Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr in 1973 at The Concert For Bangladesh

**Sir Richard Starkey** MBE (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as **Ringo Starr**, is an English musician, singer, songwriter, actor and filmmaker who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, usually for one song on each album, including "Yellow Submarine", "With a Little Help from My Friends", "It Don't Come Easy", "It's A Sunshine Life" and "Goodnight Vienna". He also wrote and sang the Beatles songs "Don't Pass Me By", "Octopus's Garden", "Back Off, Boogaloo" and "Wrack My Brain".

Starr was afflicted by life-threatening illnesses during childhood, with periods of prolonged hospitalisation. He briefly held a position with British Rail before securing an apprenticeship as a machinist at a Liverpool school equipment manufacturer. Soon afterwards, Starr became interested in the UK skiffle craze and developed a fervent admiration for the genre. In 1957, he co-founded his first band, the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group, which earned several prestigious local bookings before the fad succumbed to American rock and roll around early 1958. When the Beatles formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool group, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. After achieving moderate success in the UK and Hamburg, he quit the Hurricanes when he was asked to join the Beatles in August 1962, replacing Pete Best.

In addition to the Beatles' films, Starr has acted in numerous others. Starr has featured in numerous documentaries, hosted television shows, narrated the first two series of the children's television program *Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends* and portrayed "Mr. Conductor" during the first season of the PBS children's television series *Shining Time Station*.

Starr's playing style, which emphasised feel over technical virtuosity, influenced many drummers to reconsider their playing from a compositional perspective. He also influenced various modern drumming techniques, such as the matched grip, tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings. In his opinion, his finest recorded performance was on the Beatles' "Rain". In 1999, he was inducted into the *Modern Drummer* Hall of Fame. In 2011, *Rolling Stone* readers named him the third-greatest drummer of all time. He was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a Beatle in 1988 and as a solo artist in 2015, and appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to music. In 2020, he was cited as the wealthiest drummer in the world, with a net worth of $950 million.

## Early life

Richard Starkey was born on 7 July 1940 at 9 Madryn Street in Dingle, an inner-city area of Liverpool. He is the only child of confectioners Richard Starkey (1913–1981) and Elsie Gleave (1914–1987). Elsie enjoyed singing and dancing, a hobby that she shared with her husband, an avid fan of swing. Prior to the birth of their son, whom they called "Richy", the couple had spent much of their free time on the local ballroom circuit, but their regular outings ended soon after his birth. Elsie adopted an overprotective approach to raising her son that bordered on fixation. Subsequently, "Big Ritchie", as Starkey's father became known, lost interest in his family, choosing instead to spend long hours drinking and dancing in pubs, sometimes for several consecutive days.

In an effort to reduce their housing costs, his family moved in 1944 to another neighbourhood in the Dingle, Admiral Grove; soon afterwards his parents separated, and they divorced within the year. Starkey later stated that he has "no real memories" of his father, who made little effort to bond with him, visiting as few as three times thereafter. Elsie found it difficult to survive on her ex-husband's support payments of thirty shillings a week, so she took on several menial jobs cleaning houses before securing a position as a barmaid, an occupation that she held for twelve years.

At the age of six, Starkey developed appendicitis. Following a routine appendectomy he contracted peritonitis, causing him to fall into a coma that lasted days. His recovery spanned twelve months, which he spent away from his family at Liverpool's Myrtle Street children's hospital. Upon his discharge in May 1948, his mother allowed him to stay at home, causing him to miss school. At age eight, he remained illiterate, with a poor grasp of mathematics. His lack of education contributed to a feeling of alienation at school, which resulted in his regularly playing truant at Sefton Park. After several years of twice-weekly tutoring from his surrogate sister and neighbour, Marie Maguire Crawford, Starkey had nearly caught up to his peers academically, but in 1953, he contracted tuberculosis and was admitted to a sanatorium, where he remained for two years. During his stay the medical staff made an effort to stimulate motor activity and relieve boredom by encouraging their patients to join the hospital band, leading to his first exposure to a percussion instrument: a makeshift mallet made from a cotton bobbin that he used to strike the cabinets next to his bed. Soon afterwards, he grew increasingly interested in drumming, receiving a copy of the Alyn Ainsworth song "Bedtime for Drums" as a convalescence gift from Crawford. Starkey commented: "I was in the hospital band ... That's where I really started playing. I never wanted anything else from there on ... My grandparents gave me a mandolin and a banjo, but I didn't want them. My grandfather gave me a harmonica ... we had a piano – nothing. Only the drums."

