Ringo Starr news

Ringo Starr's drumsticks, a memento for Johnny Chester of the Beatles' 1964 Brisbane concert, are for sale.

Ringo's other-beat career
June 24, 2005

You know Ringo Starr, the drummer. You love him -- yeah, yeah, yeah. But beyond the Beatles, do you know Ringo the Renaissance Man?

Ringo beats a path to the Chicago area to play with his band, the Roundheads, at 8 tonight at the Genesee Theatre, 203 N. Genesee in Waukegan (tickets $40-$65, call 312-559-1212). Even this week he was showing off his visual arts talents at the opening of his computer art exhibition in New York.

Let's look back at some of Ringo's non-musical pursuits, from film actor to filmmaker, restaurateur to artiste:

1972: After dabbling in front of the camera a few times -- in the Beatles films, in "The Magic Christian" with Peter Sellers, in Frank Zappa's "200 Motels" -- Ringo stepped behind it to direct "Born to Boogie," a marathon concert film about pioneering glam rock band T. Rex. The film was painstakingly restored for a DVD release earlier this month, including a nifty studio scene featuring Ringo, T. Rex's Marc Bolan and Elton John jamming on "Tutti Frutti."

1974: John Lennon's fabled "lost weekend" was in full swing, and lots of celebs went along for the wild ride, including Ringo and buddy Harry Nilsson. Ringo joined Nilsson for the latter's "Pussy Cats" record, then the two made a wacky documentary about their legendary carousing titled "Harry and Ringo's Night Out." It was never released.

1975: Ringo appeared as the pope in Ken Russell's film "Lisztomania," in which the character of the great classical pianist Liszt (played by Roger Daltrey) actually says, "Piss off, Brahms!"

1977: In his first dabbling in children's entertainment (if you don't count "Yellow Submarine" and "Octopus's Garden"), Ringo provided the voice for Scouse the Mouse for an animated special and an album of the same name.

1978: Ringo played a European movie director in Mae West's final film, "Sextette" (with a wild cast including everyone from Timothy Dalton and Tony Curtis to Alice Cooper and Regis Philbin). He also appeared in Martin Scorsese's concert documentary about the Band, "The Last Waltz."

1981: Ringo starred in the primitive comedy "Caveman," on the set of which he met his future wife, Barbara Bach. Meanwhile, Ringo became part owner of a cable TV company in Liverpool.

1983: Ringo hosted a 26-part weekly radio show called "Ringo's Yellow Submarine," a series about Beatles music.

1984: All aboard! Ringo narrated the animated series "Thomas the Tank Engine" for Britain's ITV. The series lasted until 1991. Later in the year, Ringo hosted "Saturday Night Live," the only Beatle to do so. One of the skits featured fans snapping up Beatles memorabilia at an auction -- $45,000 for a Lennon guitar pick, $110,000 for a Paul McCartney toothbrush, $800 for Ringo himself.

1985: A star-studded TV adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" found Ringo playing the Mock Turtle.

1987: Ringo appeared at the opening of the Brasserie, a restaurant in Atlanta in which he had co-ownership, and joined an impromptu jam session with Isaac Hayes, Jermaine Jackson and Jerry Lee Lewis. Also that year, at the height of his alcohol dependency (later successfully treated), he appeared in a series of ads for Sun Country Classic Wine Coolers.

1989: Ringo played the part of the tiny Mr. Conductor in the children's TV series "Shining Time Station," for which he was nominated for an Emmy.

1995: Swipe it! Ringo created a painting for the Private Issue credit card, the company that sponsored his summer tour. The painting itself brought $33,000 when it was auctioned to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. That year, Ringo also designed a line of drumsticks for the ProMark signature series.

2005: On Sunday, Ringo, 64 (still needed, still fed), opened an exhibition of his computer art at Pop International Galleries in Manhattan. The show features 14 different images, all signed. Starr said he started doing computer art to keep him occupied while he was on the road touring.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-ftr-ringo24.html

Former Beatle Ringo Starr smiles as he participates in a news conference about his concert and promotes his new album at the Genesee Theater in Waukegan, Ill., Friday, June 24, 2005.

