Ringo Starr (The Beatles) interview from 1992
A never-published interview with Ringo Starr
In this episode, we’re celebrating the 80th birthday of Ringo Starr by playing Marc’s interview with the Beatles’ drummer from 1992. At the time of this interview, Ringo was 52 and was on tour with his All-Starr Band. Back in those days, Ringo would do five-minute interviews, so this conversation is much shorter than normal. So let’s skip our normal preamble and get right to the interview.
Ringo Starr (The Beatles) Links:
Watch on Youtube
Ringo Starr interview transcription:
Ringo Starr: Marc?
Marc Allan: Yes, hi. Can you hear me better now?
Ringo Starr: Yeah, that’s much better. Sorry about that, but it was just so quiet.
Marc Allan: Yeah, no problem. Since we only have five minutes I’ll jump right into it with two obligatory Beatles questions. When you played the state fairgrounds here in ’64, the group’s contract requested a case of Coca-Cola, a supply of clean towels, chairs, and if possible, a portable TV set, which seems hilariously quaint now but was this the innocence of the times? Was is because–
Ringo Starr: Yeah, I think I was told that they thought we were spoiled brats asking for all of that.
Marc Allan: Yeah, I wondered if this was just uncharted territory for bands or maybe–
Ringo Starr: Yeah, I don’t think the riders they have today, I don’t think you have those options. I think they just gave it to us ’cause we were the big boys.
Marc Allan: I wondered if you also didn’t, it was maybe because you asked for so little because you didn’t take the rockstar trips seriously.
Ringo Starr: Well, I don’t think we did take it that deep and we didn’t need much.
Marc Allan: Compared to your riders today, do you ask for a lot?
Ringo Starr: Well, I ask for different things and… it’s certainly bigger than those requests. I’m not gonna tell you what they are. You have to make it to backstage to see what happens. You’ll see the elephants and the tigers.
Marc Allan: Okay, just before he died, John Lennon said about you, whatever that spark is in Ringo, there’s something in him that would have surfaced with or without the Beatles. Do you think he was right?
Ringo Starr: Sure.
Marc Allan: Yeah, what is it?
Ringo Starr: I was living before the Beatles and I’m living after.
Marc Allan: Yeah, no question about it.
Ringo Starr: So he was absolutely right.
Marc Allan: Okay, but did you know it even then?
Ringo Starr: Yeah.
Marc Allan: How can you–
Ringo Starr: I was working and playing before I joined them. I was in the top bands in Liverpool anyway. I had my own following then. I was fulfilling my dream and then they came along and then it turned into a fantasy.
Marc Allan: Do you think it’s been tougher for you as a solo artist because you have a reputation for being a kind of lighthearted guy?
Ringo Starr: I don’t think so, really, I mean, if we look at the records from after the split up, I was the biggest selling artist there for a couple of years.
Marc Allan: Is this tour fairly similar to the last one in that everybody will play a couple of his own songs?
Ringo Starr: Yeah, exactly the same format. Everyone will do their own numbers which I’ll support as playing the drums or tambourine or whatever and then I’ll come down the front and do some numbers, I’ll do some from the kids. It’s the same format. If you saw the ’89 tour, you’ll know what to expect.
Marc Allan: Your new album kinda seems to be fairly confessional. Is this an attempt to put both the good times and the indiscretions behind you and move on?
Ringo Starr: Well, I think it’s to actually get away from the past.
Marc Allan: You would expect that most people, if they were in your position, would wanna live in the past.
Ringo Starr: Well… that’s up to them. I think I’ve lived in it long enough. It’s time to move on, you know?
Marc Allan: Was there–
Ringo Starr: I mean, we’ll never shake it all off. But we have to just keep moving on.
Marc Allan: Was there an incident or something that happened in your life that made you decide that it was time to move on–
Ringo Starr: Yeah, I think sobering up.
Marc Allan: Is this also the time to move on? Is that also why the time is right to make a record after nine years?
Ringo Starr: Sure.
Marc Allan: There’s a line on the album that goes, telling lies won’t get you far. I learned that in my youth. I line that I realize you don’t get songwriter credit on so you probably didn’t write that, but–
Ringo Starr: No, that was Jellyfish. But I did write forget about my rings and things in the same song. They had your rings and things. We just changed that to make it personal. So I’m sorry, what were you saying?
Marc Allan: I was gonna say, since you didn’t write that, tell me three or four things maybe that you’ve learned over the years that have made a difference in your everyday life.
Ringo Starr: Honesty is the best policy.
Marc Allan: What else?
Ringo Starr: You either live in love or in fear.
Marc Allan: And?
Ringo Starr: I think that’s heavy enough.
Marc Allan: Honesty is the best policy seems kind of a bizarre thing that I would expect that you’d be a fairly honest guy.
Ringo Starr: Well, yeah, I am.
Marc Allan: Yeah.
Ringo Starr: But you find yourself being devious and you always have to pay for it, you know?
Marc Allan: One line that you most likely wrote is traveling the world in a rock and roll band, it’s in my blood.
Ringo Starr: Yeah.
Marc Allan: Why?
Ringo Starr: Well, it is. When I was 13, all I wanted to do was play drums in a rock and roll band. And I’m still doing it. It’s in my blood. I love to be up there playing the drums and entertaining people, you know? I seek it in my blood because the people I started with, in the very early days in Liverpool, out of 10 good friends we started as musicians playing, I’m the only one still doing it. They sorta gave up after a year or two or three. It wasn’t in their blood. There wasn’t excitement, I guess, from it.
Marc Allan: Do you ever see them anymore?
Ringo Starr: Sure.
Marc Allan: And what do they think?
Ringo Starr: Well, they’re doing what they’re doing. One’s a joiner, another one’s an engineer, another one’s this. Another one’s out of work. So that’s what happens.
Marc Allan: Critics often compare bands with the Beatles. Have you ever heard any group that you thought compared favorably to the Beatles?
Ringo Starr: No.
Marc Allan: ‘Kay.
Ringo Starr: I think it’s the worst thing that can happen to a band. Once they’re called the new Beatles, they’re dead.
Marc Allan: Yeah, there’s a lot of truth to that.
Ringo Starr: They should just be themselves.
Marc Allan: Yeah.
Ringo Starr: But a lot of managers and press guys think this will help and it really is bad news for any band.
Marc Allan: Okay. You got any surprises in store for people who wanna come out to the show?
Ringo Starr: Think the biggest surprise is us still standing.
Marc Allan: Okay, two other things, I’ll let you go. Anything else that you wanna tell people?
Ringo Starr: That talent takes time. Way to the world and if you come to show we’re gonna have fun.
Marc Allan: Okay, and finally, question for another story I’m working on, are you still married?
Ringo Starr: Yeah, 11 years.
Marc Allan: 11 years, what kind of music did you have played at your wedding?
Ringo Starr: We had, well, the music we had played at the wedding was rather sage ’cause we had Paul McCartney, Harry Nilsson, and a lot of people like George Harrison playing along so they were just playing anything they wanted.
Marc Allan: All right, well, I know we’re under time constraints so I appreciate your time and–
Ringo Starr: Oh, thanks for calling back.
Marc Allan: Okay, take care.
Ringo Starr: All right, take care, bye.