«No, we didn't get along. We were four kids, we always argued. But no argument, no matter how intense it was, ever got involved with the music. When we got down to it, we all gave our best. All this didn't happen in the early days of the group, but I think this is also only natural.”
This is what Ringo Starr, now almost 84 years old, explained to AXS TV and to journalist Dan Rather. Recalling his time as a group, the drummer spoke about how the relationships between the members had also shaped the Fab Four's musical output. Specifically, Paul McCartney's personality, according to Starr, would have influenced them a lot.
«At a certain point we each found ourselves with our own lives, I had children, and we risked losing our bearings on how much of ourselves to give to the group, how much of our lives behind the scenes. To this day, I have to thank Paul. He was the workaholic of the four of us, and that's why we made so many records. John and I would have done a lot less. We'd sit around, then Paul would come and wake us up: 'Come on guys,' and we'd go to work.”
And, speaking of work, Starr's new EP will be released in physical version this May 31st, Crooked Boy (already released digitally), with four original songs written and produced by Linda Perry. Starr described her work with Perry for the album like this, in an interview reported by Ansa: «I gave her carte blanche, I didn't ask for anything. Just to write a rock song, and it is Gonna Need Someone. The result is a fantastic EP. We worked remotely: she produced it in her studio and sent me the tracks, I completed them by adding drums and vocals. Her songwriting is amazing and she sounds great. Together we laughed, we had fun, now we have become friends.”
In the future, however, we could also find ourselves seeing the former Beatle jumping on the country bandwagon, with a project that Starr is working on together with producer T Bone Burnett: «I already have ten tracks ready for a real album, it's a busy period . It's been a long time since I did something like this. A country record. I've loved country music since I was a boy: Liverpool, where I grew up, was a port and everything came through there, even Americans with country music.”
The last (for now) collaboration with McCartney dates back to 2023: «[Paul] he has a big heart and we are still great friends, it's always nice to collaborate with him.” Meanwhile, Starr's tour with his All-Starr Band begins again on May 22nd, which will have an American chapter: it starts on May 22nd in Las Vegas. Starr will be joined on stage by Steve Lukather, Edgar Winter, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette.