Ringo Starr: Peace and Love

00:00:15 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Ringo star is one of the most iconic musicians living today, fame drummer for the Beatles and a prolific songwriter in his own right. At eighty one, Ringo's gearing up to release his latest EP changed the world. Then the Lang We Fall Out of up. Following the Beatles breakup in nineteen seventy, Ringo released a run of successful solo albums and chart topping hits. In addition to a budding film career and work as a session player for artists like George Harrison, Bob Dylan and The Beach Boys, Ringo also formed his all star band who for the past thirty years, having looted a rotating lineup of some of the world's best musicians. Rick Rubin and Ringo recorded this interview the day it was announced that Rolling Stones' drummer Charlie Watts passed away. On today's episode, you'll hear Ringo reminisce about partying with Charlie and led Zeppelin's drummer John Bonna. Ringo also talks about how he was a drunk heckler at Beatles shows before we joined the band, and why Paul McCartney was the only Beatle who would share a room with him. This is broken record liner notes for the digital age. I'm justin Richmondon. Here's Rick Rubin and Ringo Star. There you are, can you hear me? Okay, yeah, I'm good, Ricor. I was just on the phone to Paul. He gave me a great advice about to do with you. What did he say? He said, you know, wonderful human being. It's a weird day for us to be talking because Jollie, because Charlie's passing, and I just wanted to ask you any fond memories of Charlie. I have a lot of fund memories of Charlie, and you know, just because you like music. I mean, my line always used to be over the years, what do you think of Charlie said? Well, Charlie plays even less than I do, you know, and any musician got that one. But yeah, we had some nights out so someone was just telling me Charlie's quote, well you know, what do you think about Ringo's drum? And he said, I don't know much of that about his druming, but we have a great time when we go out together. Fantastic. Yeah, So you know, it's sad it's like, yeah, but it happens, you know, that's the deal, that's part of growing up. Yeah, but he was a great plan. I mean he held those guys together for gutsy. His job was harder than mine. Yeah, he was incredible, incredible. I feel like as good as it, as good as it's ever been done. Yeah. Well, you know, we're from the school where you don't have to be busy, and my absolutely you know when anyone tells me or asked me how to play, well, you know, you don't need if the singers singing, you don't need to be doing drum boogie, you know what I mean, just hold them together and then you didn't do fills. That's how I work. Yes, with the song, you know, something that changed with your style though, Like in the early Beatles stuff, it was more straightforward playing a B through the song, but then as time went on it got more almost orchestral like, answering, answering what the other things were going on? How did that start? How did the switch happen? I think that's just was a natural progression. Well, I actually understand what you're saying. And you know, when the Abbey Road came out two years ago, now, I think the remaster, they had a big get together at Abbey Road and friends and family and all of kids, and they had a play back and I'm playing, I'm sitting next to Falling. I'm going, man, I'm much too busy, you know. And you know, if you're listening to Bathroom Window and those that side of that album. I got the new drums, you know, a new kid of drums, and they had actually carf heads. I never had carf heads and were always plastic. And the depth everything I've been trying to get with the tea towels and putting packs of cigarettes to deaden them because of the skin. The depth was so great. So you know, she came into blah blah blaham wins. It's all over those tracks. I think that's just how I felt then. I just loved the sounds. I was going to put them on, you know, I just did a master class and I was trying to tell them, you know, there's parts the drummer players like bump bump dig dig dil. Do you know that's a part. And then those pills you know by don blah blam blah blah blah blah. Don't you know there is a difference to it. They you know, they were They all think like it's all fills. Well, no, not really, it's part of it. Besides Charlie from the old days. Who are the other drummers that you were impressed by? Who were the ones he liked? Well, I was impressed by a lot of different drummers. But you know how weird it may sound. You know, I only have a practice once and then I learned how to play. Join in bands of Liverpool. We all made the same mistakes and got it together. And when I played a record, you know, Solomon bit doesn't matter who. I listened to the record and it wasn't like listening. The drums were just good and uh al Greens, I'm a ram. It's like one of those moments in my life. I'm in London in an apartment George and I shared, but he was out in claus Woman and I were playing records and he goes, I'm around it does this crazy? It's like parts of it and that sort of helped me. Oh well I can make parts now, you know what I mean. That blew