Showing posts with label RIngo Starr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RIngo Starr. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Behold. . . SIR RICHARD!


Ringo Starr receives knighthood: 'I'll wear it at breakfast'

By Mark Savage BBC Music reporter 20 March 2018



Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr receives his knighthood for services to music 

Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has been knighted for his services to music. 

The Duke of Cambridge bestowed the honour on the Liverpool-born star at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

"It means a lot actually," the musician told the BBC. "It means recognition for the things we've done. I was really pleased to accept this.

The honour comes 53 years after the Beatles were all awarded the MBE - and Starr said he had missed his bandmates' companionship this time round.
"I was a bit shaky today on my own," he said.


 


Ringo joined The Beatles in 1962, shortly after they signed their record contract

When The Beatles received their MBEs in October 1965, the occasion was not without controversy.

Rock and roll was still viewed with suspicion by the establishment and several previous honourees returned their medals in disgust.

John Lennon later claimed that the Beatles were so nervous at the idea of meeting the Queen they sneaked into a bathroom at Buckingham Palace for a cigarette.

"Who said that?" laughed the drummer after Tuesday's ceremony. "I'm not keeping that rumour going."


 


The Beatles at Buckingham Palace in 1965 (left to right): Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison

He arrived at the investiture with his wife, Barbara Bach, offering his trademark peace sign for fans and photographers.

Asked whether he wanted to be known as Sir Ringo, the musician, whose real name is Richard Starkey, replied: "I don't know yet. It's new and I don't know how you use it properly."

Turning to BBC reporter Colin Paterson, he added: "But I expect you to use it."

The 77-year-old added he knew exactly what he'd do with his medal.

"I'll be wearing it at breakfast," he joked. 





BLOGGER'S HURRAY-IT'S-ABOUT-BLOODY-TIME: This was the best news I've had in a while. I don't think people realized then - and perhaps many don't realize now - the extent to which Ringo was the glue holding the Beatles together. He had to bear being the butt of jokes about the guy who tagged along behind all those geniuses, but Ringo's beat was so much a part of their signature sound that when you listen to YouTube tracks without his drumming, they sound almost insipid. Try to imagine She Loves You without that " bompa-da-bomp!" intro, or listen to A Day in the Life again and notice how much his drumming is the "bones" of the song. He was all about loving the beat and playing within the song rather than grabbing solo bits and playing the prima donna. Now he's come full circle and is that cheerful lad from Liverpool again, the one that kept his accent and his attitude. Ringo: I loved you then, I love you now, I'll love you always.








































P. P S.: I think it's a little sad that when they run a photo of the Beatles for the BBC, they have to tell us what their names are. Time was, everyone knew, it was tattooed on our brains. But in this, I have hope. . . My kids knew every lyric of every Beatles song ever written, and they grew up in the '80s. Caitlin's best friend is a Beatlemaniac, though she can't really understand it. "God, she has every Beatles album, every Beatles poster, every Beatles t shirt and book and vintage trading card. . . " Caitlin's friend is 14, so perhaps the legend is fated to continue.

P. P. P. S.: If the BBC wants to sue me for lightly borrowing this before giving it back, well then go ahead. With the number of views I get (and I haven't even checked them for months, it's so disheartening) I don't think I am any threat to them. We'll call it "fair use" and leave it at that.



Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Ringo Starr: silent movie





The original has a different format and just won't fit, but I made a couple of really handsome longer gifs of this short video. I like what he does with the flower. Watch them while you play this song:




I loved Ringo then, and I love Ringo now. From the sad-eyed mutt of the Beatles, he has become ultra-hip and cool without being obnoxious. And he still has his lovely Liverpool accent.