Starkey attended St Silas, a Church of England primary school near his house where his classmates nicknamed him "Lazarus", and later Dingle Vale Secondary modern school, where he showed an aptitude for art and drama, as well as practical subjects including mechanics. As a result of the prolonged hospitalisations, he fell behind his peers scholastically and was ineligible for the 11-plus qualifying examination required for attendance at a grammar school. On 17 April 1954, Starkey's mother married Harry Graves at the register office on Mount Pleasant, Liverpool. He was an ex-Londoner who had moved to Liverpool following the failure of his first marriage. Graves, an impassioned fan of big band music and their vocalists, introduced Starkey to recordings by Dinah Shore, Sarah Vaughan and Billy Daniels. Graves stated that he and "Ritchie" never had an unpleasant exchange between them; Starkey later commented: "He was great ... I learned gentleness from Harry." After the extended hospital stay following Starkey's recovery from tuberculosis, he did not return to school, preferring instead to stay at home and listen to music while playing along by beating biscuit tins with sticks.

Beatles biographer Bob Spitz described Starkey's upbringing as "a Dickensian chronicle of misfortune". Houses in the area were "poorly ventilated, postage-stamp-sized ... patched together by crumbling plaster walls, with a rear door that opened onto an outhouse." Crawford commented: "Like all of the families who lived in the Dingle, he was part of an ongoing struggle to survive." The children who lived there spent much of their time at Prince's Park, escaping the soot-filled air of their coal-fuelled neighbourhood. Adding to their difficult circumstances, violent crime was an almost constant concern for people living in one of the oldest and poorest inner-city districts in Liverpool. Starkey later commented: "You kept your head down, your eyes open, and you didn't get in anybody's way."

After his return home from the sanatorium in late 1955, Starkey entered the workforce but was lacking in motivation and discipline; his initial attempts at gainful employment proved unsuccessful. In an effort to secure himself some warm clothes, he briefly held a railway worker's job with British Rail, which came with an employer-issued suit. He was supplied with a hat but no uniform and, unable to pass the physical examination, he was laid off and granted unemployment benefits. He then found work as a waiter serving drinks on a day boat that travelled from Liverpool to North Wales, but his fear of conscription into military service led him to quit the job, not wanting to give the Royal Navy the impression that he was suitable for seafaring work. In mid-1956, Graves secured Starkey a position as an apprentice machinist at Henry Hunt and Son, a Liverpool school equipment manufacturer. While working at the facility Starkey befriended Roy Trafford, and the two bonded over their shared interest in music. Trafford introduced Starkey to skiffle, and he quickly became a fervent admirer.

## First bands: 1957–1961

See also: Rory Storm

Soon after Trafford piqued Starkey's interest in skiffle, the two began rehearsing songs in the manufacturing plant's cellar during their lunch breaks. Trafford recalled: "I played a guitar, and [Ritchie] just made a noise on a box ... Sometimes, he just slapped a biscuit tin with some keys, or banged on the backs of chairs." The pair were joined by Starkey's neighbour and co-worker, the guitarist Eddie Miles, forming the Eddie Miles Band, later renamed Eddie Clayton and the Clayton Squares after a Liverpool landmark. The band performed popular skiffle songs such as "Rock Island Line" and "Walking Cane", with Starkey raking a thimble across a washboard, creating primitive, driving rhythms. Starkey enjoyed dancing as his parents had years earlier, and he and Trafford briefly took dance lessons at two schools. Though the lessons were short-lived, they provided Starkey and Trafford with an introduction that allowed them to dance competently while enjoying nights out on the town.

On Christmas Day 1957, Graves gave Starkey a second-hand drum kit consisting of a snare drum, bass drum and a makeshift cymbal fashioned from a rubbish bin lid. Although basic and crude, the kit facilitated his progression as a musician while increasing the commercial potential of the Eddie Clayton band, who went on to book prestigious local gigs before the skiffle craze faded in early 1958 as American rock and roll became popular in the UK.

