“No more fan mail and no objects to be signed. Nothing.” was the message Ringo Starr gave fans on October 13, 2008. He had just finished the US and Canadian tours and was dividing his time between Los Angeles, the South of France, and his UK home in Surrey.
Ringo Starr secretly quit The Beatles on August 22, 1968, during the White Album sessions when the constant bickering and tension became too much for him. He rejoined the sessions on September 3rd. After Ringo walked out, the remaining Beatles recorded ‘Back In the USSR’, with Paul on drums and John playing bass.
Ringo Starr is best remembered for his eight short years with The Beatles.
Starr has described himself as “your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills”, technically limited by being a left-handed person playing a right-handed kit. His playing was an integral ingredient that made up The Beatles’ sound.
From the early pop songs to the psychedelic and ground-breaking period, Ringo would always inject his own personality and playing to the tracks. Listen for yourself to “Strawberry Fields” or “Rain” while the reluctant drum solo he delivered on Abbey Road is perfect.
Starr influenced Phil Collins.
“Ringo is vastly underrated. The drum fills on the song “A Day in the Life” are very complex things. You could take a great drummer today and say, ‘I want it like that.’ He wouldn’t know what to do.”
Phil Collins
In 2011, Starr was the fifth-best drummer of all-time by Rolling Stone readers, behind drummers such as John Bonham and Keith Moon.