With a backdrop of his art work former Beatle, Ringo Starr smiles and flashes the peace sign before he participates in a news conference about his concert and new album at the Genesee Theater in Waukegan, Ill., Friday, June 24, 2005.

With a backdrop of his art work former Beatle Ringo Starr smiles as he participates in a news conference about his concert and promotes his new album at the Genesee Theater in Waukegan, Ill., Friday, June 24, 2005.

Ringo still needs to be in middle of rock scene
June 25, 2005

When the Beatles first "invaded" America 40 years ago, they charmed and disarmed the stuffy press with their sarcastic cockney-tinged one-liners.

Ringo Starr still knocks 'em dead with droll zingers.

"Oh yeah, Paul's coming," the band's ex-drummer deadpanned Friday, perking the ears of reporters gathered at downtown Waukegan's renovated Genesee Theatre.

Starr was at the north suburban theater for a Soundstage concert taping featuring selections from "Choose Love," his latest studio album with the Roundheads. The show is scheduled to air on WTTW-Channel 11 later this summer.

"They put a lot of money in it," Starr said of the revamped vintage movie theater. "It looks great."

At 64 -- the age the Beatles immortalized with the lyrics "Will you still need me? Will you still feed me?" -- Starr is hardly the retired, golf-playing grandpa type.

Starr has kept up with today's signature "rock star" look, sporting three silver hoop earings in his left ear with dark sunglasses, jeans, gray jacket and fuschia shirt.

Seated near his computer-generated artwork, Starr talked about his new CD and plans to develop an animated cartoon series with comic book legend Stan Lee. His Beatles past has given him opportunities most can only dream of, he said.

"If you have the time or you want to get involved, you do it," Starr said. "Lots of things come up. You can't do it all, but some of them take your fancy, and that's an incredible position to be in, where you can actually say, 'Oh, yeah, OK. I'll put my time into that.'"

Starr playfully peeked behind a door, flashing the peace sign before addressing the media. He mostly laughed and made others chuckle with lighthearted answers during the 10-minute news conference.

When asked how Friday's show in the 2,400-seat theater would differ from the mass hysteria-inducing Beatles gigs, he joked, "There'll be a lot more people here."

His thoughts on performing in working-class Waukegan? "No stranger than Liverpool, England."

"I'm not singing 'Yesterday,'" Starr teased, discussing the handful of Beatles songs he planned to sing at the show.

Starr was serious, though, about his reluctance to perform with surviving ex-Beatle Paul McCartney.

"It's never going to happen. We're doing other things. We were in a band, you know. It's not like we don't meet up and say 'hi.' But we're not going to get together," Starr said.

Starr, who loves shopping in Chicago, doesn't follow "American Idol" or listen to too many new bands -- except Coldplay and Oasis, a Beatles-influenced band for which his son Zak Starkey plays drums.

Although he said there will never be another Beatles, Starr believes some other rockers might someday achieve the same international success as the beloved Fab Four.

"There'll be another something else -- that's all. . . .The [Beatles] music carries on. That's the thing you can be proud of, not our haircuts," Starr said.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-nws-ringo25.html

Ringo Starr shows he can still shine at Waukegan appearance

WAUKEGAN — Just two weeks shy of his 65th birthday, Ringo Starr still comes across as impish — either the casually coolest kid in class or the coolest kid's sidekick.

Where other rock icons who have been doing this since the early 1960s might enter a roomful of strangers with an air of jaded royalty, Starr entered the Genesee Theatre lobby for a Friday afternoon press conference by first sticking his famous head from behind a door.

"Hello, hello," he said, as flashbulbs exploded. Stepping into the light, Starr looked trim and a good 20 years younger than his birth certificate, the moptop now close-cropped and ash-colored.

The moment came a good six hours ahead of his appearance on the Genesee stage, the only Chicago-area appearance in a tour supporting Starr's 23rd solo album, Choose Love. With the concert scheduled to be taped for a nationwide broadcast on PBS's Soundstage, the Genesee has been buzzing since Tuesday with activity surrounding the performance.


Shortly after sitting down at a table framed by a few examples of his boldly colored paintings, Starr was asked if it was strange to be in Waukegan.

"No stranger than being in Liverpool, England," he said with a shrug, drawing laughter. Although he complimented the Genesee's acoustics from sound checks the previous two days, he admitted that he has spent most of this week in a city more familiar to him.