In November 1959, Starkey joined Al Caldwell's Texans, a skiffle group who were looking for someone with a proper drum kit so that the group could transition from one of Liverpool's best-known skiffle acts to a full-fledged rock and roll band. They had begun playing local clubs as the Raging Texans, then Jet Storm and the Raging Texans before settling on Rory Storm and the Hurricanes shortly before recruiting Starkey. About this time he adopted the stage name Ringo Starr; derived from the rings he wore and also because it implied a country and western influence. His singing solos were billed as *Starr Time*.

By early 1960, the Hurricanes had become one of Liverpool's leading bands. In May, they were offered a three-month residency at a Butlins holiday camp in Wales. Although initially reluctant to accept the residency and end his five-year machinist apprenticeship that he had begun four years earlier, Starr eventually agreed to the arrangement. The Butlins gig led to other opportunities for the band, including an unpleasant tour of US Air Force bases in France about which Starr commented: "The French don't like the British; at least I didn't like them." The Hurricanes became so successful that when initially offered a highly coveted residency in Hamburg, they turned it down because of their prior commitment with Butlins. They eventually accepted, joining the Beatles at Bruno Koschmider's Kaiserkeller on 1 October 1960, where Starr first met the band. Storm's Hurricanes were given top-billing over the Beatles, who also received less pay. Starr performed with the Beatles during a few stand-in engagements while in Hamburg. On 15 October 1960, he drummed with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, recording with them for the first time while backing Hurricanes singer Lu Walters on the George Gershwin/DuBose Heyward aria "Summertime". During Starr's first stay in Hamburg he also met Tony Sheridan, who valued his drumming abilities to the point of asking Starr to leave the Hurricanes and join his band.

### Replacing Best

Starr quit Rory Storm and the Hurricanes in January 1962 and briefly joined Sheridan in Hamburg before returning to the Hurricanes for a third season at Butlins. On 14 August, Starr accepted Lennon's invitation to join the Beatles. On 16 August, Beatles manager Brian Epstein fired their drummer, Pete Best, who recalled: "He said 'I've got some bad news for you. The boys want you out and Ringo in.' He said [Beatles producer] George Martin wasn't too pleased with my playing [and] the boys thought I didn't fit in." Starr first performed as a member of the Beatles on 18 August 1962, at a horticultural society dance at Port Sunlight. After his appearance at the Cavern Club the following day, Best fans, upset by his firing, held vigils outside his house and at the club shouting "Pete forever! Ringo never!" Harrison received a black eye from one upset fan, and Epstein, whose car tyres they had flattened in anger, temporarily hired a bodyguard.

Starr's first recording session as a member of the Beatles took place on 4 September 1962. He stated that Martin had thought that he "was crazy and couldn't play ... because I was trying to play the percussion and the drums at the same time, we were just a four-piece band". For their second recording session with Starr, on 11 September 1962, Martin replaced him with session drummer Andy White while recording takes for what would be the two sides of the Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do", backed with "P.S. I Love You". Starr played tambourine on "Love Me Do" and maracas on "P.S. I Love You". Concerned about his status in the Beatles, he thought: "That's the end, they're doing a Pete Best on me." Martin later clarified: "I simply didn't know what Ringo was like and I wasn't prepared to take any risks."

By November 1962, Starr had been accepted by Beatles fans, who were now calling for him to sing. He began receiving an amount of fan mail equal to that of the others, which helped to secure his position within the band. Starr considered himself fortunate to be on the same "wavelength" as the other Beatles: "I had to be, or I wouldn't have lasted. I had to join them as people as well as a drummer." He was given a small percentage of Lennon and McCartney's publishing company, Northern Songs, but derived his primary income during this period from a one-quarter share of Beatles Ltd, a corporation financed by the band's net concert earnings. He commented on the nature of his lifestyle after having achieved success with the Beatles: "I lived in nightclubs for three years. It used to be a non-stop party." Like his father, Starr became well known for his late-night dancing and he received praise for his skills.

