To call Ringo just a drummer is to clearly underestimate his merits. In the Beatles, he also sang - the famous "Yellow Submarine", for example. And even wrote songs. And when the paths of the musicians parted, he took up solo work. Perhaps he was the only one who managed to collect all the former members of the "four" on one album, when a black cat ran between them. Which is not surprising. Everyone who knows the musician assures: Ringo is a bright person. The Izvestia correspondent was convinced of this, having talked with the ex-Beatle about the upcoming anniversary.

No answer for a very long time and I'm about to hang up. Apparently, the long chain of familiar English musicians and PR agents, through which I got to Ringo Starr, did not work ... But suddenly I hear a voice with a Liverpool accent.

He is congratulated everywhere

Introducing myself, I say:

- Do you have very hot days now, of course?

I just melted,” Ringo agrees with a laugh.

He is clearly in a good mood, and how not to take advantage of it.

No comment, Ringo interrupts. They don't call me the "Wandering Beatle" for nothing. During the endless travels, I learned not to compare anyone with anyone. And don't oppose anyone.

Best of the day

Perhaps the biggest celebrations are taking place these days in Liverpool. After all, today's hero of the day was born in one of the poor neighborhoods there, and it was in this city that he became famous.

Performing with the popular local band Rory Storm & The Hurricanes ("Storm and Hurricanes"), Richard Starkey adopted the stage name Ringo Starr. And after John Lennon and Paul McCartney founded the Beatles in Liverpool in 1960, a drummer joined them.

However, almost the whole of Britain congratulates the star. And millions of Americans. They also consider Ringo their hero. For almost four decades, Starr has been living in several houses: in Los Angeles, in Monte Carlo, in the English town of Cranley in Surrey ... In the USA, several TV channels now broadcast about the legendary Liverpool player. An exhibition at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art is dedicated to him. It features a gilded drum that Ringo took to the stage with back in 1964 while touring the United States. This truly precious instrument was presented to Starr by the Chicago firm Ludwig. The exhibition will run until the end of the year.

He conquered himself

- And how do you celebrate your anniversary? - I'm interested.

I do not drink. Absolutely,” Ringo replies.

His voice sounds serious. In the seventies and eighties, the musician tirelessly attended all kinds of parties. The rampant revelry ended in 1988 with a rehabilitation center in Arizona, where he was treated for several months. Since then, Starr has not touched a glass.

What's more, he donates the lion's share of his live and album earnings to the Lotus Foundation. Ringo created this charitable organization with his wife Barbara Bach (she once played the girlfriend of 007 in one of the Bond films). Lotus Foundation helps those who are "addicted" to drugs and strong drinks.

Barbara and I, alas, know well what it is, the star admits.

He willingly "writes out prescriptions" for those who have an unhealthy psyche, exposure to stress, cravings for drugs or alcohol. The most important thing, Starr is convinced, is will, will, and more will. Having once said "no" to alcohol, the musician managed to keep his word for the rest of his life.

His second recipe is meditation. Ringo, like another former Beatle, the famous Paul McCartney, tries to meditate every day. One more thing. Fighting the disease, the drummer always remembered that he was wearing the legacy of the Beatles, and he had no right to disgrace himself. Of course, not everyone has huge fame behind them, but you need to find something in yourself that will support you in a difficult moment, Ringo is sure.

In many ways, I had to start from scratch. I learned to live again, he said.

"I still have strength"

- And how do you like the gift that you made to yourself for your seventieth birthday - the album Y Not? I ask. - Critics call it your best work.

Again, I will not compare, - Ringo objects. And he adds: - Maybe my best work is yet to come. But I'm happy with this gift.

- What is now in your creative program?

I don't want to look too far ahead,” Starr snaps.

Then I decide on a daring question:

- Do you feel the burden of years?

The drummer replies without the slightest offense:

When I was a Beatle, fifty-year-olds and especially sixty-year-olds seemed to me like ancient fossils. And now I'm far ahead of them ... But my head is still at the age of twenty.

- If John Lennon and George Harrison were alive, would you, like most of today's rock veterans, go on a reunion tour?

Hardly. And even if we decided on this, it would not be because of the money. Except for charity. After all, we have given up many hundreds of millions of dollars. However, I don’t think we would have persuaded John for any money.

I have long "overfulfilled the plan" on questions, nevertheless I continue to torture my interlocutor:

- A few years ago at the Dorchester Hotel in London, you told me about your trips around the world. And then they noticed that you are best where you feel spiritual comfort. But no specific location was named.

You stubbornly persuade me to confront! - exclaims the star. Why name something? I'll tell you about the most important thing. From the 1960s I began to search for God. And now he is firmly in my soul.

- You were the first of the "Beatles" to perform in Moscow, and in Russia you are well known and loved. The readers of Izvestia send you their warmest congratulations!

And give them my big thanks. I remember Moscow. You have amazing audiences! Who knows, maybe I'll come back to you? I still have the strength to remain a "wandering beatle".

And Ringo laughs merrily again.

"Each of us brought something of our own to the group ... Paul was the face, I was the brains, George, with his mysticism, and Ringo was the heart," John Lennon once said, and the best characteristic for Ringo Starr is the drummer the famous Liverpool Four - it's impossible to come up with. Ringo, in the opinion of all specialists in the history of the Beatles, was indeed, if not the heart of the group, then the link that made such different characters hold together: the melancholy Harrison, the sweet-voiced McCartney and the caustic Lennon.

And here he is, a living legend, "one of the Beatles, just a few meters from me. "Hi, Nikolai," he holds out a dry, strong hand for a handshake, "it's nice to see you in London. Let's go to another room, otherwise there is a terrible sound. You won't understand what I'm saying here."

Knowing in advance that Mr. Ringo Starr is not very fond of questions about the Beatles, I start asking about today.

Your latest album is called "Vertical Man". What does it mean?

It is about people who stand firmly on their feet. You know, many musicians start drinking and using drugs, supposedly drawing inspiration from them. I went through it, I was just in a horizontal position for a long time (Starr gestures with his hand, imitating movement down an inclined plane), so the album is about healthy people standing firmly on their feet (repeating this, he jumps up with unexpected agility for his 58 years from behind the table and shows what a person looks like standing firmly on his feet).

A lot of time has passed since the release of the last album. Than you
are you doing? How is your life going in general?

I go to the cinema, to friends for dinner, invite them to my place, make music, paint pictures. Well, ordinary life.

A famous person like you is always in the media's eye, but they say you don't like journalists. What caused it?

No, I love them, and if I release a record or do a tour, I communicate with them. And if I refuse, it means that there is simply nothing to say: nothing happens. What can I tell them: that I got up this morning, shaved, had breakfast?

Your old friends helped you to record "Upright Man": Harrison on guitar, McCartney sings. Did you record together like before?

With Paul - yes, we recorded in his studio. George was only sent the tapes, he overdubbed his part alone.

Have George and Paul changed - I mean not externally, of course, but internally ...

Yes, my friends and I also try to lead a healthy lifestyle now. Became vegetarians, go in for sports. That is, we are trying to be healthy people, so as not to look like buns. This is the main difference from how we used to live.

In what style is your new album recorded? Does it have something from modern youth music?

No. It's pop rock and roll. I don't think it's music for young people because it's too relaxing. Youth music is (he taps rhythm on the table) and mine (Mr. Ringo Starr begins to drum slower) is like this. I don't think young people will listen to her.

Do you now drink or smoke?

No, I haven't drunk in ten years. I also quit smoking. But it's really hard not to quit, but to keep from falling back into the habit of smoking three packs a day again.

