Ringo Starr

First lines

In 1962, the plug was pulled and Richard Starkey was sucked into a vortex of events, places and situations that hadn't belonged even to speculation when, on 7 July 1940 - a week late and a month after the Dunkirk evacuation - he was born in the front bedroom of 9 Madryn Street, a three-up three-down terrace in the Dingle.

About this book

Born on July 7, 1940, in a gritty Liverpool suburb known as the Dingle, Ringo Starr (nee Richard Starkey) was the oldest Beatle and the only one to actually emerge from the crumbling Merseyside slums of Beatle lore. He was a sickly child, and, because of extended hospitalizations, received little formal education. After a series of menial jobs, lightning struck in 1962 when he replaced Pete Best as the Beatles' drummer just as they were about to record their first. Single, "Love Me Do." It's been said that the timing of this momentous event makes Ringo Starr the luckiest man in pop music, but according to John Lennon, luck was only a small part of Ringo's success. He was, said Lennon, a "star in his own right in Liverpool before we even met. Ringo's talent would have come out one way or the other. Whatever that spark is in Ringo, we all know it but we can't put our finger on it." Ringo, like the other members of the group, matured. In the hothouse of Beatlemania and its enduring aftermath. Those scarcely believable years of adulation, mind-bending stimulants, alcohol, and meditation did not alter this essentially uncomplicated chrracter. Despite the breakup of the band in 1970 and the erosions in their relationships, it was the easy-going Ringo who was best able to escape the feuding and remain friendly with his ex-colleagues. And his 1973 album "Ringo," with John, Paul, and George featured on. Various tracks, most closely represented a Beatles' reunion on record. More than that, the album was a top-five smash, producing two consecutive number-one singles on the Billboar…

Themes & subjects