Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. Ringo Starr now

Many books have been written about the Beatles. This one differs from the others in that the Beatles themselves gave their version of events up until 1970.

Quotes by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and additions by Neil Aspinall, Sir George Martin, and Derek Taylor are drawn in part from interviews on which the television and video versions of The Beatles Anthology are based. In addition, the book includes important materials published for the first time. Especially for the Anthology, detailed interviews were conducted with Paul, George and Ringo.

The text attributed to John Lennon is taken from extensive sources that have been collected over several years around the world, again specifically for this book. These sources include printed materials and videos, private and public archives. The materials are arranged in chronological order and in such a way that the narrative is coherent. In order for the reader to perceive John's words in accordance with a particular period, each quotation is provided with the date when it was spoken, recorded or first published. Years are indicated only by the last two digits: for example, 1970 is indicated in the text as (70). These dates apply to the entire text fragment up to the specified date.

Only in a few cases could the quotations be accurately dated (despite the fact that they contain John's actual words). They are included in the book undated.

In order to provide additional historical context, the original words of Paul, George, Ringo and others referring to the period before 1970 are also given here. They are also indicated by the last two digits, as are the words of John.

While working on The Anthology, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr made their personal archives available to the compilers. Moreover, unlimited access to photos and documents from the archives of Apple and EMI was obtained.

This book was prepared for publication by the staff of Genesis Publications for Apple, with the active assistance of the late Derek Taylor, who advised the compilers until his death in 1997.

What can I tell you about myself that you don't already know?

I wear glasses. Born on October 9, 1940, I was not the first of the Beatles to come into the world. The first of us was born Ringo - July 7, 1940. However, he joined the Beatles later than the others, and before that he not only grew a beard, but also managed to work as a drummer at the Butlins campsite. He was engaged in other nonsense, until he finally realized what fate had in store for him.

Ninety percent of the inhabitants of our planet, especially in the West, were born thanks to a bottle of whiskey drunk on a Saturday night; no one was going to have such children. Ninety percent of us humans were born by accident - I don't know a single person who planned to have a baby. We are all creatures of Saturday nights (80).

My mother was a housewife. She was also a comedian and singer - not a professional one, but she often performed in pubs and the like; She sang well, knew how to imitate Kay Starr. She often sang one song when I was one or two years old. This is a tune from a Disney movie: “Do you want me to tell you a secret? But do not tell anyone. You are standing near the wishing well” (80).

My parents separated when I was four years old and I lived with Aunt Mimi (71).

Mimi explained that my parents fell out of love with each other. She never blamed them for anything. Soon I forgot my father. As if he had died. But I always remembered my mother, my love for her will never die.

I often thought of her, but for a long time I did not realize that she lived only five or ten miles from me (67).

My family consisted of five women. Five strong, smart, beautiful women, five sisters. One of them was my mother. Mom had a hard life. She was the youngest, she could not raise me alone, and therefore I settled with her older sister.

These were amazing women. Perhaps someday I will write something like the Forsyte Saga about them, because it was they who ruled in the family (80).

The men remained invisible. I have always been surrounded by women. I often listened to their conversations about men and life, they were always aware of everything. And the men never knew. So I got my first, feminist education (80).

It hurts the most to be unwanted, to know that your parents don't need you the way you need them. As a child, I had moments when I stubbornly did not notice this ugliness, did not want to see that I was unwanted. This lack of love poured into my eyes and into my mind.

I never really needed anyone. I became a star only because I held back my feelings. Nothing would help me get through all this if I were "normal" (71).

Most people are under the influence of others throughout their lives. Some never understand that their parents continue to torment them even when their children are in their forties or fifties. They are still strangled, controlled by their thoughts and minds. I have never been afraid of this and have never groveled before my parents (80).

Penny Lane is the area where I lived with my mother, father (however, my father was a sailor and spent most of his time at sea) and grandfather. We lived on Newcastle Road (80).