When answering journalists' questions, you most of all like to talk about your children.

But these are my children! And then - this happens not because I like to talk about them, but because you journalists like to ask me about it. These are two big differences.

However, how did you manage to avoid the problems that many celebrities face: parenting problems, character problems, alcohol, sexual scandals, etc.?

I did a lot to ensure that they develop in the right direction. Now I am proud of them: my sons have chosen the same profession as me. They play drums, and the daughter is just starting her career in this business.

Some parents keep their children in tight rein, others pamper them. And how did you act?

I - pampered. But at the same time, he was a strict father. And they still have to do what I tell them... But for that I can buy them a Rolls-Royce (and laughter shakes the room).

Today you have real estate in three places: three months you live in London, four - in Los Angeles, five - in Monaco. Why?

In general, I prefer to live in Monaco. It's great there, every morning I go to the market for vegetables and fruits. In London I have a house where my children live, and in America I have a house where Barbara lives. I appreciate the fact that I have such an opportunity in my life - to have three houses.

Aside from your drinking problems, you weren't involved in the usual rock star sex scandals.

I'm lucky.

And how do you feel about the statement that a creative person always draws energy from sex, moreover, the younger the partner, the better? You've been living with the same woman for so many years now.

That's not mine. I'm just happy with my Barbara. When I was 20 years old, then yes, I was fond of sex. But then I got married, had children, then got married again. And it turned out to be enough for me ... Maybe I just wasn't born a playboy (laughs).

You've lived a long life, you know what it's like to be a simple working guy, how it feels to be a crazy rock musician, and what a millionaire's day is all about. Tell me: what does a person need to be happy?

Usually people themselves do not know, do not even assume what they need for this. Very often they think that they need a big house or an expensive car. But in fact, they just need to wake up in the morning, go to work and do what they like to do. And that is true happiness. In any case, for me it is.

Do you believe in fate, in predestination?

Yes, and reincarnation.

And that what happened to you was not an accident?

Yes, there are too many coincidences and small episodes that, adding up in a chain, led to everything that happened to us ... Like, for example, that we were all from the same city, that we met in Hamburg, that I was asked to play one night , and now I've been playing all my life ... Too many coincidences ...

Tell me, is it true that once you flew to the Union to perform a concert, but at the last moment you were forbidden to perform, and the song "Back In The USSR" was born?

I don't remember this.

And finally, answer this question: why did the Beatles break up after all? Blame the money, the managers, the woman?

No. Yoko Ono has nothing to do with it. It’s just that we were already under thirty, we got older, we had families, and we didn’t have the energy that we had at 20 and that is needed for the group to exist. We have matured: we were young men, but we became men. It often happens in life: with age, many things change.

Richard Starkey was born on July 7, 1940 in Dingle, one of the poorest areas of Liverpool. When he was three years old, his father left the family, and Richard was raised only by his mother. She remarried only 10 years later. In first grade, Richard had a purulent appendicitis rupture that caused inflammation of the peritoneum and other complications. After two surgeries and over a year in the hospital, he returned to school but began to fall behind academically. At the age of 13, Richard fell ill again, his cold turned into pneumonia, and he had to spend two long years in the hospital. After returning from the hospital, his more than formal schooling ended; Richard began working as a messenger for the railroad. Later, he changed several more low-paying jobs, until he finally settled in the Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, where he decided to devote himself to music as his main profession. In the same period, he took the pseudonym Ringo Starr.

It doesn't make sense now to go into detail about why Beatles manager Brian Epstein wanted Ringo to replace Pete Best, the band's former drummer. This happened in August 1962. Later, when the Beatles became popular all over the world, Ringo participated in the creation of all the albums of the group and starred in their films, the most famous of which was "A Hard Day's Night." and Help. After the official breakup of the group in 1970, Ringo began releasing solo albums: "Sentimental Journey", "Beaucoups of Blues", "Ringo" and others. Some songs from these albums became hits. He continued to act in films. Here are some films with his participation: "Candy", "The Magic Christian", "Lisztomania", "Sextette", "200 Motels" by Frank Zappa. During the filming of the film "Caveman", where Ringo played the main role, he met actress Barbara Bach. Soon, in the spring of 1984, they got married. Both stood before the altar for the second time, already having several children in their first marriage.

During a phone conversation that preceded the interview, Ringo warned that he didn't know much about drums, but talking to him was like meeting one of the most central drummers in music history, who inspired many to get on the set. Fellow journalists warned me not to ask Ringo about the past and the Beatles, as he does not like to talk about it. But thanks to the help of Jim Keltner (session drummer from the USA - approx. site - forum of drummers), Ringo not only agreed to give an interview, but also willingly spoke about the Beatles and his role in the group, shared his memories and refuted many common legends.

We met on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the garden of the house he rents in Beverly Hills.

Why percussion?

My grandparents were very musical people, they played the mandolin and banjo. We had a piano at home, which I used to strum with all my might when I was little. I was the only child in the family and, moreover, I was often sick, and my mother allowed me everything. I went to take piano lessons, but I didn't learn much. When I was seven years old, my grandfather bought me a harmonica. In the game on it, I also did not achieve great success. A similar story was repeated with the banjo. However, from an early age, I had a warm relationship with the drums. When I was 13 years old and I was in the hospital, I was constantly busy beating the rhythm on the bedside table. So that we would not get bored too much, a special band of percussionists came to the hospital once a week. They made music with us, when they showed a green note to play a drum, a yellow one - a cymbal or a triangle, and stuff like that.

When I was discharged, the only musical instrument I missed was the drum. I needed an instrument to play in a band, and at the age of sixteen I bought myself a bass drum for three dollars and cut sticks out of logs. I played it for the entertainment of the neighbors. Of course, I didn’t know how to play and just knocked. Then I made myself a setup out of tin cans. Flat tins played the role of plates, medium is small, and deep tins are tom-toms.

My stepfather Harry Graves was from the South of England and we are from the North. One Christmas he went to his relatives. One of his uncles was selling a drum kit for £12, about $30 at the time. It was a great old rig and my stepfather bought it for me. I received it in January 1958.

Was it a custom setup?

No, it was made up of different parts. I had two main problems with this setup. Firstly, I didn't have a car to transport it, and secondly, I didn't have a band where I could play. I solved the second problem a month later. In February, I was accepted into the group, although I did not know how to play. However, at that time no one really knew how to play. Everyone was just getting started. Those were the skiffle days.

What was the name of this group?

They were called the Eddie Clayton Skiffle group. My neighbor played the guitar in it, another friend played the double bass made from a large tin tea box. We played skiffle songs like "Hey Lidy Lidy Lo". Mostly we played for the factory workers during their lunch break. Then everything is easier - if you have an instrument, then you are a welcome member of the team. Whether you can play or not, it didn't matter. I was the worst of all, because we went to concerts mostly by bus, and I could not drag the whole set with me. Later we began to perform more often. We played anywhere and, of course, for free. We played wherever they were waiting for us. We did not have well-rehearsed songs, and most importantly, we did not feel the rhythm. Thus, each number began with a count - one, two, three, four, the rhythm increased, like a train moving with acceleration. We played faster and faster, and people were jumping on the floor like fleas and shouting to us - "Hey, you slow down the rhythm, can't you play slower? ..", and we played further like clockwork, and they jumped without rest like fleas. We performed a lot. Back then I didn't need a full drum kit, but I always dreamed of playing one...

