Richard Starkey’s talent is subverting predictions and exceeding expectations. He began to demonstrate this at the age of six, waking up from a long coma resulting from an acute appendicitis that doctors had considered fatal; he still practices it today, showing off recordings and concerts on the eve of his eighty-fourth birthday. If his friend Paul continues to marry the present continuous, Ringo’s vocabulary prefers a remote present which leads him to become a living relic of the Sixties, more hippie than he was at the time. On the other hand, anachronism does not seem to worry either him or his audience, equally satisfied by the nostalgia dispensed in this latest project of his, Crooked Boy, already available digitally (the physical versions will be released on May 31st) and presented yesterday by the former Beatle in a short online press conference. Wearing dark glasses as required, Ringo answers from his small home office, which he seems to be measuring by the inch for the first time: “How much will it be, five square metres?”. Behind him a keyboard, two electric guitars and a large psychedelic star on the wall. From there he recorded the vocals and drums (not in shot) for these new songs written and produced by Linda Perry, formerly of Four Non Blondes. «We had already collaborated on a couple of songs [in Change The World e EP3] and at a certain point he proposed me to produce an entire EP. She was an essential figure for this record: she wrote, she produced, she put the band together. She’s a little bossy sometimes, but she’s fine [ride]». The author, in this case, almost acts as a ghost writer for a short autobiography in song form, starting from title track which recalls serious childhood health problems. «He conveyed the idea perfectly, with his verses. I only changed one at the end, when instead of “sickly boy” [“ragazzo cagionevole”] I sang “A teddy boy who found his own way”. Because that’s what we wanted to be in the Liverpool of the time.”
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IN THIS SCRIPTURE upon commission, only two explicit requests from the interpreter: «First of all I want that in every song, even the darkest one, like February Skies, there is an element of positivity, peace and love. And then I asked her to write a rock song and she came up with it Gonna Need Someone». The video of which, full of period images, contributes to strengthening the Sixties aesthetic that rages in Ringo’s remote present. A time refuge, Gospodinov would define it. In which his All Starr Band finds comfort, defined by Steve Lukather as the greatest cover band in the world. «I started at the end of the 1980s, often rotating musicians. Joe Walsh, Dr. John, Billy Preston…everyone I called said yes. I had to close my address book otherwise I would have started an orchestra!» And as proof that his audience also prefers the past, Sir Richard assures that there will be no new songs in the set list of the upcoming tour. «It would be the best way to sell t-shirts! Just say: “Now a song from my latest EP”, and everyone runs away, to the bathroom or – if things go well – to the merchandising stands. We like to play the hits from our respective bands, the songs we all love: think about a concert of mine without them With A Little Help From My Friend?”.
BUT ALSO these new tracks, written adapting to his style, have a hint of vintage if not exactly retromania. As well as the new upcoming project, a country album written and produced by T-Bone Burnett, whose stylistic choice takes him back to the first songs sung with the Beatles (Honey Don’t, Act Naturally, What Goes On) and his own stage name. «It’s a very hectic moment» he says smugly; «In the last three years I have released five EPs, also because it was the most practical way to make music during Covid. Some time ago I met T-Bone during an Olivia Harrison reading [la vedova di George] and he proposed that I make a country record. At first it was going to be another EP, but then we got to ten songs. It’s a music I’ve loved since I was a boy, when it arrived at the port of Liverpool with the sailors returning from America. At the time they certainly weren’t playing it on the radio or the BBC.” The move from Liverpool to McCartney, with whom he recently worked for, was almost obligatory Feeling The Sunlight. «It’s always very difficult!» he exclaims half-jokingly «But every time he’s around I call him and tell him: take the bass and come here!». Se Paul has recently published the photographic volume 1964: Eyes Of The StormRingo has just dedicated to his drums Beats & Threads, written together with Gary Astridge and containing over 200 images of his historic Ludwig marked Beatles with a long “T”. «I met three Mr Ludwigs, grandfather, father and son. But my first drum kit was a cheap instrument, before I rented a Premier with £35 lent to me by my grandfather. During the first few days in London with the Beatles, we passed by an instrument shop and I saw that wonderful Ludwig. It was a smaller drum than normal, and so thanks to my high stool you could see me… The owner asked me: do you play in a band? [ride]»
In his self-narration, there is no break between Ringo and the young Richard. Eighty-four years old in July, more hippie and more prolific than ever, Ringo is still on stage, against all odds. No one has ever expected masterpieces or revolutions from him: deep down, what we continue to look for is a little corner in his time refuge. «Peace and Love».
