Recently my colleague and fellow Save Madryn Street campaigner Chris Johnson asked the question “What has Ringo ever done for Liverpool”. I would like to ask the question “What has Liverpool ever done for Ringo” Before you dismiss this with a flippant remark let me state the case for the defence.
In August 1962 Ringo Starr joined The Beatles, at 22, he was a well-known and popular drummer with The Hurricanes when he was approached and asked to take over the drumming seat that had been vacated by Pete Bests sacking. The Hurricanes were a top professional band backing Rory Storm when The Beatles were still a mediocre amateur band, so it could be said that it was Ringo who was taking a chance joining The Beatles, it could have all ended in tears.
As it was it was the best decision of his young life. Ringo joined just as national and then international fame beckoned. The popularity of The Beatles meant that in 1963 the band had to move to London. At that time the only radio and television stations were based in London, as were the successful recording studios including a particular one in Abbey Road, that The Beatles would later make world famous.
At that time it still took nearly eight hours to get to London by train and it was still early days for motorways. So like so many before them The Beatles had to make a career move.
Nobody could anticipate what was going to happen to The Beatles and that nearly 50 years later The Beatles would still be the biggest selling band in the world.
Liverpool has benefited enormously from The Beatles, yet many people feel that The Beatles and Ringo Starr in particular owe their success to Liverpool and the Band should be eternally grateful, Mea Culpa.
He was born Richard Starkey in the Welsh Streets area of The Dingle, he spent the first five years of his life at number 9 Madryn Street before moving, after his parents separated and later divorced, to number 10 Admiral Grove, were he lived until the attention of fans forced him to move out.
Ringo had very little formal education due to many illnesses, including TB (Tuberculosis). It was during a two-year stay in hospital that he learnt to play the drums. He spent much of this time recuperating in hospital in Heswell on the Wirral. He was taught to read by Marie Maguire, a neighbour’s daughter. Ringo has stated that “I’m intelligent, but uneducated” When he went back to his school for a reference he discovered that as he had spent so little time there he was no longer registered at the school. The other Beatles were all Grammar school boys.
His real education was in the clubs and dance halls of Liverpool as well as his summer seasons at Butlins Holiday Camp in Pwillheli, North Wales. It was in the clubs of Hamburg were he first got to know John, Paul and George when he would occasionally sit in on the drums with them.
After the great success of The Beatles, Ringo had considerable solo success. He had two number ones in the United States; “Photograph,” co-written with George Harrison and “Your Sixteen” His biggest UK hit was “Back Off Boogaloo” which reached number 2. John Lennon only had a single number one in his lifetime “What ever gets you thru the night” His anthem “Imagine” only reached number six in the charts when it was first released. Same with George Harrison, “My Sweet Lord” being his only number one and surprisingly Paul McCartney has only had a single solo number one “Pipes of Peace” so it could be said that Ringo had the greatest Solo Chart success. Ringo has released over 20 solo albums; his 1973 album “Ringo” featured all four Beatles though not all on the same track.
Ringo also had considerable success as an actor, after displaying his talent in The Beatles films, particularly “A Hard Day’s Night” he appeared in “That’ll be the day” stealing the acting honours from David Essex and the film remains a classic to this day.
Then of course he was the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine, bringing his talent to a whole new audience, admittedly all of them under five. In the United States this became “Shining Time Station” and Ringo appeared on screen as Mr Conductor, well he couldn’t be the Fat Controller could he.
Since 1989 He has successfully toured with his All Starr Band, basically Ringo and his many musician friends having fun and playing small venues. The constantly changing line up of the All Starr Band has recently finished a tour of Canada and The United States; there are no plans at present to play Britain.
So what has Liverpool done for Ringo Starr, streets in Kensington were named after the band, not just Ringo, Kensington is always mentioned when deprived areas of Liverpool are mentioned, so not really a great honour to have a street named after you in Kensington. Did Ringo have any connection with the area? I think not.
Ringo’s first solo album was called “Sentimental Journey” and consisted of standards suggested by his family. Ringo choose The Empress pub in Dingle for the cover, with members of his family looking out of the windows and Ringo standing in the doorway. By doing this he made The Empress the most famous pub in the world at that time. It was not until the 1990s that a sign was painted on the pub acknowledging this connection, which quickly had to be repainted as his name was mis-spelt “Star”.
St Silas Primary school has also benefited from Ringo’s generosity and I have been told of other acts of generosity that I cannot confirm. So it could be argued that The Dingles most famous MBE has paid his dues.
Fourteen years after The Beatles broke up they were honoured as Freemen of the City. The presentation was arranged to coincide with the world premiere of Paul McCartney’s vanity project “Give My Regards To Broad Street” a film so terrible it was withdrawn from cinemas. Ringo Starr had a small role, along with his wife Barbara Bach, but had the good sense to miss the premiere and the Freeman presentation.