When the dream came true, I put it in the bedroom and said to myself like a real professional - "So, from today I will rehearse regularly." This was my only rehearsal, because within a minute the neighbors began to shout - "Get out into the woods and knock there!" From that day on, I never practiced again. The only thing for me is playing with a band on stage.

Which drummer was a role model?

The only record I had with a drum kit sound was Cozy Cole's "Topsy". I liked Gene Krupa, but I didn't buy his records. They were drummers with an emphasis on the powerful sound of toms. I've always liked the depth of toms.

You have always used volumes more than many others.

Yes, and besides, I usually had a deep snare drum. But I never studied other drummers, was not interested in them and did not play solo. I hate drum solos. I always wanted to be a drummer in a band, not a soloist. The longest solo I've ever played was no more than 13 bars long.

What was your first professional performance like?

Once we were offered 10 shillings each for a performance. Then it was equal to one and a half dollars. However, by the end of the evening, the customer was so drunk that we were not paid anything again. We were terribly upset, but still it was our first professional performance. Back in Eddie Clayton's group, we participated in various competitions and even won several. Over time, we began to play for money, but continued to work at the factory.

I played in various skiffle bands until I ended up in Rory Storm's band, which was also basically a skiffle band but was starting to lean towards rock 'n' roll. We were the first band to be kicked out of the Cave Club for playing rock 'n' roll, since it was a jazz club at the time.

Our lead guitarist was bringing a radio to the stage, it was his amplifier. He attached a guitar to it and soon we became too fatal for a jazz club and they asked us to go there.

And when did you get into Rory Storm's band?

In 1959. The next year we decided to leave our factory work and devote ourselves to music.

This was a rather fundamental decision, since musicians, especially at that time, were paid a little.

Yes, it was a fundamental decision, but it was exactly what I always dreamed of. Relatives said - "It's good as a hobby, but hold on to work." I, perhaps, would have been glad to obey, but I took up what happened to me in life.

We decided to play at a summer camp in Butlin. People came there for a two-week vacation. And so, when we became professionals, we bought ourselves red suits, the same shoes and all that. We also decided that we need to change the names, because in show business there should be sonorous names. It was very cool, a person could take a name for himself, whatever he wanted. So our guitarist changed his name to Johnny Guitar and although we were all English, we gave ourselves cowboy names like Ty Hardin, Lou O. Brian, Rory Storm and Ringo Starr. My pseudonym was, of course, connected with the rings that I was already wearing back then.

Why were you so passionate about the Wild West?

English teenagers deified cowboys, their leather clothes and black gloves. But let's get back to the topic of conversation. We performed for hours on end, and so everyone sang. Each of us had several solo numbers. The guitarist had a lot of instrumental, solo compositions in stock, then the vocalist entered. I also sang a few things. Not only "Star Time", but also "Twist Again", "Hally Gally", the Ray Charles song "Sticks And Stones" and a few others.

So, have you really never played solo anywhere?

Never played, never should have, never wanted to from the start. At summer camp, we played at the Rockin' Calipso restaurant. The best time was on a Sunday evening. Besides us, the Happy Travelers jazz band played there. They had a marching bass drum, trumpet and clarinet. They usually went They played around the streets of London and one of them collected money in a hat. They were quite popular. When our performances ended in the evening, everything ended with a traditional drum solo. I called the musician with the bass drum of this jazz band and he beat out the rhythm - boom Boom Boom.

Was there rock and roll in England then?

Rock and roll and Elvis it was something great. I'm talking about 1959 - 1960, when we went from skiffle to rock. All of a sudden we got amplifiers and started playing other songs. Rock and roll became my direction. Drummers and musicians were generally divided into jazzmen and rockers. We met in cafes and I was annoyed by guys who wanted to play jazz. I liked the tight rock sound of drums.

Were you a big fan of everything drum-related at the time?

No, I was a rock fan and my instrument was a drum kit. I wanted all drummers to play rock. There was a lot more emotion in rock than in jazz. I once spent a whole week listening to jazz. I had enough. But rock never bored me. I always felt good with him.

When did you first cross paths with the Beatles?

I played with Rory for less than two years, 18 months. We played with the Beatles on the same venues, and our group was usually the first number of the program. In addition to us, many different groups performed, among them were the Beatles. This is the only group I went to listen to. Even then they were very good.

One morning, when I was still in bed, and I didn't like to get up early, because I had a night life, there was a knock on the door, and Brian Epstein came into the room. He said, "How about playing this afternoon with the Beatles at the Cave?" To which I replied - "Well, I'll just get out of bed." I played with the Beatles then, and it was just great. The band seemed great to me, and it was an extraordinary pleasure for me to play with them.

Were the Beatles different from other bands?

Yes, they performed more interesting songs. Then they had few own compositions, and they sang a lot of old songs. "The Shirelles*, Chuck" and Berry* stuff did it really well. They had an amazingly attractive style. There was something special about these guys. I don't want to offend Pete Best, but I never thought he was a great drummer. He owned only one style, which, however, suited them at that time, but they themselves decided that they needed something else. I played with them that day, came home and went back to bed.

Although it was the first time, we all knew each other well. We met back in West Germany, where our band and the Beatles performed at the same time. But we didn't play together. There was a lot of competition and we played 12 hours a day on weekends. Two more bands played with us, and it attracted the audience. Usually at 4 or 5 in the morning, when the Beatles were still playing, I would sit and listen to them. Sometimes I asked them to play something sentimental and they did. The Beatles performed in one club, we in another, but they usually finished at the same time. Then we became friends, but we never played together. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Brian came and asked me to play with them.

Maybe it was some kind of audition for you?

No, Pete Best got sick and they asked Brian to call me. I came and played with them. And that's it. Another five or six months passed, during which I played with them once every two weeks. Then there were offers to join the group. I said I didn't mind and went off with Rory to play at summer camp because those three months paid well and you could play whatever you wanted. Five weeks later, Brian called and officially offered to join the Beatles. I told him, “Yes, with pleasure. But when? I have to play with Rory for another six weeks and would not want to let them down.” As a result, they agreed on the option that I would join later, when Rory would find a replacement for me.

Why did you still decide to go to the Beatles, because both groups were constantly in poverty?

I decided that it is better to live in poverty in the group that you prefer. I felt that the Beatles were better. In fact, we were not so poor. Our earnings were small, but quite sufficient to live on. The Beatles had something different, they progressed dramatically. And I also loved them very much. It was clear to me that this band was better than the one where I played. And besides, I did my best with Rory. They have already begun to repeat themselves. And in general, the time has come to change the group. And I liked the guys from the Beatles and their music.

Later, all the local press reported about it. Unrest began. As long as I played with them occasionally, no one cared. And suddenly I became a drummer for the Beatles. Pete Best had a lot of fans, I was also known in Liverpool for several years, and I had my own fans. Verbal battles broke out at concerts - "Ringo - never, Pete - forever!" or "Pete - never, Ringo - forever!". But over time, everything calmed down, and soon we left to record our first single.

I don't know for sure, but they say that one of the reasons Pete was kicked out of the band was music producer George Martin, who didn't like Pete's playing. But when we got to the studio, he didn't like me either, and he brought in professional drummer Andy White. Ten years later, George confessed to me that he regretted it. I played on all subsequent records. But not at the first one, a professional drummer was invited to it.

As far as I know, there are two versions of the first "Love Me Do" record. Andy White plays on one and you on the other.

Yes, you are right, there are two versions. I play on the record that was included in the album, and he is on the single. It's hard to catch the difference, because I played his part in his manner, that's how they wanted it.