"I like Chicago. I'm actually staying in Chicago and I drive up here every day," he said, noting that "it's a little hot this week" compared to his past visits to the area.

Starr's first Chicago visit dates back to September 1964, when the Beatles' first American tour brought them to the International Amphitheatre. The following August, 40 years ago this summer, the Beatles played two shows at old Comiskey Park.

When the Beatles played two more shows at the Amphitheatre in August 1966, it not only served as their final Chicago appearance, it also kicked off their final tour as a band, period.

Starr, who has toured in the decades since as the headliner for his All-Starr Band revues in the 1980s and '90s, was asked the difference between touring in the 21st century and when he was a 25-year-old.

"It's a lot quieter now," he said with a smile. "They're all down the road screaming at somebody else."

So whom among the somebody elses does he pay attention to?

"Well, there's not a lot that I listen to ... I mean, everybody loves Coldplay, and they're great. And I listen to Oasis, (because) my boy plays in it," Starr said of son Zak Starkey, who has drummed with the alternative rockers.

But asked if there could ever be another Beatles, Starr said "no, absolutely not. There'll be another something else, that's all. There will be another monster band."

He pointed out that the Beatles' music carries on today, as evidenced by the best-selling status of the 2000 disc of greatest hits.

"Look at the 1's — it's still selling. The music carries on. That's the important thing," said Starr, whose set list on the tour includes only the Beatles songs that found him on lead vocals, including Yellow Submarine and Octopus's Garden.

Answering the question that everyone has wanted to ask since 1970 — and perhaps even more so since the passing of John Lennon and George Harrison — Starr said he has no plans to create anything new with his fellow surviving Beatle, Paul McCartney.

"On, yeah, Paul's coming in tonight," Starr said to more laughter. "No, I've got my band, he's got his band. It's never going to happen. We're doing other things now."

Having done his thing for the media, Starr was about to he whisked away by a publicist when he offered a trademark farewell.

"Well, thanks for the turnout and have a nice day," he said. "Peace and love, peace and love, peace and love."

6/25/05

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/city/e25ringo.htm

Ringo Starr

At an age where most would be settling back and reaping the rewards of their major accomplishments in life, Richard Starkey, better known to the world as Ringo Starr, is not even thinking about slowing down. In fact, he’s exactly where he wants to be at this stage of his life, happy just being a member of a band.

By Billy Amendola

Back in Liverpool, England in the early ’60s, Ringo was already a star, playing drums in the biggest local group at that time, Rory Storm & The Hurricanes. This was before he joined The Beatles—a band that would not only change his life forever, but would go on to change the world. Most of us know the story; those who are too young to remember, please go back and study everything you can get your hands on about that era.

Ringo—a man of many talents—has dabbled in quite a bit of show biz in his sixty-five years on earth. Besides being one of the greatest drummers of all-time, he’s played the role of rock star, actor, filmmaker, TV star, studio musician, artist, photographer, and the leader of his own bands with the All-Starrs and The Roundheads. MD Online caught up with Ringo—a man who truly and respectfully deserves the title “living legend”—for a quick conversation while he was in New York City promoting his latest solo recording on Koch Records, Choose Love.

MD: Do you have any favorite drum tracks from your solo recordings?

Ringo: “Drumming Is My Madness” is one, because it was fun. It was Harry Nilsson Jim Keltner and I. For the Ringorama CD, we specifically made it sort of drum-prominent, and I sort of played some really good stuff. [laughs] Though I never practice, I do feel I’m getting better. It’s just how it is. The more you do it, the more comfortable you are with it. I’ve been touring with the All-Starrs, I’m touring now with The Roundheads, I’m making records—I’m sort of back in the business. I’m playing more, so I’m more comfortable. But the feel I have—many of you have asked me about my feel—that just comes from God. I truly believe that my heartbeat keeps the tempo, because I naturally have great time, as you all noticed, and that’s not blowing my own horn. I just have great time, and that’s the rhythm of my heart and my soul.

MD: Do you ever record with a click-track?

Ringo: Never do. Click tracks make me too tense. I’m useless with a click track. I’m just not from the click track school.