This is the first house I remember. Good start: red brick walls, living room never used, curtains drawn, picture of a horse and carriage on the wall. There were only three bedrooms upstairs; the windows of one overlooked the street, the second - the courtyard, and between them was another tiny room (79).

When I left Penny Lane, I moved in with my aunt, who also lived in the suburbs, in a semi-detached house with a small garden. Doctors, lawyers, and other people of that sort lived in the neighborhood, so the suburbs did not resemble a slum in any way. I was a good-looking, neatly trimmed, suburban boy who grew up in a higher class environment than Paul, George, and Ringo, who lived in council houses. We had our own house, our own garden, but they had nothing like that. Compared to them, I was lucky. Only Ringo was a real city boy. He grew up in the crappiest neighborhood. But he didn't care; he probably had more fun there (64).

In general, the first thing I remember is a nightmare (79).

I dream in color, always surreal. The world of my dreams is similar to the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch and Dali. I like him, I look forward to him every evening (74).

One of the recurring dreams I have throughout my life is of flying. I always fly when I'm in danger. I remember, as a child, I flew in a dream, as if floating through the air. Usually I flew over well-known places where I lived. And sometimes I had nightmares in which a giant horse or something terrible was approaching me, and I had to fly away. When I had such dreams in Liverpool, I explained them by my desire to leave the city (71).

In my most vivid dreams, I saw myself sitting in an airplane that was flying over some part of Liverpool. I first had this dream when I was in school. The plane flew over the city in circles, rising higher and higher.

– a legend, everyone contributed to the success of the project. They say that the kind and wise Ringo Starr was the soul of the Liverpool four, his "sentimental heart". An excellent drummer, songwriter and performer made a brilliant solo career and still does not tire of delighting fans with new creative ideas.

Childhood and youth

The musician was born in a poor area of ​​Liverpool in the family of a baker, Richard Starkey. They named the baby according to the working traditions prevailing in those days in honor of his father. A talented drummer will slightly correct the name already at the dawn of fame. The pseudonym is a derivative of the words ring (ring) and star (star). The fact is that Ringo wore a lot of rings, and he appreciated his own drumming highly, “star-like”.

When the son was three years old, his father left the family, later his mother remarried. Nature did not endow the boy with health; over the years, serious illnesses overtook. After graduating from elementary school, Richard was admitted to the hospital with peritonitis, where he lay for a year. And a little later I had to miss two years of study due to pleurisy. As a result, the musician never received a secondary education.

At the age of 15, the teenager went to earn a living, took on any business. I managed to try myself as a courier, assistant, bartender on a railway ferry. The young man was fond of American music and one day decided to become a drummer. The first drum kit was presented by his stepfather, to whom the young man promised to become a good musician.

Music

At the beginning of his creative biography, Ringo Starr was attracted to the skiffle style. Various musical groups collaborated with a gifted drummer with pleasure. In the late 50s, fate brought the young man together with the Rory Storm and the Hurricanes team, whose work thundered throughout Liverpool. The group was known as the main rival of The Beatles.

The Beatles accepted the musician into the team in mid-August 1962. With the arrival of Ringo Starr, the team turned into a quartet, which, in addition to him, included, and. The name of the drummer quickly gained fame.

The drum parts of almost all the songs were performed by Ringo. The artist also tried his hand as a singer - his voice sounds in the choral singing of part of the compositions. The musician also performed lead vocals, the song “Yellow Submarine”, written by McCartney in 1966, belongs to this direction in creativity.

The composition immediately after the release took first place in the English hit parade, and later an animated video was shot for it. Starr also wrote singles, for example, he wrote the songs Don't Pass Me By and Octopus's Garden.

In an interview, Ringo recalled that the work on two compositions that became classics was especially memorable. These are "Hey Jude", nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Song in 1968, and "Here Comes the Sun", which at first confused the drummer with odd rhymes, as in Indian music.

By 1968, there was tension in The Beatles. Once there was a conflict between Ringo and Paul McCartney, who called the drummer primitive. The musician was offended and left the group for a while.