I heard Martin put a tambourine in your hand during the recording.

Yes, and besides, he told me to get out of sight. I had to obey. Back then, releasing a record meant a lot to us.

A person, in the end, must feel the material side of his talent. And so the exciting time of records began - our first singles. When we hit the top fifty on the hit list, we celebrated it somewhere. When we climbed up to the fourteenth place, we also celebrated it. We knew about every broadcast of our song on the radio and listened to it in the car or at someone's house. During those three minutes we didn't even move. And soon we received the first gold record - the first at the top of the hit parade.

But soon all this began to bother. This is how it usually happens in everything when you have one after another five singles in the charts, in the first places and as many gold discs as you can carry. And so exciting, as it was with the first disc, it never happened again. Something similar happens when you start eating cakes. Great at first, but then you get used to it.

When the producer brought in a studio drummer, I felt like a beaten dog. However, the record came out, took its place, and since then, on all the other records, only I played in my "stupid" style. A lot of people said about my style of playing - "It's a stupid (silly) game."

Who spoke?

Everyone said something like - "Stupid way to play with fills."

And this despite the fact that for many it will become a model of the game.

We didn't know it then. Everyone shouted at me that I can't play. They didn't understand that it was my style.

You preferred to play a lot of toms.

It was my style. I still don't know how to play fractions, and I start with the left, when most drummers do it with the right. Maybe it's strange, but it was my style. Also, I don't play low, high, middle, and floor toms in sequence. I play differently. All this formed my style, but it was the only thing I could do. When I came to America and met Keltner and other drummers, they told me that they no longer wanted to go to the studio, because they were required to play like me. It was very nice for my "ego" - finally it turned out that my style of playing was not so stupid.

How did it happen that later on, George Martin allowed you to play the second record?

Perhaps he thought that I was out of my mind and that it would be easier not to touch me. The only song recorded without me is Back to Ussr where Paul played because I was away. I was told that my game was in order, but my work was not highly appreciated.

In those days, the drums were like a separate part. Always ahead were the guitarist, bassist and, of course, the vocalist. The drummer was not held in high esteem.

Yes, you are right, but I wanted to be respected.

It was you who helped change this situation. You were the first drummer to gain great fame.

For example, Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones, and still a great drummer, plays fills even less than me. I don't think there is a need for fills when the soloist sings. It makes it hard to listen to him. When the soloist stops singing, then please. I had two rules - do not rehearse and play consistently when the singer is the soloist. It goes without saying that you can raise and lower the tone a little, but not bring it down.

Ringo Starr & George Harrison It Don't Come Easy

Let's get back to the records. How much creative space you had, and how much George Martin dictated to you.

In the beginning, George Martin dictated some things, but that was until John and Paul finally established themselves as composers. As for me, there were always three failed drummers nearby. Each of them, for some unknown reason, wanted to be a drummer. John, Paul and George knew how to play, but monotonously. I don't remember exactly, but I think I had discussions with John about this type, he played me some record and said dryly - "That's about how you need to play." And I explained to him - "John, there are two drummers playing here", but of course he did not believe me. They played me a record with two drummers, and everyone had their own idea of ​​how to play, and I had my own. Finally I combined my playing style with theirs and with the sound of these two drummers on the record. They got what they wanted. As a matter of fact, the biggest benefit to me was the long hours on the drum set in West Germany, where I played the most. There I developed my own style, which I still play now, although I have never played the same way in the same place, the same song. Now I do many things not quite the same as before, but still similar.

We played and made records and were kind of free creative rockers in our own way, but it was all more monolithic than in psychedelic rock. Two of us were established music writers, we recorded their songs, and it was creative work, not free jam sessions.

In 1968, I bought a drum kit with calfskin heads, which changed a lot of things for me. During concert tours we thanked God that plastic drum heads were invented, because leather ones could not be used outdoors, in wet and rainy weather. But since 1966 we have been constantly working in the studio, where there was a constant temperature and humidity. Here I could play drums with leather membranes. But I wouldn't be able to do it outdoors. When we played two days in a row in Passadena and in Denver, on the first night the membrane almost burst from tension, and on the second it was soaked with water and sagged. The drums were always out of tune, and a special person had to constantly tune them. So we can say that membranes made of artificial materials were literally sent down to us by heaven itself for the period of concerts. However, for studio work I used calfskin membranes.

What other album did you start using them on?

During the recording of "Abbey Road".

Why Ludwig? Have other companies offered you their installations?

Yes, some suggested, but I liked Ludwig drums more. Premier seemed too heavy for me, and Gretsch too fast, but Ludwig had the right tone for me and, in addition, they suited my style more.

Before that, I had a machine that my stepfather bought me for 12 pounds. Great old setup, but old fashioned. I started playing with the band at the age of 18 and, in my stupidity, I then thought that I needed a new set. I bought myself drums from the English company Ajax. The setup was black and cost me £47. In addition, they gave me drumsticks. It was a "buy and play" setup.

When I was already in the Beatles, the guys got themselves new instruments. And I also wanted a fresh install. I chose the brand Ludwig. They provided me with free installations in different cities of our tours. On stage, I played a mini-rig. She was not very well heard, but I was behind her, it was better to see, since I am not tall.

As a matter of fact, at that time it was absolutely all the same how you played at concerts. Is not it?

Naturally. That's why we ended the concert performances.

The Beatles- She Loves You (1963 Live)

George Harrison once said that the Beatles were a means for people to release the accumulated adrenaline. You four must have been very impressed with what was going on around you.

People bought our records, and at concerts they yelled and squealed that after four years I was already playing at concerts without any effort, because no one heard anything anyway. In this unceasing noise, I could hardly keep the rhythm. If you look at the documentary footage of those years, you will notice that I literally do not take my eyes off the mouths of the singing guys. From the movements of the lips, I guessed what part of the song we were in, because the sound of the speakers was not audible. Gradually we became bad musicians. We often talked about this. Wherever and however we played, the result was almost the same. The reviews for our gigs were always the same, even if we played badly, and there was nothing to be done about it, so there was no point in performing from the stage anymore, and we plunged headlong into the studio work.

There has never been such a reaction to music before. I myself can serve as an example, for I too succumbed to this atmosphere of hysteria. And even now I can't understand it.

The media contributed to this, or it was all the fault of that crazy time.

So, on stage, you could only determine the place in the song by their mouths?

Well, yes, otherwise I wouldn't know what place we play, but I had to keep the rhythm. And only later, in the studio, we were able to start playing decently again. On the open stage, we performed, basically, all the same constant 12 songs. The concert lasted about half an hour. It's probably funny now that, for example, Bruce Springsteen has been on stage for over four hours. These are the best concerts I have seen in the last ten years. I recently listened to it for two hours and that was enough for me. Now each group plays for at least an hour and a half. Bruce is unique, he plays twice as long. Our performances lasted half an hour, but if we were not in the mood, we cut the time and played the program in 25 minutes. We were fed up with live performances, and so we dug into the studio for many months. We started playing well again and experimenting with different studio gear that now seems as primitive as Mickey Mouse.

Eight-track recording was a great achievement at the time.

Yes, we did not have it, by the way. And we really needed it, since we recorded the entire "Sergeant ..." on two four-track tape recorders. The result was a double four-track recording. The EMI studio was technically good, with excellent studio technicians and electronic wizards. When the recording goes to two tape recorders, then everything is mixed, losses are inevitable. However, at that time the losses were practically zero, since we had highly qualified technicians. And listeners usually perceive the record as they hear it from the record.

How did you perceive this sound?