### Worldwide success

During 1963, the Beatles enjoyed increasing popularity in Britain. In January, their second single, "Please Please Me", followed "Love Me Do" into the UK charts and a successful television appearance on *Thank Your Lucky Stars* earned favourable reviews, leading to a boost in sales and radio play. By the end of the year, the phenomenon known as Beatlemania had spread throughout the country, and by February 1964 the Beatles had become an international success when they performed in New York City on *The Ed Sullivan Show* to a record 73 million viewers. Starr commented: "In the States I know I went over well. It knocked me out to see and hear the kids waving for me. I'd made it as a personality ... Our appeal ... is that we're ordinary lads." He was a source of inspiration for several songs written at the time, including Penny Valentine's "I Want to Kiss Ringo Goodbye" and Rolf Harris's "Ringo for President". Cher released her first single, "Ringo, I Love You" in 1964 under the pseudonym Bonnie Joe Mason.

In 1964, "I love Ringo" lapel pins were the bestselling Beatles merchandise. The prominent placing of the Ludwig logo on the bass drum of his American import drum kit gave the company such a burst of publicity that it became the dominant drum manufacturer in North America for the next twenty years. During live performances, the Beatles continued the "Starr Time" routine that had been popular among his fans: Lennon would place a microphone in front of Starr's kit in preparation for his spotlight moment and audiences would erupt in screams. When the Beatles made their film debut in *A Hard Day's Night*, Starr garnered praise from critics, who considered his delivery of deadpan one-liners and his non-speaking scenes highlights. The extended non-speaking sequences had to be arranged by director Richard Lester because of Starr's lack of sleep the previous night; Starr commented: "Because I'd been drinking all night I was incapable of saying a line." Epstein attributed Starr's acclaim to "the little man's quaintness". After the release of the Beatles' second feature film, *Help!* (1965), Starr won a *Melody Maker* poll against his fellow Beatles for his performance as the central character in the film.

During an interview with *Playboy* in 1964, Lennon explained that Starr had filled in with the Beatles when Best was ill; Starr replied: "[Best] took little pills to make him ill". Soon after, Best filed a libel suit against him that lasted four years before the court reached an undisclosed settlement in Best's favour. In June, the Beatles were scheduled to tour Denmark, the Netherlands, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Before the start of the tour, Starr was stricken with a high-grade fever, pharyngitis and tonsillitis, and briefly stayed in a local hospital, followed by several days of recuperation at home. He was temporarily replaced for five concerts by 24-year-old session drummer Jimmie Nicol. Starr was discharged from the hospital and rejoined the band in Melbourne on 15 June. He later said that he feared he would be permanently replaced during his illness. In August, the Beatles were introduced to American songwriter Bob Dylan, who offered the group cannabis cigarettes. Starr was the first to try one but the others were hesitant.

On 11 February 1965, Starr married Maureen Cox, whom he had met in 1962. By this time the stress and pressure of Beatlemania had reached a peak for him. He received a telephoned death threat before a show in Montreal, and resorted to positioning his cymbals vertically in an attempt to defend against would-be assassins. The constant pressure affected the Beatles' performances; Starr commented: "We were turning into such bad musicians ... there was no groove to it." He was also feeling increasingly isolated from the musical activities of his bandmates, who were moving past the traditional boundaries of rock music into territory that often did not require his accompaniment; during recording sessions he spent hours playing cards with their road manager Neil Aspinall and road manager Mal Evans while the other Beatles perfected tracks without him. In a letter published in *Melody Maker*, a fan asked the Beatles to let Starr sing more; he replied: "[I am] quite happy with my one little track on each album".

### Studio years

In August 1966, the Beatles released *Revolver*, their seventh UK LP. It included the song "Yellow Submarine", their only British number-one single with Starr as the lead singer. Later that month, owing to the increasing pressures of touring, the Beatles gave their final concert, a 30-minute performance at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Starr commented: "We gave up touring at the right time. Four years of Beatlemania were enough for anyone." By December he had moved to a larger estate called Sunny Heights, 3 acres (1.2 ha) in size, at St George's Hill in Weybridge, Surrey, near to Lennon. Although he had equipped the house with many luxury items, including numerous televisions, light machines, film projectors, stereo equipment, a billiard table, go-kart track and a bar named the Flying Cow, he did not include a drum kit; he explained: "When we don't record, I don't play."

