Watching Ringo Starr is like watching a legend who looks decades younger than his soon-to-be 84-year-old self.
Regular training, jogging, and healthy eating will help to some extent.
However, the star seems to be energized by the job.
Since 2021, he has released four EPs, with the fifth, “Crooked Boy,” arriving in April. The four songs, written by musician and producer Linda Perry, range from the introspective title track (including the star’s signature line, “I talk about love, I talk about peace”) to the jubilant “Gonna… A wide variety of works, including “Need Someone”.
Starr also plans to resume touring with his all-star band in 2022 after momentum was halted due to pandemic-related closures, returning for a multi-week run of shows on May 22 and then performing again in September. I plan to do it.
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Joining the tour will be Men at Work frontman Colin Hay, TOTO veteran Steve Lukather, keyboard stalwart Edgar Winter, saxophonist Warren Hamm (Tote, Kansas), and drummer Greg Bissonnette (David Lee Roth, Joe Satriani), Hamish Stewart (Average White Band). , Paul McCartney).
Chatting in his home studio in Los Angeles, the affable drummer ranges from topics ranging from his upcoming country album to his thoughts on the Beatles’ last recording to his relationship with McCartney.
Question: You’ve collaborated with Linda Perry on a few songs in the past, and now she’s writing all the songs on your new EP. What is it about her atmosphere that makes you guys hit it off?
Answer: Her songwriting is really great. Her playing is really great and she does all of her demos with a Liverpudlian accent (lol). We became friends and got along quickly. She is very frank and very bossy.
You look like you’re having a lot of fun in the video for “Gonna Need Someone.” How do you stay so cheerful?
I believe in always maintaining energy. There’s nothing wrong with being energetic, but I’m also very lucky because I can also be the other guy. Plus, “Crooked Boy” is out now and Linda is amazing and I’m working on her actual CD. I haven’t done it for that long.
Can you tell me about that?
It’s a rural thing. I’m working on this with a very special person, T. Bone Burnett. He had a job in Nashville, came to Los Angeles, and everything is going great. He came to me with nine songs. It won’t be released until at least October.
How often do you play drums when you’re not on the go?
I don’t even look at him. I never liked playing drums by myself. I always want to be in a band with my players. If you want to play with me, I’ll play with you all night. (As a kid) I went upstairs the traditional way in black and white movies, where the drummer goes upstairs and hits the kit. Well, in my neighborhood, I almost got stung! All the neighbors were saying, “Shut up!” (Laughs) But I’ll play anywhere. My first band was the guy next door, Eddie Miles, and my best friend Roy taught us bass and that’s what we did: Others Just keep playing with us.
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How do you feel about Now and Then finally being released?
I loved “Now and then” and I heard it in 1995 and had already finished listening to it (the other two vault songs), but then it stopped. And then[in 2022]I got a call from Paul and he said, “Do you want to play drums?” It’s great for me to have John’s (Lennon’s) voice coming closer to me. Thank you Peter Jackson for having a machine that can pull anything out of anything. Paul was in charge of the string section. He worked really hard on it and I just sang part of it.
Is it sad to think that this is the last real Beatles recording?
I really think we’ve surpassed that. We miss them, but we’re doing our own thing now. Paul and I have dinner together. we are still friends. George (Harrison) and John, we certainly miss them. I’m an only child, but suddenly I had three siblings, which made me very happy.
It seems like you and Paul have been spending more time together lately.
When he comes to Los Angeles, we’ll definitely do something, and when I get to England, we’ll do something there. That’s what we’re doing. We went to Paris together for Stella McCartney’s clothing line (in March). But we actually went there for lunch. (Laughs) But no, really, we were just hanging out. We went by train and we all sat in the same carriage. We had a great time.
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Most of the members of the all-star band have been together for years. What is it about this group that complements the show so well?
When I first started doing this, I was asked to form a band and go on tour, and I said, “Yes,” and then I said, “What do you mean?” You’re the drummer in someone else’s band! But when you open the phone book and call everyone you know, they all say yes. So I had to close the book.
And the lineup changes frequently.
We’ve formed about five new bands. To change that years ago, some people were asked to leave and others brought it in. Like (Steve) Lukather was brought in (in 2012). This time… Colin (Hay), who is great and has some hits, and Hamish (Stuart) who was part of the other all-star band are back. But Luke (Lukather), I would never kick Luke out. He has the ticket of his lifetime. He is my last best friend. It takes time to make best friends. He’s an incredibly good musician and a wonderful human being.
How many more of these tours do you think you can do?
At least until the end of this year. We have shows in May and June, and then we have fall. There I am freed from play. I play all their songs and they play mine. This band is very close and we are very interested in each other. No one is hanging around alone smoking cigarettes.