It was a huge amount of work on the tracks that we recorded. And it was amazing work. Let's say we were running the sound through the Hammond speakers, we were running the sound of the guitar on the tape backwards and generally doing all sorts of things like that. We have reached the stage of experimental insanity. And at the same time, they were versions of the same song. Although we still played our music, we didn't do that kind of stuff before.

At the same time, you had to understand that you could never recreate it on stage.

First of all, we knew that we would never return to the stage. Even if we wanted to play "Sergeant..." in concert, we would have to carry a whole orchestra with us. But none of us had the slightest desire to give concerts. We just wanted to make records. The sonic possibilities we found were enormous. But later the band broke up and after a long period of working in the same band, I finally got the opportunity to work with such different and interesting musicians as Leon Russel, Stephen Stills, B.B. King and Howling Wolf. And it was great.

Did you have a desire to leave the Beatles or try yourself somewhere else?

No never. I liked everything. I wouldn't want to play anywhere else. I played a bit with Jackie Lomax and a few others. But when the band broke up, I started playing with a lot of people. In 1970, every musician in England wanted to make a record. And I've helped a lot of people record, like I've done with Jim Webb and Harry Nilsson.

Rumor has it that after the band broke up, you wanted to quit drumming.

It wasn't like I didn't want to play anymore, but I really didn't know what to do with my life. I've been playing in the same band for so long - and suddenly it's all over. I was sitting at home and did not know what to do next. I was neither a producer nor a composer.

Let's go back some time in the past, to the time of the recording of "White Album". I read that during its recording you left the band for a week.

For two weeks. I suddenly felt that I was no longer part of the group. The other three were very close, and I dropped out of their company. Because of this feeling of inferiority, I could no longer play well. Then I went to John, knocked on the door and said - "Buddy, I'm leaving the group. All three of you, as a whole, and I'm all by." To which he answered me - "I thought it was you three who are close, but I'm superfluous." After that, I visited Paul and told him - "I'm leaving. I'm playing badly because you three are pulling everything yourself, and I'm falling out of your circle." To this he answered me - "I thought that it was you three who were pulling, but I fell out." I answered him - "In short, I don't know which of us is superfluous, but I'm taking a vacation." And I went to Sardinia for two weeks to clear my head a bit. During this time they recorded "Back In USSR" without me. Then I returned and the recording of the "White Album" continued. In my opinion, this album is better than "Sergeant ...".

Why do you think so?

On this album, we feel more like a single band. On "Sergeant..." we're like studio hired musicians with an orchestra and tons of sound effects. This is, of course, a joke. But I've always liked it better when we sound like a whole band, and that only showed up again on the "White Album". Since it was a double album, there was more than enough information for many listeners. This record, "Abbey Road" and "Rubber Soul" were our best records.

Your music has become more and more complex. Surely, you personally were required to play more complex compositions.

I don't think the "White Album" is harder, but I enjoyed it more than "Sergeant...", which is definitely not easier. Initially, "Sergeant" was planned as a whole musical show. But the idea was not fully realized, we recorded only two tracks in the form of a performance, and the rest as a regular album.

Show in the sense of a concept album or a show that you can take on the road?

The concept of the album is a show where the tracks smoothly transition into each other, accompanied by applause from the grateful audience. But we quickly got bored with it and continued recording as a normal album. There were no previous tricks on the "White Album", it was supposed to bring us together as a single group, which, by the way, succeeded and it was great.

I read that Paul had a big problem with your drumming during the recording of the "White Album", just before you left the band for two weeks and that this was the main reason for your departure.

No, I left for the very reason I have already told you about. I had to leave to clear my head. During my absence, I received a telegram from John saying "to the best rock and roll drummer in the world" and when I reappeared, George decorated the entire studio with flowers. Maybe that pissed Paul off. However, he never told me about it. And there's never been anything like "That's not good" or anything like that. I don't know how this gossip originated.

At least I haven't read about it anywhere (laughter). And I've read a lot of rumours. I was especially amused by one about a drummer from New York, who claimed that he played drums on all our songs. You should not pay attention to all this. A certain drummer wanted to become famous by claiming that he played with the Beatles on all the records, and I did not on any. The question is, what did I do with them in this case.

In the studio, the main role was assigned to Paul and John?

These were their songs.

And how did it all happen? Could you take us through the stages of how the songs came about?

Let's say one of us said - "I have such a sketch." In the early years, Paul and John did not write together. Sometimes it all started as a joint improvisation. Someone added a piece of text to the existing version. For example, "Helter Skelter" was pure improvisation. Or "Birthday", which at the time of its appearance in the studio did not even exist. Often they only had a version of the song and the chorus, and then they finished it in the studio. Or one of them proposed a text and, if the other agreed, it remained unchanged. If one of the guys had a good idea, or the girls who made tea for us came up with something, then this also went into business. Opportunities were open to everyone. If someone had a more interesting text, then it was used. It didn't matter who came up with it. No one emphasized later - "I came up with this place." Of course, this was not always the case. 90% of their songs were already designed, but they were not always worked out musically, and we were not always able to play what we had planned. "Birthday" is one such exception. "You Say It" s Your Birthday .... Remember?

So we went to Paul's house to make a rock 'n' roll song, because at that time he got into Little Richard again. Paul began to play some chords that got louder and louder. On the floor lay some kind of newspaper, which reported on someone's birthday. Paul started humming these lines and we picked up. That's how the song came about. No one had any idea beforehand. We went back to the studio, I sat down at the kit, the others took the guitars, and we immediately recorded "Birthday".

If the song is already written, then at first it was played on the piano, then several changes were collectively made. Anyone could do it, the authors were very open to new ideas. If these ideas worked, then everyone quickly accepted them.

"Is Ringo Starr the best drummer in the world?" - John Lennon sarcastically quoted the news printed in one of the magazines. "He's not even the Beatles' best drummer," was Lennon's predictably quick and witty response.

Despite everything, Ringo, according to many specialists in the history of the Beatles, really was, if not the heart of the group, then the link that makes such different characters hold together: the melancholy Harrison, the sweet-voiced McCartney and the caustic Lennon.

“Each of us brought something of our own to the group ... Paul was the face, I was the brain, George, with his mysticism, was the spirit, and Ringo was the heart,” said John Lennon once. we would not have had such a success," and it is impossible to think of a better description for Ringo Starr - the drummer of the famous Liverpool four.

A less talented drummer might not have been able to hold the band together during the important early sessions, while a more technically gifted drummer might have swamped their new style and sound. The search for Ringo Starr was never easy, but the band suffered as an itinerant band of guitarists with no permanent drummer. "We set the rhythm with the guitar," Lennon quipped when asked about the absence of a drummer.

Half a century ago, on August 18, 1962, Ringo Starr officially replaced Pete Best on drums for one of Liverpool's most popular bands, The Beatles. His arrival in the group was preceded by certain events.

Colin Hanton Colin Hanton

The original drummer for Lennon's Quarry Men, Hunton had the distinction of being the first rhythm drummer for John, Paul and George on stage and in the recording studio.

Two years older than Lennon, Hunton had already left school and was an apprentice in an upholstery shop. His main asset was owning a new set of drums. And, although Hunton admitted that he plays unprofessionally, he was nevertheless invited to the Quarrymen - it was an honor to have a drummer at that time: it already made it possible to perform early rock and roll.

While serving as the band's drummer, Hunton witnessed the change of several floating members of the Quarry Men and the arrival of future members of the Beatles: Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

Hunton was sitting at the drum set, and on the day July 6, 1957, when Paul McCartney first heard the band in the garden of St. Petra in Liverpool's Woolton area.