TBA

## Musicianship

### Influences

During his youth, Starr had been a devoted fan of skiffle and blues music, but by the time he joined the Texans in 1958, he had developed a preference for rock and roll. He was also influenced by country artists, including Hank Williams, Buck Owens and Hank Snow, and jazz artists such as Chico Hamilton and Yusef Lateef, whose compositional style inspired Starr's fluid and energetic drum fills and grooves. While reflecting on Buddy Rich, Starr commented: "He does things with one hand that I can't do with nine, but that's technique. Everyone I talk to says 'What about Buddy Rich?' Well, what about him? Because he doesn't turn me on." He stated that he "was never really into drummers", but identified Cozy Cole's 1958 cover of Benny Goodman's "Topsy Part Two" as "the one drum record" he bought.
Starr's first musical hero was Gene Autry, about whom he commented: "I remember getting shivers up my back when he sang, 'South of the Border'". By the early 1960s he had become an ardent fan of Lee Dorsey. In November 1964, Starr told *Melody Maker*: "Our music is second-hand versions of negro music ... Ninety per cent of the music I like is coloured."

### Drums

Starr said of his drumming: "I'm no good on the technical things ... I'm your basic offbeat drummer with funny fills ... because I'm really left-handed playing a right-handed kit. I can't roll around the drums because of that." Beatles producer George Martin said: "Ringo hit good and hard and used the tom-tom well, even though he couldn't do a roll to save his life", but later said, "He's got tremendous feel. He always helped us to hit the right tempo for a song, and gave it that support – that rock-solid back-beat – that made the recording of all the Beatles' songs that much easier." Starr said he did not believe the drummer's role was to "interpret the song". Instead, comparing his drumming to painting, he said: "I am the foundation, and then I put a bit of glow here and there ... If there's a gap, I want to be good enough to fill it."

In 2011, *Rolling Stone* readers voted Starr the fifth-greatest drummer of all time. Journalist Robyn Flans wrote for the Percussive Arts Society: "I cannot count the number of drummers who have told me that Ringo inspired their passion for drums". Drummer Steve Smith said:

> Before Ringo, drum stars were measured by their soloing ability and virtuosity. Ringo's popularity brought forth a new paradigm in how the public saw drummers. We started to see the drummer as an equal participant in the compositional aspect. One of Ringo's great qualities was that he composed unique, stylistic drum parts for the Beatles' songs. His parts are so signature to the songs that you can listen to a Ringo drum part without the rest of the music and still identify the song.
>
>

Starr said his favourite drummer is Jim Keltner, with whom he first played at the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971. The pair subsequently played drums together on some of Harrison's recordings during the 1970s, on *Ringo* and other albums by Starr, and on the early All-Starr Band tours. For *Ringo's Rotogravure* in 1976, Starr credited himself as "Thunder" and Keltner as "Lightnin'".

Starr influenced Genesis drummer Phil Collins, who said: "I think he's vastly underrated, Ringo. The drum fills on 'A Day in the Life' are very, very complex things. You could take a great drummer from today and say, 'I want it like that', and they really wouldn't know what to do." Collins said his drumming on the 1983 Genesis song "That's All" was an affectionate attempt at a "Ringo Starr drum part".

In an often-repeated but apocryphal story, when asked if Starr was the best drummer in the world, Lennon quipped that he "wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles". The line actually comes from a 1981 episode of the BBC Radio 4 comedy series *Radio Active*, and gained more prominence when it was used by the television comedian Jasper Carrott in 1983, three years after Lennon's death. In September 1980, Lennon told *Rolling Stone* that Starr was a "damn good drummer" whose talent would have surfaced even without the Beatles.

