Ringo Starr explains why he never, ever plays music alone

24 April 2026, 11:28

The Beatle has been "solo" for years, but always likes to play with others.

Ringo Starr was a member of The Beatles for less than eight years of his life, and has been a "solo" star for over half a century, but he refuses to play music alone.

And the drummer (and sometimes singer) has explained why he's not one for making music by himself.

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Starr has released 22 solo albums across his career and toured the world with his All-Starr Band, but has always been capably assisted by a revolving cast of fantastic musicians and special guests.

"Once I went up, like the old movies, into the back room and played the drums," Ringo told BBC News.

"All the neighbours, 'Get offfff!'. When I was a lad. I think that's what did it."

He added: "But if you play piano, bass, I don't care, saxophone, I will play with you all night.

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"And I tell all my grandkids. Get in a band. Get a few of your schoolmates together. They're practising and playing by themselves – get with people!"

Ringo is continuing to jam with others, with his newly released album Long Long Road being his second collaboration in a row with T Bone Burnett and featuring special guests including Sheryl Crow and St Vincent.

He has also reunited with Paul McCartney, doing a duet with his Beatle bandmate on McCartney's 'Home To Us' from his own upcoming The Boys of Dungeon Lane.

In the same interview, Ringo was asked about meetin Barry Keoghan, who will be playing him in Sam Mendes' upcoming four Beatles movies.

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"Four movies?" Ringo said of Mendes' grand project. "The man is crazy."

Of spending time with Keoghan, he added: "I met him here, actually. He came over to the house before he started. We just hung out and said, 'Hi'.

"It wasn't one of those, 'And how do you pick up your fork? Which hand do you use to pick your nose?'.

"It was none of that. It was just hanging out, saying hi. I think there's enough footage out there for him to get to know me."