Ex-Beatles drummer and pop icon Ringo Starr has some good news for his North American fans. His planned tour of the States was originally scheduled to finish by June 26th, but a recent announcement of 19 new dates has lengthened it until October 20th. Being accompanied by his All Starr band (made up of Warren Ham, Gregg Bissonette, Edgar Winter, Steve Lukather of Toto, Colin Hay of Men at Work and Average White Band’s Hamish Stuart), Starr’s tour will start off next May 27th in Canada.
If you’re interested in getting tickets then you can look here. Some of the new shows have him visiting the likes of New Jersey, Washington and California. It’s especially impressive news considering he turned 81 back in July, with his 82nd birthday due during this tour.
However, our two remaining Beatles have a tendency towards spritely old age. Paul McCartney is also set for some shows later this year, namely as one of the headlining acts for Glastonbury in June. If you’re interested in this, you can look here.
Starr’s news comes after the release of his two EP’s back in 2021 – Zoom In and Change the World. Zoom In was filmed in Starr’s own home studio during the pandemic months of 2020 and released last year in March, with Change the World following in September.
NME seemed to take the former project with a sense of humour, noting in their 3-star review that it was “the sort of upbeat, unrelenting jollity we expect from Ringo …. Well-meaning and positive, ‘Zoom In’ is the aural equivalent of wishing somebody a ‘Happy Hump Day!’ over email, while wearing a daft grin. For all its flaws, this is a hard record to hate.“
Sadly, we’ve been told not to expect any more full-length LPs from Starr, with 2019’s What’s My Name possibly being his last. But it could be seen as a fitting end, featuring McCartney on a cover of the John Lennon track “Grow Old With Me“, a version which references George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun“ in the string arrangement – thereby having something from each Beatle in some shape or form. A cover of “Money (That’s What I Want)“ also features, something The Beatles included on their 1963 album With the Beatles.
Starr is also due to appear on Eddie Vedder’s new solo album, Earthling, so exciting news for any Pearl Jam/Beatles crossover fans.