MD: What were some of your favorite drum tracks that you played live with the All-Starrs, and did you find any particularly challenging?

Ringo: My favorites…anything with Joe Walsh or with Todd Rundgren was great. If it was too challenging, then I would leave it to the other drummer. [laughs]

MD: How did you develop the two-handed snare/floor-tom rolls, like on “Tell Me Why” and “Help”?

Ringo: Well, it’s the only way I can do it, I suppose. That’s just how it worked out. I didn’t develop anything really; I just did it that way.

MD: What made you change your mind about “Give Me Back The Beat,” a track from your new CD Choose Love, in terms of it not being a “drum song”?

Ringo: On “Give Me Back The Beat,” the idea was to have guest drummers. On every record we’ve had guest guitarists, guest singers, so I thought, Well, let’s have guest drummers. I’ll do a verse and Charlie [Watts] will do a chorus, then my son Zak, Jim [Keltner], whoever—all my favorites. But anyway, it just didn’t work out. So listening to the playback of “Give Me Back The Beat,” I just thought it needed a half-time feel. And so for the first time ever, I went back and actually did a secondary drum track, and it’s all in one. It’s not spliced and fixed, it’s like, “Turn the track on and we’ll do what we do.” So it was very exciting really in a way to put two tracks on it, and they’re both me. It would have been more interesting for me in many ways if it had been another drummer. But that’s how it worked out.

MD: How do you prefer to record your drum tracks? Do you still like to get the “live” element down by playing it through with the band, or do you track separately with music tracks? Also, nowadays, if you hear a mistake, will you do your drum track over, or would you take advantage of the new methods and just fix it in the mix?

Ringo: No matter what Mark [Hudson] says, I will not redo the drum tracks. On all the records, my drum tracks are live. I played them from start to finish, and that’s what you get. And I have the band in the studio with me, all looking at me. No one is more than six feet away, and I’m live and they’re direct. And that’s one of the reasons you can hear a lot of talking and mumbling on my records. [laughs]

MD: A spiritual question: The track “Oh My Lord,” also from the new record, got me thinking. I was having a conversation with Jim Keltner not too long ago, and he told me he prays every time before he plays his drums. Do you?

Ringo: No, I don’t pray every time before I play my drums, but I do pray every morning and every night.

MD: What’s next?

Ringo: Well, right now I’m promoting the new CD, Choose Love. Then there’s a project with [Spiderman creator] Stan Lee in progress. We’ve got the writer now, we like the outline, we’ll get the story, I’ll do the voice, and the animators will do their job. That should be out, hopefully, by the end of next year.

http://www.moderndrummer.com/web_exclusive.asp?alt=100012148

Ringo Starr & the Roundheads
El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Wed, Jun 29, 2005 09:00 PM

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/09003AD6C6C67618/

Ну вот, а говорили только Нью Йорк и Чикаго.

Блин! Попал на англоязычный сайт. Прощения просим...

в ритм-н-блюз кафе(попсовейшем заведении)вновь лицезрел автограф Ринго!!!
на обложке альбома, висящего на стене!

Food fight

Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr stops by "Little Steven's Underground Garage" July 3 (7-9 p.m. on WCSX-FM, 94.7) to celebrate the drummer's July 7 birthday. Amid the chatter, Starr sets a few things straight about Beatles lyrics. After "With a Little Help From My Friends," gets a spin, Starr says the original "first lines were 'What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up, throw tomatoes at me?' You know, very vaudeville. I said, 'I'm not singing that.' Damn tomatoes. We'd just been bombarded with jelly beans. So I was not gonna sing that."

http://www.freep.com/entertainment/namesandfaces/names27e_20050627.htm

http://macca.devstars.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=34541
Можно почитать, как Ринго выступил 24 июня в Чикаго.

Любопытно, что о его предстоящем концерте 29 июня в ЛА так ничего в анонсах и не появилось.

Ringo Starr's Message: 'Love'
NEW YORK, June 28, 2005

(CBS) Ringo Starr helped take America by storm in 1964, as the drummer for legendary rock band the Beatles. Four decades later, he's still going strong.

For his latest project, he got little help from his friends, the Roundheads, and put together a new album titled "Choose Love."