Colin drummed for the band at the earliest known recording of the Quarrymen in 1958 in Liverpool, when Buddy Holly's "That'll Be the Day" and McCartney and Harrison's "In Spite of All the Danger" were recorded.

Colin played with the Quarrymen until the band's ill-fated, infamous performance at the Pavilion Theater in Lodge Lane in 1959. During this performance, all the members of the Quarrymen got terribly drunk and a quarrel broke out forever divorced Colin and the rest of the guys.

Having somehow met John, Colin learned from him that the group had a new drummer - Pete Best. The drums were removed to the far corner of the pantry and saw the light again only in 1995 at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of St. Peter's Church! And in 1997, Colin joined the new Quarrymen with his drums.

The inclusion of "In Spite of All the Danger" in Anthology 1 in 1995 ensures that Hanton eventually played drums on the Beatles album.

With the departure of Hunton, the Quarry Men / Johnny and the Moondogs entered the most inactive period of their musical career.

Ken Wood

August 29, 1959 in the Liverpool area of ​​West Derby opened the club "Casbah" ("Casbah"). On the first evening - at the opening of the club - along with John, Paul, George and Stuart Sutcliffe, Ken Wood from the disbanded "Les Stuart's Quartet" ensemble, in which George Harrison played for a short time (in 1958), played drums. The owner of the club "Casbah" was Mona Best - the mother of Pete Best.

Tommy Moore (Tommy Moore)

Tommy Moore was recruited by The Silver Beetles by their manager Alan Williams in May 1960. According to contemporaries, Moore was a solid and capable drummer, who perfectly mastered his drum kit. Moore worked at a glass factory as a forklift driver and was much older than the rest of the group, while looking like an old man next to them.

At this time, at Alan Williams' Blue Angel club, London-based entrepreneur Larry Parnes was selecting bands for Johnny-Gentle's Northern Scotland tour. The best Liverpool bands performed at the audition - "Rory Storm and The Hurricanes", "Cass and The Casanovas", "Derry and The Seniors". We decided to try our luck and the Silver Beatles. But at the appointed time, Tommy Moore did not appear for the audition. The guys were rescued by Johnny Hutchinson from the group "Cass and the Casanovas", whom Alan Williams persuaded to sit down at the drums. Parnes didn't like the Beatles any more than the others, but he chose them because they alone didn't demand more than a modest amount of touring fees. The Silver Beatles went on tour in Scotland with drummer Tommy Moore.

The tour was successful, but without triumph. On the way back, the van in which the musicians were driving (driven by Johnny Gentle himself) crashed into a parked car, and the drums, along with cymbals and microphone stands, fell from a shelf onto a sleeping Tommy Moore. Having received a lot of abrasions, a concussion and having lost his front teeth, he decided to quit the stage and returned to the factory. The drum set remained with the Beatles. Moore subsequently undertook another gig with the band (before leaving for Germany with Pete Best) as drummer in August 1960.

Hutchinson, also known as Johnny Hutch, was the drummer for Cass and the Casanovas when he replaced Tommy Moore in an audition for Larry Parnes and was considered one of Liverpool's top three drummers at the time.

Far from a fan of the Silver Beatles, Hutchinson, possessing an imposing figure and allegedly "intimidating" John Lennon himself, declared: "... they (the Silver Beatles) do not deserve attention and are a bunch of poseurs."

After Cass decided to go solo in January 1961, Cass and the Casanovas disbanded. With the three of them left, Barber, Gustafson and Hutchinson took on the name "BIG THREE" (because they were all six feet tall) and continued to perform. Their spectacular stage delivery, aggressive sound and impeccable sound quickly made "BIG THREE" one of the main attractions of the local scene. However, the Big Three fell apart and Hutchinson retired from music.

Mersey Beat magazine editor Bill Harry claimed that Brian Epstein initially offered Johnny to take the vacant drummer position for The Beatles after Pete Best was fired, but the latter categorically refused, stating, in particular, that "... Pete Best is a very good friend of mine ..."

Hutchinson also sat at the drum set between the firing of Pete Best on August 16 and the arrival of Ringo Starr on August 18, 1962, and had a momentary touch of the glory of the Beatles, playing a concert with them at the Majestic Club in Birkenhead in August 1962 ..

Cliff Roberts

Bill Harry (editor of Mersey Beat magazine) recalled that during a performance at Liverpool's Lathom Hall in May 1960 by the Silver Beatles, the drummer - most likely Tommy Moore - was unable to bring his drum kit. Upon arrival, he asked the drummer of a rival band - Cliff Roberts and The Rockers - to borrow a drum kit. However, drummer Cliff Roberts turned Moore down, but offered his services as a drummer and played six songs with the Silver Beatles. And so we have yet another fleeting addition to the long line of Beatles drummers.

It should be noted that recently information has appeared on the network that refutes this version. According to Cliff himself, that evening he did not play with the Beatles, but performed with his group on another site.

Norman Chapman

After the departure of drummer Tommy Moore, while at Williams' club "Jacaranda", the guys heard the sounds of a practicing drummer drifting in the warm air on a summer night. After tracing the source of the noise, they located Norman Chapman, a picture frame maker. Drums were his hobby and he never played on stage. No sooner had Chapman joined the band - playing a few gigs - than the British Army made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Chapman was called up for service in June 1960 and thereby missed his chance to become one of the "fab four". He ended up in the first battalion of the Royal Regiment and served in Kenya and Kuwait, fighting terrorists there.
At the end of his service, Chapman worked as a teacher in southern England. He died in 1995 at the age of 58.

By the end of the summer of 1960, the Silver Beatles were offered a contract to play in clubs in Hamburg. But the specifics of the job require them to have a permanent drummer. Their choice fell on Pete Best, whose band "The Black Jacks" had just disbanded.

Pete Best

The history of Pete Best is well documented. The Beatles' drummer from August 1960 to August 1962 was unceremoniously fired from the band by Brian Epstein, who told him: "The boys want you to leave and Ringo to take your place. They don't think you're a good drummer, Pete. And George Martin thinks that you're not a good drummer."

To this day, the debate continues regarding the reasons for the dismissal of Pete Best. Either he was asked to leave because of his bad acting, or because Pete was not actually a full member of the band due to his relationship with the other members of the band. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison spent almost all their free time together, playing music and just talking, while Best walked alone at that time. Lennon later admitted that they were cowards when they fired him in this way, but the fact remains that Best was cut from a different fabric than Lennon, McCartney and Harrison. He was never particularly close to any of the members of the group. He did not recognize the general style of the group: he did not agree to do the same hairstyle as the other Beatles, did not wear the same clothes. Pete did not get along with the other members of the group in character.

George Martin honestly said: "I never said that Pete Best should leave. I just suggested that in the interests of the Beatles, invite a studio musician to the first record. I never thought that Brian Epstein would let him go. He was a hot commodity for bands. Pete's bybros was a surprise to me. Drums worried me in terms of the upcoming recording, but in other cases they don't mean so much. Fans don't pay much attention to the sound quality of a drummer."

Fans expressed a terrible protest and chanted: "Pete is Best" (Pete is the best). Brian Epstein was forced to hire a bodyguard. And in another fight, George Harrison got a black eye.

However, the protests subsided very soon. A couple of years later, when the Beatles achieved huge success, the name of Pete Best was lost.

