Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney in London in September 2016.Photo:Fred Duval/FilmMagic
Fred Duval/FilmMagic
The Beatlesrocker, 83, appears on the cover ofAARP’s December 2023/January 2024 issueand opened up in the interview published on Tuesday about how he thought of his bandmates as his “brothers” — and revealed how much he values the close relationship that remains between him andPaul McCartney.
“Paul loves me as much as I love him,” the legendary musician said of the vocalist/bassist, 81, who he recently teamed up with to finish and release the final Beatles song,“Now and Then.” “He’s the brother I never had.”
In avideo interviewreleased along with the cover story, the drummer also sung his praises of McCartney’s work ethic and credited him for the amount of celebrated output that The Beatles released during their time as a group from 1962 to 1970. “Paul loved to work more than all of us,” he shared in the clip. “John and I would be, like, hanging out in the garden and the phone would ring and we knew it was him.”
“‘Hey lads, should we go into the studio?” ‘Alright, yeah,’” he continued, making an impression of the interaction. “I’ve always thanked him for being that guy because otherwise we’d have put, like, three albums out and vanished.”
The Grammy winner also told the outlet that he considered the entire band to be like his second family. “As an only child, suddenly I got three brothers. We looked out for each other,” Starr revealed.
The rock star explained that it’s not lost on him that each member of the band — including the lateJohn Lennonand the lateGeorge Harrison— helped him to write music that allowed him to shine and put his vocals at the forefront. “John wrote several songs for me over the years, and George too,” he said, referring to tracks like “Yellow Submarine” and “With a Little Help from My Friends,” which Lennon and McCartney wrote, and the Harrison-penned “Photograph” from 1973’sRingo, among others.
“I used to be a rock drummer, and then they ruined my whole career,” he joked while reportedly laughing. “‘With a Little Help’ and ‘Yellow Submarine’ are the reasons I’m onstage every night.”
George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr of The Beatles in 1965.Bettmann/Getty
Bettmann/Getty
The “Octopus’s Garden” singer added of his relationship with the British group, “We all went mad at different times. You can’t imagine what it was like, being in The Beatles. It got bigger and crazier.”
Starr and McCartney teamed up earlier this year to release “Now and Then,” which has been called the final song to feature all members of The Fab Four and dropped on Nov. 2. The twofinished the somber balladwith both new recordings and modern technology used to enhance the audio quality of Lennon’s vocals from the ‘70s, as well as guitar from Harrison from when the band first tried to complete the song in the ‘90s.
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Over the years, both rockers have spoken candidly about their long-running friendship.
Earlier this year, Starr shared on social media what a fun time the two hadreuniting and dancingtogether at the roller skating-themed birthday party for McCartney’s daughterStella McCartney.
On Starr’s own birthday in July, the “Hey Jude” singer took a moment tocelebrate himwith a thoughtful post onInstagram, in which he called him one of his “heroes.”
The drummer also confirmed in a 2021 appearance onJimmy Kimmel Live!that he’sjust as close with McCartneytoday as he was when their friendship began, sharing that they “regularly” FaceTime and frequently spend time together.
source: people.com