Tjinder Singh of the indie rock band Cornershop said Starr was a pioneering drummer: "There was a time when the common consensus was that Ringo couldn't play. What's that all about? He's totally unique, a one-off, and hip hop has a lot to thank him for." In his book *The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions*, Mark Lewisohn says there were fewer than a dozen occasions in the Beatles' eight-year recording career where session breakdowns were caused by Starr making a mistake, while the vast majority of takes were stopped due to mistakes by the other Beatles. Starr influenced various modern drumming techniques, such as the matched grip, tuning the drums lower, and using muffling devices on tonal rings. According to Ken Micallef and Donnie Marshall, co-authors of *Classic Rock Drummers*: "Ringo's fat tom sounds and delicate cymbal work were imitated by thousands of drummers."
In 2021, Starr announced a ten-part MasterClass course called "Drumming and Creative Collaboration"

### Vocals

Starr sang lead vocals for a song on most of the Beatles' studio albums as part of an attempt to establish a vocal personality for each band member. In many cases, Lennon or McCartney wrote the lyrics and melody especially for him, as they did for "Yellow Submarine" from *Revolver* and "With a Little Help from My Friends" on *A Day In The Life*. These melodies were tailored to Starr's limited baritone vocal range. Because of his distinctive voice, Starr rarely performed backing vocals during his time with the Beatles, but they can be heard on songs such as "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Carry That Weight". He is also the lead vocalist on his compositions "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". In addition, he sang lead on "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Boys", "Matchbox", "Honey Don't", "Act Naturally", "Good Night" and "What Goes On".

### Songwriting

Starr's idiosyncratic turns of phrase or "Ringoisms", such as "a hard day's night" and "tomorrow never knows", were used as song titles by the Beatles, particularly by Lennon. McCartney commented: "Ringo would do these little malapropisms, he would say things slightly wrong, like people do, but his were always wonderful, very lyrical ... they were sort of magic." Starr also occasionally contributed lyrics to unfinished Lennon–McCartney songs, such as the line "darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there" in "Eleanor Rigby".

Starr is credited as the sole composer of two Beatles songs: "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden", the latter written with assistance from Harrison. While promoting the *Abbey Road* album in 1969, Harrison recognised Starr's lyrics to "Octopus's Garden" as an unwittingly profound message about finding inner peace, and therefore an example of how "Ringo writes his cosmic songs without knowing it." Starr is also credited as a co-writer of "What Goes On", "Flying" and "Dig It". On material issued after the band's break-up, he received a writing credit for "Taking a Trip to Carolina" and joint songwriting credits with the other Beatles for "12-Bar Original", "Los Paranoias", "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)", "Suzy Parker" (from the *Let It Be* film) and "Jessie's Dream" (from the *Magical Mystery Tour* film).
In a 2003 interview, Starr discussed Harrison's input in his songwriting and said: "I was great at writing two verses and a chorus – I'm still pretty good at that. Finishing songs is not my forte." Harrison helped Starr complete two of his biggest hit songs, "It Don't Come Easy" and "Back Off Boogaloo", although he only accepted a credit for "Photograph", which they wrote together in France.

## Personal life

Starr met hairdresser Maureen Cox in 1962, the same week that he joined the Beatles. They married in February 1965. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was best man and Starr's stepfather Harry Graves and fellow Beatle George Harrison were witnesses. Their marriage became the subject of the novelty song "Treat Him Tender, Maureen" by the Chicklettes. The couple had three children: Zak (born 13 September 1965), Jason (born 19 August 1967) and Lee (born 11 November 1970). In 1971, Starr purchased Lennon's home Tittenhurst Park at Sunninghill in Berkshire and moved his family there. The couple divorced in 1975 following Starr's repeated infidelities. Maureen died from leukaemia at age 48 in 1994.

Starr met actress Barbara Bach in 1980 on the set of the film *Caveman*, and they were married at Marylebone Town Hall on 27 April 1981. In 1985, he was the first of the Beatles to become a grandfather upon the birth of Zak's daughter Tatia Jayne Starkey. Zak is also a drummer, and he spent time with the Who's Keith Moon during his father's regular absences; he has performed with his father during some All-Starr Band tours. Starr has eight grandchildren: two from Zak, three from Jason, and three from Lee. In 2016, he was the first Beatle to become a great-grandfather.