Pete played in various bands. By 1969 he had left the music world and took a job as a social worker at the Public Employment Office in Liverpool. In the late 80s he left his previous job and returned to music. In 1993, The Pete Best Band released the CD "Back To The Beat" with recordings of songs from the Beatles' early repertoire. During the annual tour, they visited 20 countries. And for several tracks published on the "Anthology" by the Beatles, he received a seven-figure reward.

Ringo Starr

As part of the Beatles, Ringo Starr made his debut on August 18, 1962, but his first steps in the group were somewhat overshadowed. When recording the first single "Love Me Do" on September 4, 1962, George Martin was dissatisfied with Ringo's playing and invited reliable studio musician Andy White to record a double on September 11 (included in the first Beatles album).

“The studio had a terrible effect on me, I got nervous,” Ringo said. “When we returned to record the second side, I saw that George Martin put another person in the place of the drummer. It was terrible ... Another person played drums, and they gave me maracas. I thought this was the end. They would treat me like Pete Best…"

However, this was the first and last instance of Ringo's distrust. It soon became apparent that his playing style was eminently optimal for the Beatles. Starr's contribution to various Beatles songs becomes as sublime and important as the vocals, melodies and various instrumentals. This was most noticeable on songs like "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "A Day in the Life".

George Martin recalled: "Ringo did not make a special impression on me. He did not get a fraction ... although he has grown significantly since then."

In addition, Starr was instrumental in introducing the drummer as an equal member and integral part of the emerging rock band. Paul McCartney elaborated this idea in an interview with the French newspaper Liberation (1985): “It is extremely important for a singer to have a drummer behind him that you can forget about. This is what caused problems for Led Zeppelin. Bonham was a bad drummer, but because there was a lack of sound coherence between him and the same Jimmy Page. Ringo is a reliable, stable drummer."

Ringo's influence outside of the Beatles has been massive, with Phil Collins (Genesis), Dave Grohl (Nirvana), Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band) and many others citing him as a huge influence.

Often, flippantly, Ringo is referred to as the happiest man in music - one could argue that at that time he undoubtedly received a winning lottery ticket.

On the other hand, it should be remembered that Ringo was invited to the group for one simple reason - he was the best in town. And he agreed because, in turn, THE BEATLES were the best group in Liverpool. You could say they found each other. And everyone was very happy with the accomplished union of forces. No Ringo. No Beatles. Ringo Starr combined an inexhaustible sense of humor and acting talent with a very serious attitude to professional duties. This was well known to colleagues, who greatly appreciated these qualities of their drummer, with the arrival of which the group sounded much more professional. Starr was a giant in his field and was an equal partner and participant in the inimitable phenomenon called the Beatles.

Andy White

Drummer Andy White was booked to play drums on a third attempt to record "Love Me Do" in September 1962. He played on both sides of the single, "Love Me Do"/"PS. I Love You". He appeared in the credits of The Beatles' debut album Please Please Me.

Jimmy Nicol

In June 1964, the Beatles were to tour Scandinavia, Holland, the Far East and Australia. The day before the start of the tour, Ringo caught a cold and was rushed to the hospital with a temperature of 38.9 °C and swollen tonsils.

George Martin suggested session drummer Jimmy Nichol. Nichol was familiar with the band's records and within 24 hours of being called in for an audition, he was on stage in Denmark in front of thousands of screaming Beatles fans.

At first, George Harrison didn't want anyone to fill in for Ringo and refused to go on tour without him, but Brian Epstein and George Martin convinced him to agree. Brian thought it was a good choice, as he believed that Jimmy "looked like a Beatle, and not something foreign." In two weeks, from an unknown drummer for "The Shubdubs", he turned into a world famous star . Nichol hoped that his temporary involvement with The Beatles would boost his popularity and his career as a musician would take off, but when Ringo left the hospital and joined the band in Melbourne, Nichol realized that there was no trace of his popularity left. The subsequent lack of commercial success eventually led him to bankruptcy in 1965. After that, Nicol tried to create new musical projects, which in turn did not lead him to success, and he finally got out of the music business.

Paul McCartney

The role of the band's drummer, especially during the band's early years - during the Quarry Men and at various times in Hamburg and Liverpool, in particular during the absence of Pete Best - often had to be filled by Paul McCartney.

When Ringo Starr left the band during the recording of the White Album (ironically in an argument with McCartney about his drums), separate songs feature McCartney's drumming ("Back in the USSR", "Dear Prudence, Martha My Dear, Why Don "t We Do It in the Road? Wild Honey Pie), and then on "The Ballad of John and Yoko". However, Ringo's song "Don't Pass Me By" was also released on the same album, and Ringo was greeted in the studio with flowers on a drum kit.

John Lennon and George Harrison

In the same session of the recording of "Back in the USSR", in which Starr did not participate, Harrison and Lennon also overdubbed drum tracks, according to some sources. Allegedly, on the stereo mix of the track, McCartney's drums can be heard in the left speaker, and Harrison and John Lennon on the right.

Ringo was the first real rock drummer to appear on television. All the rock and roll drummers who worked with Elvis, Little Richard, Lewis were basically rhythm and blues musicians. They were dressed in tuxedos and suits and held their chopsticks in the traditional grip. Ringo showed the world that rock music needed power, he held the sticks like hammers and laid the foundation for rock.
Ringo popularized symmetrical staging. Almost all drummers in the Western world before Ringo held sticks in the traditional way. This lock was invented by military drummers in order to adjust to the angle of the drum hanging on the shoulder. Today, rock drummers, as well as marching drummers and orchestral percussionists, mostly play with a symmetrical lock, and percussion companies have developed straps and accessories to match.
Ringo began the tradition of placing his drum kit on a podium so that the drummer could be as visible as the rest of the musicians. When Ringo appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, he instantly caught the attention of thousands of aspiring drummers, towering over the other three Beatles.
Many drummers noted that Ringo played Ludwig's drums, they went out and bought thousands of these kits, making Ludwig the go-to brand in rock 'n' roll drums of the time.
Ringo changed the approach to recording drums. Around the time of the Abbey Road album (1969), the sound of the drum set became more distinct and clear. With the help of engineers at Abbey Road Studios, Ringo popularized a new drum sound, tuned lower, muted, and brought closer by placing a microphone on each drum.
Ringo had an almost perfect sense of rhythm. This made it possible for the Beatles to record a song 50 or 60 times and then put together different pieces from numerous takes to get the best possible result. Today, electronic metronomes are used for this purpose, but the Beatles had to rely on the fact that the tempo of Ringo in multiple takes would be the same. If he didn't have this quality, the Beatles records would be completely different.
Ringo's beats have become the standard for pop rock sound producers and drummers. They are relaxed and at the same time not sluggish, dense but always breathing. And Richard has a great deal of musical taste, which helps him decide what and when to play. In most recording sessions, the drummer's playing acts as a barometer for the rest of the musicians. Stylistic direction, dynamics and emotions are passed through the drummer, if the drum part is bad, then the efforts of all other musicians come to naught.
Ringo hated drum solos, he believed that it was interesting only for a very small audience of listeners. He played only one solo with the Beatles. His 8 bar solo can be heard on the song "The End" on the Abbey Road album. Someone may say that this is not the best demonstration of technology, they will be partially wrong. You can set the electronic metronome to exactly 126 beats per minute, turn it on with Ringo's solo, and you won't hear the slightest deviation from the tempo.
Ringo's ability to play complex time signatures opened up uncharted territory for popular music. Two examples are "All you Need is Love" in 7/4, and "Here Comes the Sun" with repeated 11/8, 4/4, and 7/8 in the chorus.
Ringo's ability to play a variety of styles, such as swing ("When I"m Sixty-Four"), ballad ("Something"), R&B ("Leave My Kitten Alone" and "Taxman"), and country (The Rubber Soul) allowed the Beatles to easily move in different musical directions.The rumor that Ringo Starr did not play on many Beatles albums because he was not good enough - lies.He played on all released Beatles albums (except Anthology 1) where there are drum parts with the following exceptions: "Back In The USSR" and "Dear Prudence", which had Paul on drums because Ringo left the band temporarily, "The Ballad of John and Yoko", with Paul on drums because Ringo was busy filming the film, and the 1962 release "Love Me Do" with session drummer Andy White.
John Lennon - We were all different. Paul was the face of the group, I was the head, George with all his mysticism was the soul and Ringo was the heart. I never felt any negative emotions towards him, there was no reason.”
Paul Macartney - “We were four parts of one whole ... each added something of its own to a single whole. Ringo is very sentimental. He loves soul music. That's probably why we wrote such slightly sentimental songs for him.”
Buddy Rich - "Ringo Star is adequate and no more." (note. Buddy Rich's looks are bright, as is his manner of playing, so don't worry, he paid Ringo a compliment).
Don Vas - “He influenced three generations of rock drummers. He played not very technically, but very musically. Instead of counting the bars, he played the song, inserting breaks in unusual places, relying on the vocal part.”
Phil Collins - "I think he's greatly underestimated. For example, the drum breaks on 'A Day In The Life' are very complex. You can take great drummers today and say, 'I want the same thing.' They won't know what to do. ”
Greg Bissonet - “I can't express what an honor it is to play with Ringo and how exciting it is. He is not only a legend, but also an incredibly funny and cool guy. He is also my favorite drummer that I have listened to all my life. My brother Mat and I saw the Beatles in 1966 when I was 7 and my brother was 5. They played at the Olympia Hockey Arena in Detroit. Playing two sets with Ringo is like wearing your favorite and most comfortable slippers... that you've been wearing all your life. I feel so right and natural. His sense of timing is always impeccable, he never gets in the way of vocals, and when he sings and plays the tambourine, no one else can interact with the drums so well.”

