17.08.03

Ringo Starr

Starr still working hard at having fun

The former Beatle has a new album, "Ringo Rama," out, and is currently touring with the All-Starr Band

BY DAVE TIANEN
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

He put the funny in fab: At 63, Ringo Starr is still the royal jester of rock 'n' roll.

The latest incarnation of his All-Starr Band, currently on tour, includes John Waite, Colin Hay, Paul Carrack and Sheila E.

Which raises the issue: Exactly how do you get into the All-Starr Band?

"It takes 10 bucks. You're in," Starr said by phone.

Actually, it turns out there's a little more to it than that.

"We start with the bass player," he continued. "Everyone has to have songs you'll recognize. In this band with John Waite, everyone knows 'Missing You,"When I See You Smile.' So he's like the big powerhouse. Then we've got Colin Hay with 'Who Can It Be Now' and 'Overkill' from Men at Work, so it makes it an interesting show.

"With this format, I open the show down in front, and then I can go on the drums and they get their chance, and I can sit up there and play drums for all these other great guys."

Besides the tour, Starr also has a new album, "Ringo Rama." It's an album that exudes the same affable charm as his '70s hits like "No No Song," "You're Sixteen" and "It Don't Come Easy."

Having a good time has always been at the core of Starr's music.

"Music is about having fun," the veteran drummer said. "We work hard to have this much fun, but that's what it's about. I'm not doing this to be tortured."

Among the new songs are an affectionate tribute to the late George Harrison called "Never Without You." True to form, Starr recalls his old Beatles band mate with a warmth that acknowledges the sadness of his passing while holding onto the joy of his music and their shared memories.

There's also a duet with Willie Nelson called "Write One With Me." Long before they met, Starr was a Nelson fan.

"Willie I've known for years and years and years," he said. "It's interesting that when I was in Liverpool and Willie was just starting around '59, I was listening to Willie Nelson records, him and Johnny Cash, at about that time. I'm a big country fan and a blues fan."

Another new tune called "Memphis in Your Mind" salutes some other early music heroes: that first generation of Sun Records rockers like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Cash and Roy Orbison. A sample of one of Orbison's famous growls even shows up on the track.

Interestingly, Starr mostly knows Memphis through the music.

"I stayed there for a while at the Peabody, but that was in '80-something, so I've never really spent a lot of time in Memphis. It's on my mind."

Another famous music city Starr rarely sees might come as a surprise: Liverpool.

"I don't stay there either. I stay there as much as I stay in Memphis these days. I move about."

As a man of the world, Starr and his wife, Barbara Bach, have no problem moving freely in public. Starr said the hysteria of Beatlemania is long gone.

"There is no mob scene in my life anymore. It's real easy now. Of course, people recognize me, but there is no mob scene."

A man of eclectic tastes musically, Starr said he listens to everything from Lightning Hopkins to Polyphonic Spree. But some of that listening is homework done to keep current.

"I've got to admit, though, that I'm playing a lot of records that I've had for several years, more than I play the new records. I play them to hear what's happening. Some of them stay with me, but not a lot."

There was a time when Starr actually blazed a trail of sorts with old music. Back after the Beatles broke up, his first solo project was an album of standards called "Sentimental Journey." Now veteran rockers like Rod Stewart and Boz Scaggs are recording standards, but Starr got into the classic pop songbook even before Linda Ronstadt or his buddy Harry Nilsson.

"After the breakup, I wasn't a writer, and it was one of those things to get me moving again," Starr said. "These were all the songs I knew from my childhood. My family members all sang at parties, and my stepfather introduced me to Sarah Vaughan and Glenn Miller and people like that. So it was just a natural thing at the time. I went to George Martin and said, 'I'd like to do an album of these songs,' and he pulled it together."

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