Starr and Bach split their time between homes in Cranleigh, Los Angeles, and Monte Carlo. He was listed at number 56 in the *Sunday Times Rich List 2011* with an estimated personal wealth of £150 million. In 2012, he was estimated to be the wealthiest drummer in the world. In 2014, Starr announced that his 200-acre Surrey estate at Rydinghurst was for sale, with its Grade II-listed Jacobean house. However, he retains a property in the London district of Chelsea off King's Road, and he and Bach continue to divide their time between London and Los Angeles.

In December 2015, Starr and Bach auctioned some of their personal and professional items via Julien's Auctions in Los Angeles. The collection included Starr's first Ludwig Black Oyster Pearl drum kit, instruments given to him by Harrison, Lennon, and Marc Bolan, and a first-pressing copy of the Beatles' White Album numbered "0000001". The auction raised over $9 million, a portion of which was set aside for the Lotus Foundation, a charity founded by Starr and Bach.

In 2016, Starr expressed his support for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. "I thought the European Union was a great idea," he said, "but I didn't see it going anywhere lately." In 2017, he described his impatience for Britain to "get on with" Brexit, declaring that "to be in control of your country is a good move".

In October 2021, Starr was named in the Pandora Papers which allege a secret financial deal of politicians and celebrities using tax havens in an effort to avoid the payment of owed taxes.
Starr is a vegetarian and meditates daily. His catchphrase and motto for life is "peace and love".

## Awards and honours

Further information: List of awards and nominations received by the Beatles

Starr and the other members of the Beatles were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1965 Birthday Honours; they received their insignia from Queen Elizabeth II at an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 26 October. He and the other Beatles were collectively nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer for their performances in the 1964 film *A Hard Day's Night*. In 1971, the Beatles received an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film *Let It Be*. The minor planet 4150 Starr, discovered on 31 August 1984 by Brian A. Skiff at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory, was named in Starr's honour. Starr was nominated for a 1989 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his role as Mr. Conductor in the television series *Shining Time Station*.

In 2015, 27 years after he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the Beatles, Starr became the last Beatle to be inducted for a solo career. Unlike the other three Beatles who were inducted within the "Performers" category, Starr was inducted within the "Musical Excellence" category. During the 50th Grammy Awards, Starr, George Martin and his son Giles accepted the Best Compilation Soundtrack award for *Love*. On 9 November 2008, Starr accepted a Diamond Award on behalf of the Beatles during the 2008 World Music Awards ceremony in Monaco. On 8 February 2010, he was honoured with the 2,401st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. It is located at 1750 North Vine Street, in front of the Capitol Records building, as are the stars for Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.

Starr was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to music. He was knighted in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge on 20 March 2018.
In 2022, Starr received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music for his "immeasurable impact on music, film and television, and popular culture".

## Film career

Main article: Ringo Starr filmography

Starr has received praise from critics and movie industry professionals regarding his acting; director and producer Walter Shenson called him "a superb actor, an absolute natural". By the mid-1960s, Starr had become a connoisseur of film. In addition to his roles in *A Hard Day's Night* (1964), *Help!* (1965), *Magical Mystery Tour* (1967) and *Let It Be* (1970), Starr also acted in *Candy* (1968), *The Magic Christian* (1969), *Blindman* (1971), *Son of Dracula* (1974) and *Caveman* (1981). In 1971, he starred as Larry the Dwarf in Frank Zappa's *200 Motels* and was featured in Harry Nilsson's animated film *The Point!* He co-starred in *That'll Be the Day* (1973) as a Teddy Boy and appeared in *The Last Waltz*, the Martin Scorsese documentary film about the 1976 farewell concert of the Band.
Starr played the Pope in Ken Russell's *Lisztomania* (1975), and a fictionalised version of himself in McCartney's *Give My Regards to Broad Street* in 1984. Starr appeared as himself and a downtrodden alter-ego Ognir Rrats in *Ringo* (1978), an American-made television comedy film based loosely on *The Prince and the Pauper*. For the 1979 documentary film on the Who, *The Kids Are Alright*, Starr appeared in interview segments with fellow drummer Keith Moon.

## Discography

* Starrs (1976)
* Private Property (1982)
* Hard Times (1988)
* Mindfield (1999)
* Instant Amnesia (2004)
* Free Drinks (2006)
* The Other Side of Liverpool (2010)
* Rewind Forward (2022)