That was a really wonderful job.
The shows producer came to me with the idea.
She said, Weve got this book,Thomas & Friends, and wed like you to narrate it.
Id never done that stuff before so I was confused when I was approached about it.
My kids were into spaceships and stuff like that.
Actually, in hindsight, I dont remember my kids being into a lot of childrens stuff.
I thought,Well, Ive never done narration.
I dont feel Im going to be good at it.
So I sat around for a week.
And they liked it.
It became a lot of stories.
The good news aboutThomasis it was fun.
With the big engines, you could put your body into it.
I wasnt following anybodys lead.
We did the stories in England, and then it turned into filming it in New York.
But then after four years, its like, Ive done enough.
The mid-80s were an interesting period in my life.
DuringThomas, I was playing music and trying to make records, but I wasnt playing live.
Then I wasnt making records at all, and then everything changed again.
Life has a rich pattern of changing.
I had nothing better to do.
No moreThomas.I said, Sure.
All the ones onstage said yes, and thats how the All-Starr Band started.
Your stream-of-consciousness while watchingGet Backs Octopuss Garden scene
Its emotional for me to watch.
Keep that in mind.
Maureen and I and the kids went on his boat, and the captain was talking to me.
Im afraid we were smoking a bit of dope in those days a bit of grass.
Whenyoure stoned, how do you react?
Id like to be under the sea in an octopuss garden in the shade just came to me.
It was just one of those magic moments.
I mean, what if the captain said, Sharks like live dogs for dinner?
He said, F flat, D minor, whatever.
Nowhere I could go.
I dont know these chords.
Im a 12-bar guy.
And then, he gets up, and you see that footage youve experienced.
He always helped out, George.
I miss him every day.