Starr pursued a solo career, launching massive commercials. Ringo's first album was released in 1970. A collection of covers of pop hits called "Sentimental Journey" was not appreciated by critics, calling the work unsuccessful. But the following albums - "Beaucoup of Blues" (1971) and "Ringo" (1973) - were accepted by fans with enthusiasm. Of the latter, the compositions "It Don" t Come Easy", "Photograph", "You" re Sixteen" became hits.

According to music lovers, the work of Ringo Starr in the 70s is not distinguished by genius, although the musician released new records almost every year. Only a small part of the songs became popular. These include the singles "Only You" and "The No No Song".

Collaborated with other musicians: teamed up with The Eagles, recorded an album with George Harrison, lit up at the "Concert for Bangladesh", where he met with world stars, Billy Preston, Leon Russell.

The beginning of the 80s did not work out. Ringo was going to release the disc "Old Wave", but he failed to do it at home - the American and English companies refused. At the time, rumors began to circulate that Starr had a drinking problem. Speculation turned out to be true, the musician got rid of addiction by the end of the decade and set to work with renewed vigor.

Ringo created the musical ensemble All Starr Band, whose line-up was constantly changing. Famous performers and composers Nils Lofgren, Billy Preston, Joe Walsh, Clarence Clemons and others have visited the collective.

The musicians, under the Starr Band banner, went on a tour of Japan and the United States, where they were warmly welcomed by fans. In 1998, the ensemble also gave concerts in Russia - Muscovites and Petersburgers first saw one of the Beatles in their homeland. After 13 years, Ringo will again make the Russians happy.

In 1992, after almost a decade of silence, Ringo recorded a new album, Time Takes Time, with third-party songwriters, Starr had a hand in only three songs, including co-authoring the single Runaways.

In the mid-90s, The Beatles fans rejoiced - Starr, Harrison and McCartney decided to create a joint album "Anthology". The record included Lennon's "Free As A Bird", which he recorded 20 years ago.

In the new millennium, the musician continued to pamper fans with new songs and albums. "Impressive comeback" - that's what the critics said about the album "Liverpool-8". A little later, the solo albums of the singer and musician “Y Not” and “Ringo 2012” saw the light. And in the spring of 2015, Ringo, along with members of the All Starr Band, presented the album Postcards From Paradise, which opened with a song based on the events of life before the Beatles.

Movie

An excellent actor came out of Ringo - the man managed to star in a number of films. Even before leaving the Beatles, the young man was recognized as the best actor in the Liverpool Four. Starr made his film debut in 1964. Together with colleagues from The Beatles, he starred in the film A Hard Day's Evening, and then in the comedy Help!

The genre variety of paintings in which Ringo starred is impressive. These are documentaries, dramas, and even horrors. Starr played in the horror movie "Son of Dracula", as the Pope in the fantastic film "Listomania", in the prehistoric man in the comedy "Caveman".

In addition, the musician tried his hand as a producer, scriptwriter and operator. Such works include the painting "Magical Mystery Journey". But most of all in Starr's film list are documentaries about the creative path of The Beatles. The Liverpool Four won an Oscar in 1971 for their autobiographical film Let It Be.

Personal life

Ringo Starr has been married twice. The first marriage, in which three children were born, lasted 10 years. The drummer chose hairdresser Mary Cox as his companion. A 15-year-old girl fell in love with a handsome, albeit not tall (Ringo's height is 173 cm and weight is 70 kg) musician at one of the Beatles' concerts and even got an autograph. Only now the chosen one did not pay attention to the fan. Mary continued to show up regularly until Starr noticed her.

The couple got married in 1965, but the union did not survive the difficult stage in the life of Ringo after the collapse of the Liverpool Four, they broke up. Cox died at 48 from leukemia, the musician dedicated the song "Little Willow" to his ex-wife.