[Intro]
Huh-huh! Huh-huh
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
(Aye-aye-aye-aye)

[Verse 1]
A lady that I know just came from Colombia
She smiled because I did not understand
Then she held out some marijuana, ha ha!
She said it was the best in all the land

[Chorus]
And I said
"No, no, no, no, I don't smoke it no more
I'm tired of waking up on the floor
No, thank you, please, it only makes me sneeze
And then it makes it hard to find the door"





(Ah-ah-aye-aye)

[Verse 2]
A woman that I know just came from Majorca, Spain
She smiled because I did not understand (Parazzi! Parazzi!) (Olé!)
Then she held out a ten pound bag of cocaine
She said it was the finest in the land

[Chorus]
And I said
"No, no, no, no, I don't [sniff] no more
I'm tired of waking up on the floor
No, thank you, please, it only makes me sneeze
And then it makes it hard to find the door"

[Bridge]
(Aye-aye-aye-aye)
(Aye-aye-aye-aye)
(Aye-aye-aye-aye)
(Aye-aye-aye)





[Verse 3]
A man that I know just came from Nashville, Tennessee, oh (oh no!)
He smiled because I did not understand
Then he held out some moonshine whiskey, oh ho
He said it was the best in all the land (and he wasn't joking!)

[Chorus]
And I said
"No, no, no, no, I don't drink it no more
I'm tired of waking up on the floor
No, thank you, please, it only makes me sneeze
And then it makes it hard to find the door"





Well, I said
"No, no, no, no, I can't take it no more
I'm tired of waking up on the floor

No, thank you, please, it only makes me sneeze
And then it makes it hard to find the door"

[Outro]
Hey, yeah!
"I'll just have another drink, barman, have you got a large brandy?"






Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Ringo was late to the party









































Ringo was late to the party - we all know that - but soon found his slot, or slid into it, and thus the Beatles were born. Prior to that, there was somehow a feeling that a piece was missing. Once he was on board, the whole thing exploded.

I loved Ringo first. I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show on my tenth birthday - it was their first time on the show, and nobody quite knew what the hell was going on, except that this babyfaced quartet were generating incredible excitement. Elevated on a sort of throne behind the three others was none other than Ringo Starr, the only Beatle with a made-up name, and in some ways the runt of the litter. This guaranteed that all the girls would love him best (pardon the pun!).



 

Ringo was a bit of a mutt, with a big nose and sad blue eyes. He didn't have conventional good looks like Paul, or a slashing wit like John, or spiritual gravitas like George. He was the waif. Three of the four Beatles had abandonment issues around their parents (only George had a more-or-less normal working-class childhood). Ringo's father just walked out, as did John's (and we all know what happened to John's mother). Fatherless boys can go one way or the other. But both ended up lashed onto a comet which is still streaking across the heavens, even with two members gone.





Ringo's still around, and he's hip, he is so incredibly hip! He has waited all his life to be this hip. Paul is looking fragile and has had a little work done on that sweet, slightly overripe face, but Ringo seems twenty years younger than his age. Being a Beatle, being in that world, has been an education, and his joy has survived. 




I was delighted to hear that his eldest son Zak - remember Zak? - has done not-half-badly on his own, serving as drummer for the Who - THE WHO??? Yes. Them. And you don't get those kinds of gigs handed to you because you're a Starkey. Famous Dads can even be the end of your career. You get them because you are brilliant.

Ringo's virtuosity is subtle but irresistible, a savant power that he has always had, and which has evolved. If you doubt me, try to imagine the Beatles' masterpiece, A Day in the Life, without Ringo. This is the backbone of the whole thing.  Listen to it again.




Post blogservations. My Ringo doll! Everyone had a Beatles doll back then, which you smuggled to school and kept in your desk. Mine, of course, was Ringo. I don't still have the thing (how crazy do you think I am? Don't answer that), but of course was easily able to track down a photo of one. Nothing ever goes away on the Internet.




Doesn't look much like him, but no one was prepared for the Beatles back then, for what they would become. I thought that was a hat at first - some sort of fez, or a French foreign legion thing, which wouldn't make sense, would it? But I think it's a tambourine. They couldn't stick a set of drums on him too easily.