The Airport has been named after John Lennon, there is a statue of John Lennon on Mathew Street, a Peace and Harmony Memorial has recently been unveiled in honour of John Lennon at Chavasse Park. The homes of Lennon and McCartney are owned by The National Trust and are great visitor attractions. The Hard Days Night Hotel has a Lennon Suite and a McCartney Suite. Ringo misses out and so does George, LIPA, understandably has a Sir Paul McCartney Auditorium. The Beatles were a quartet, yet Liverpool is in danger of turning them into a duo. It is over nine years since George Harrison died; yet there is still nothing to honour him.
In 2007 Ringo Starr was invited to Top the Bill at the opening ceremony for Liverpool’s Capital of Culture year. We had a Beatle, the genuine article, the toppermost of the poppermost, the Yellow Submarine was sailing in. So what did we do with him, we put him in a glass box on top of St. Georges Hall were no one could see him. He had come from Los Angeles to take part in the tackiest of opening ceremonies, were the competition is pretty fierce. The only good thing that can be said about the opening ceremony is that it was better than the closing ceremony, which was just a glorified firework display.
No wonder Ringo was a tad miffed, would McCartney have been put in a glass box? Not only that but as an additional “honour” a small sports field in Dingle was hastily renamed Starr Fields, wow, Ringo must have been under whelmed, not being know for his sporting prowess to have a sports field named after him, at least Lennon spent a lot of time in airports.
Which brings me neatly to the Jonathan Dross Show, were Ringo caused outrage among the Liverpool public by daring to suggest that there was nothing to move back to Liverpool for, you would have thought that Steven Gerrard had suggested moving to Chelsea. Ringo first said that he “was close to moving back’ at the Echo Arena Show and nobody got upset. When asked by Jonathan Ross was there any thing he missed about Liverpool he answered “No” and then went on to explain that he grew up in Liverpool and his family were in Liverpool, which is no longer the case, so why would he move back.
I think the people who got upset about what Ringo said either did not watch the programme or did not understand him. Ringo did say “I had a great time, I loved it up there” but that was lost in the general uproar. He has not lived here for over forty years, his children and grandchildren live in Los Angeles and what has Liverpool got to offer him other than as a casual visitor, a tourist in fact, which is what he is these days. Everything that he knew has gone and now there is even a proposal to demolish his birthplace. How many Dingle residents would stay there if they won the lottery and Ringo won the biggest Lottery of all time so why would anyone expect him to move back.
No one I have spoken to can actually tell me what Ringo said; they just know he said some terrible things. Have we scousers lost our sense of humour? Have we had too many alternative comedians making so called jokes at our expense that we no longer recognise Ringo’s feeble attempts at humour.
My involvement in the Save Madryn Street campaign has meant that I have done a large number of television, radio and newspaper interviews. Such is the international interest in the demolition of 9 Madryn Street. I have been interviewed by people from Australia, Canada, many European countries, the United States, in fact so many countries I lost count.
Time and time again I heard the quote, when John Lennon was asked if Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world answered, “He’s not even the best drummer in The Beatle”
I am a Beatles Guide, an official Beatles Guide no less; I passed an exam conducted by The Mersey Partnership. I know many Beatle Guides, Beatle fans, Beatle journalists and writers, so I set out to establish just when John had made this “not the best drummer” remark. I asked my friends and colleagues, I checked many books and I checked on the interweb I could not find when or where or to who John made the “not the best drummer” comment. Remember everything that John said got great coverage, just think of the “more popular than Jesus” comment, so a derogatory comment about Ringo would have been great for the journalist it was made to, yet nowhere is there any solid proof that John said it.
Now I have come to the conclusion that John Lennon never made comment, it is an urban myth, like the myth that St. Georges Hall is built the wrong way round, like the myth that John Lennon was born during an air raid, he was not, yet virtually every Beatle book repeats this myth.
A frustrated John Lennon did say to a session musician who could not get the beat right “Play it like Ringo” He has recorded with some of the best musicians in the world, would he have done that if he were not the best drummer available.
Ringo is best described these days as curmudgeonly or to put it another way a grumpy old man. Well what if he is, he is 70 and as we get older we get grumpier, I am, just ask my children. It caused world news when Ringo announced on his website that he was not answering any more fan letters, which he did because of the unprecedented amount of mail he receives. His appearance on “The Simpson’s” lampooned precisely that, the fan mail. At least Ringo had the good grace to tell people he was not answering any more letters, try writing to Sir Paul and see what happens, I am told that letters to Sir Paul are just shredded.
Time and again people, practically The Blonde Banshees in The Dingle, have said that “Ritchie” using a familiarity that I am sure did not exist when he lived there or due to unrequited love, they realised too late just what they had missed, have told me that he did not care for his birthplace and even Ringo has said that he has few memories of it, he did leave when he was five so it does not matter if his birthplace is demolished. If his birthplace is demolished it removes the most tangible connection and when the planned demolition of 10 Admiral Grove is brought forward, because it is in the plans to demolish The Empress Pub and all the houses in Admiral Grove, there will be no physical connection with Ringo Starr in The Dingle or Liverpool.
Peace and Love.
"It's a Wonderful Life"
(Thu 02/12)
TURN IT DOWN.
(Thu 11/11)
Do we need another Beatles book.
(Mon 11/10)
President or Pope, who is most welcome?
(Mon 16/08)