After the divorce, Starr could not find personal happiness for a long time, met with models, singers. While working in the film "The Caveman" (1980), the man met his partner on the set, Barbara Bach, known for her role as a girl in the film "The Spy Who Loved Me." Passion broke out, and a year later the young people went to the registry office.

In the 80s, the directors stopped offering Ringo and Barbara cooperation. The couple became a victim of stereotypical perception - the stigma of "Bond girl" was forever stuck to the woman, and the musician was seen as one of the "Beatles". Due to creative frustrations, Ringo and Barbara began to drink heavily, then became addicted to cocaine, it came to a drug clinic.

Now Ringo Starr leads a healthy lifestyle, goes to the gym, plays golf. One of my hobbies is drawing.

Ringo Starr now

Starr travels around the world with his All Starr Band, recording new songs and albums. In 2017, a new, 19th in a row, album "Give More Love" was released. It features guest appearances by Joe Walsh, Dave Stewart, Gary Nicholson and Paul McCartney, who plays bass and sings backing vocals on a number of songs.

Starr has received numerous awards for his outstanding contributions to music. Back in 1965, the musician received the Order of the British Empire from the hands of the Queen. The drummer is also a holder of the French Order of Arts and Letters, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in America. And in March 2018, at Buckingham Palace, Ringo Starr was awarded the title of knight - the dedication ceremony was conducted by Prince William.

Discography

• 1970 - Sentimental Journey
• 1970 - Beaucoups of Blues
• 1973 - Ringo
• 1974 - Goodnight Vienna
• 1976 - Ringo's Rotogravure
• 1977 - Ringo the 4th
• 1978 - Bad Boy
• 1981 - Stop and Smell the Roses
• 1983 - Old Wave
• 1992 - Time Takes Time
• 1998 - Vertical Man
• 1999 - I Wanna Be Santa Claus
• 2003 - Ringo Rama
• 2005 - Choose Love
• 2008 - Liverpool 8
• 2010 - Y Not
• 2012 - Ringo 2012
• 2015 - Postcards from Paradise
• 2017 - Give More Love

The legend of the death of one of the members of The Beatles, more familiar under the name "Paul is dead", again reminded of itself. The essence of this story is that Sir Paul McCartney died back in 1966, and for another four years, while there was a permanent British team and over the past 45 years, he was replaced by a certain double.

And today, ex-Beatles drummer Ringo Starr surprised the whole world, in an interview with a foreign publication, saying that all these years these rumors were true. According to Mr. Starr, the "real" Paul McCartney died in a car accident on November 9, 1966.

All these years, according to a former colleague of Paul's in the group, he was replaced by the musician William Billy Campbell, who was selected by the last manager of The Beatles, and won the contest of doubles of the musician.

"When Paul died, we were all in a panic... We didn't know what to do and Brian Epstein, our manager, suggested that we hire Billy Campbell as a temporary solution. He was only supposed to play with us for a week or two, but as time went on and no one noticed the catch, so we continued to play together. Billy turned out to be a pretty good musician, and he was able to play even better than Paul. The only problem was that he could not get along with John, at all" , - Starr's words lead the Hollywood media.

The ex-drummer revealed another "secret" to The Beatles: it turns out that John Lennon left the group because of nervousness because the cult band had to lie to the whole world.

So far, neither Paul McCartney himself nor anyone from his entourage has commented on the situation, but after such a sensation, journalists and paparazzi from all over the world surrounded his residence.

The British television channel MI5 also announced the launch of an investigation to determine the truth of this story and the weight of the accusation, because Paul McCartney has been a member of the Order of the British Monarchy for the last 48 years and has repeatedly accompanied the current Queen Elizabeth II to various official private events. If it is confirmed that it was an impostor, the case will also take a state turn.

Ringo Starr is one of the last still living members of the legendary band, except for McCartney himself, reminds Pravda.Ru. By this factor, he explained why he did not disclose the "truth" for so long - fearing that she would die with him, the 74-year-old drummer decided to tell the world about it today.