For The Early Show's Summer Concert series, he performed the title track from his new album, as well as "Back Off Boogaloo," from the 1974 album "Goodnight Vienna;" "With A Little Help From My Friends" from the 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band;" and his classic hit, "It Don't Come Easy" from the 1973 album "Ringo."

Don't miss his performance and interview Wednesday morning.

Starr produced and co-wrote all 12 songs of "Choose Love," which is a tribute to the music and the message of the Beatles, evoking past melodies. "Oh My Lord," in particular, recalls the melody of George Harrison's hit, "My Sweet Lord." Starr's song is dedicated to his late bandmate, who died in 2001.

Starr's most recent previous album was "Ringorama," produced in 2003.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/28/earlyshow/series/summer_concerts/main704846.s... с видео

Ringo Starr's Message: 'Love'
NEW YORK, June 29, 2005

(CBS) Ringo Starr helped take America by storm in 1964, as the drummer for legendary rock band The Beatles. Four decades later, he's still going strong.

For his latest project, he got little help from his friends, the Roundheads, and put together a new album titled "Choose Love."

"It's still the same, 'Choose Love.' Choose peace," Starr told The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler during his visit as part of the Summer Concert series.

The message from the former Beatle has not changed, and he is still going strong at 64. And though the Beatles song "When I'm 64" seems, in a way, prophetic, Starr says in no way, back then, was he thinking this far ahead.

"You don't think that when you're 24," he said. "That's just, like, too far ahead. And, suddenly, you find you are there."

Is he saying: Where did all the time go?

"No, I know where it went," Starr said, laughing, "I have lived a life. I've done many things. I've had lots of fun with my music, with my painting, with the love of my life, my wife, with the children. It's a whole life going down here."

Complimenting him on his looks, Syler predicted he would live to be 100 years old.

"The secret of musicians," he said, "is we don't look in the mirror, because till we do, we're all 24."

He shared a few more secrets regarding his marriage, a 24-year success.

"The secret is that I love that woman dearly, and she loves me. Thank God," he exclaimed.

And the secret for the Beatles still being relevant today?

"It is the music," he said, "Whatever happens, it's the music. The records we made them still hold up today."

Asked what he thinks about what he thinks of reality shows that turn people into music stars overnight, in view of the fact that he paid his dues, Starr said, "I did pay my dues. But the reality shows, I have to confess, I do not watch them. I do see the results where somebody who has won one of those shows is really huge for six months, a year, and then it's, like, they're tossed aside.

"I feel blessed that I came up through the ranks from clubs to theaters to stadiums. And that's what I do. I didn't really do it to be famous. I did it because I loved to play."

Next for him?

"I'm just going to make more music for the rest of this morning," he said.

For The Early Show's Summer Concert series, he performed the title track from his new album, as well as "Back Off Boogaloo," from the 1974 album "Goodnight Vienna;" "With A Little Help From My Friends" from the 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band;" and his classic hit, "It Don't Come Easy" from the 1973 album "Ringo."

Starr produced and co-wrote all 12 songs on "Choose Love," which is a tribute to the music and the message of the Beatles, evoking past melodies. "Oh My Lord," in particular, recalls the melody of George Harrison's hit, "My Sweet Lord." Starr's song is dedicated to his late bandmate, who died in 2001.

Starr's most recent previous album was "Ringorama," produced in 2003.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/28/earlyshow/series/summer_concerts/main704846.s...

RINGO MOVES TO MONTE CARLO TO AVOID TAX LAWS

Former BEATLE RINGO STARR has set up a permanent home in Monte Carlo so he can avoid tax laws in Britain and Los Angeles.

The rocker still has homes in England and California but he chooses to live in Monte Carlo, Monaco because he gets to make more royalties money there.

He says, "I live in Monte Carlo with residences in England and LA. I've had a house here in LA since 1975 and I love LA. I love America but I love LA."

Starr admits he has always fought against paying crippling tax bills: "It's overrated. I want to do the WILLIE NELSON thing - you just don't pay until they catch you and then you do some shows somewhere and it's all forgiven."

30/06/2005

Видео с интервью Ринго в программе Джона Стюарта от 20.06.05.
http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=15785

29.06.2005

Что-то первый раз не пролезло - извиняйте, если повтор!