The Beatles recorded their last album, they wanted to leave beautifully, and Ringo presented one of his best works on the Abbey Road record. Congratulations to the engineers Geoff Emerick and Phil McDonald. Working for the first time with an eight-track phonogram, they gave Ringo his own track in most of the songs, as a result of which the transparency and presence of percussion instruments reached the level of modern recordings. The album opens with a work in which Ringo's part is absolutely unlike anything he has done before, it doesn't even have anything to do with mersibeat! On "Come Together" we find a couple of fast crashes, four sixteenth notes on the hi-hat, and a break on all three toms, all in the opening riff. In the verse, a floor tom plays in syncopation, transitioning into a lone kick drum leading the beat all the way to the chorus, where the snare drum first appears. There's also an impressive break that pops up unexpectedly just before the solo, Tim Riley said he took his breath away at that point, which in itself is a good description of what a surprise it was. Later drumming is more standard, but Ringo plays his parts with a lot of imagination, adding subtle tricks to just about everything.
"Something" - here he does absolutely without a hi-hat in the first two verses - only a kick drum and a worker, and even a few signature breaks. The bridge has a fantastically complex pattern (maybe an overdub?) with triplets on the toms and hat.
"Oh! Darling" and "Octopus's Garden" - the rhythm is standard, but each piece has one great moment - a long triplet tom break, turning into a bridge in the first song, and a wonderful tom-tom pattern in the guitar part in the second.
Even "Maxwell's Silver Hammer", where one would expect a very simple tapping, still has its own zest - a kick with a neat hi-hat and lively worker breaks when moving to the chorus.
"I Want You" - Ringo plays a modified Latin beat, part of the drawing makes the tom, though without the swing. In the "She"s so heavy" section, he continues to use the ride, which is probably a mistake. An open hi-hat, or even a floor tom, would have better emphasized the "heavy" nature of this fragment.
"Here Comes the Sun" - here already George uses Lennon's old time signature trick, but Ringo is involved in this in an unconventional way. When the bridge goes into 11/8, Ringo hits the break with a working and a seven-beat tom, and repeats it exactly a few times. It's a progressive rock drum game wrapped in an eye-catching pop number package! Pay attention also to the delicate sound of the worker (tuned quite high) in his performance.
The medley has a lot of interesting melodic and harmonic sounds, so Ringo makes the wise decision to emphasize the backbeat in most of these numbers. On "Sun King" he plays interesting fills and sings his part in the lyric song differently than on "Michelle" for example, now he has a very loose kick and light sounding cymbals.
"Polythene Pam" sounds rough, especially thumpy for that and that in front of closely spaced microphones - reminiscent of "Bow Wow Wow"! (a "new wave" group that borrowed African rhythms).
Ringo takes part in gluing the potpourri together. Many breaks are repeated from one song to another. I played the whole album in random order, and it turned out that the transition from "Sun King" to "Carry That Weight" sounded exactly the same as it usually does when it transitions to "Mean Mr. Mustard". Ringo's characteristic breaks in "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" can also be found in "Golden Slumbers" (slower, though) and at the very end of the medley.
And of course, the drum solo. It's the only drum solo I ever wanted to listen to again. Reason: Ringo Starr knows what drummers do to keep the beat. Many drum solos lose their rhythm and turn into jumbled percussive noise. If I needed a random rumbling noise, I would visit a stamping shop located somewhere in our area. If I want to hear the drummer play, then I choose "Abbey Road". Ringo tightens the kick and plays what you might call a melody on the toms. It's just fascinating how he increases the frequency of the breaks, they get faster and crescendos into the guitar part. But the most interesting thing is ahead - then he plays the Beatles beat. Recall what we are talking about. Ringo Starr may not be a virtuoso, but when we hear the reliable beat that is the basis of good rock and roll, it is clear that without Ringo anywhere.

Past Masters
This collection covers completely different periods, so it's impossible to talk about the general style, so I'll just highlight the most memorable moments of his playing.
"She Loves You" is a typical Beatleman rendition, with some good syncopations in the chorus when Ringo brings a couple of flams into the band's overall momentum. "I Feel Fine" is a great latin rhythm going from toms to rides, in this case played by a bell for extra punch.
"Rain" is considered by many, including Ringo, to be his most brilliant work. I suspect it all depends on what you consider good drumming. If you mean spectacular breaks that smear the vocalist across the soundscape and hide the location of strong beats, this is first-class work. If you need a solid rhythm that is the backbone of the arrangement, and helps to develop the energy potential of the composition in its movement, then this is not a good number.
"Hey Jude" is a great rendition, but I love the next story even more. They say that Ringo went to the bathroom between takes, and Paul forgot about him and began to sing. The drummer had to quietly take his place in the studio and pick up the beat with a very good break in the second verse. This take was eventually used on the disc!
"Don't Let Me Down" - Ringo applies Occam's razor to the drums. Faced with yet another change in time signature from John Lennon (the chorus starts at 5/4), he simply decided not to play anything at all. All genius is simple.

Anthology
I don't have much to say about this collection, except that the Beatles quite rightly got rid of Pete Best. Ringo's playing, since it was almost always recorded "first layer", sounds basically the same as on the official albums. However, I can not get past the incorrect use of the word in the title of this collection. An anthology is a collection of previously published works. "1967-1970" is an anthology. "Anthology" is not an anthology. A more accurate name for this collection is "Ephemera" ("Ephemeral").