me away. It's such a simple move that it changed my life and my way of drumming just that high hats amazing. It's amazing how we hear the things that we need to hear at the right time to move us on our journey. You know, it's amazing. Yeah, I mean, it's like you come on planet. No, it's impossible. It just happens. I mean, if it's like the ever continuing story of sliding doors, you know, if clouds hadden to come over. You know, in this moment, if I hadn't a been in or whatever, we'd have had another drink and forgot that, you know whatever. But it moved me along. I wanted to ask you about you're singing on the new EP, because it sounds like you're singing better than ever. And thanks coming from you, brother, that's good. No, you say it's amazing. You know. I think the more you do it, you know what I mean, it's uh. You know, I got a lot of help from my engineer says, oh, let's do that again. You do a cover of Rock around the Clock. And I wanted to ask you, do you remember the first time you ever heard the song Rock around the Clock like he was yesterday? Tell me. Yeah, So I'm in hospital. I have my fourteenth birthday in hospital, and we're weeks away from my fifteenth birthday and I don't want to be there for my fifteenth birthday. And I'm well, now I'm out of bed. I'm walking and running. You know, we're playing. I'm fourteen. And so my mom and I tried to get me out before my birthday and we went to talk to the doctors and they checked me in. Anyway, a couple of weeks before it was fifteen, they said you can leave. You know, I had TB. So we came out. We went down to London to my stepdad's family and said hi to them, and then we came back. And then of weeks later my grandparents who brought me off with my mother. We're going to the Isle of Man. That's an island just off England. It was like the holiday spot. It was like the Florida of the north of England. They would go over the guys from the factories and that would kiss me quick hats and you know, they were the lads anyway, rocking around the clock. The movie was playing and I went to see the movie and besides Bill Haley blew me Away. They ripped up the cinema. They pulled the seats out there with throwing them at the screen. They were just rock and roll crazy and I thought that's good, and you know, that was probably another move moved me to music. But you know the thing with Bill Haley was he was always like your dad. We were teenaged, young teenage, and he was just like your dad. He played rock. He was the only one. And the BBC actually played him several times, you know, because they played nothing. The BBC was still boring, living in the past. But then when Eddie Cochrane, Elvis of course, and you know, Buddy, all that crowd came out, it was like, all right, that's rock. You know, rock sort of came to its place. But we did have a lot of incredible sort of blues player. I loved the blues, you know, and everyone knows my story with Lightning Hopkins and a lot of other players, of course, and the country came out, got into that, loved that, and I was on the road to music now, you know. And I was playing with Liverpool Band. Then I ended up with Rory. And while I was with Rory, I mean, Brian Epstein knocked on the door. I was a musician. We didn't get up till noon bang bang, as the Beatles are doing a lunchtime session. Would you you know Pete can't make a kid you come down. That's where I started playing with them, and then out of the blue, we were on this gig for a holiday account. Three month gig in those days was incredible and I got a phone from Brian, so that moved that on, you know what I mean. So just being where you're being is it's like there's no explanation really, you can just say it happened, you know, meant to be, meant to be. You know. The fun part of when I joined the Beatles was all the people in Liverpool saying, you're not leaving Rory, are you? Because Rory was the biggest band at the time. I said, yeah, I'm leaving that front line. I love that front line. And that's how it started. Did you ever record in the studio prior to being in the Beatles. No, we did a demo Rory and the Hurricanes did a demo in Germany like the Beatles did with Tony Sherton an ascetate And the fun side of that was I lost mine somewhere in the shuffle of life, so I called Johnny guitar, who was the guitarist in Rory's band, And I said, man, you know i've lost mine. Would you make me a coffee? And he says no, he musn't even make me a coffee. Okay, yeah, but that was the only time I've ever been near a studio. Was it different playing in the studio than playing on stage? Yeah? Why? Well, because you know, I mean, I to this day, I love the audience. You know they I love the They know that, so they love me. We have a love fest. And you know, my mother said a thing years before. She said, you know what, Sun, you always seem like your happiest when you're playing. You know. That was a great line I remembered, and I did. I love to play. I'd play now. I mean I never practiced, but if you came with a piano or bass, didn't matter guitar, I'd sit with you all night. I would playing with another person, but not by myself. I never liked me bombardon you know, it's like what it's not what it's about. Oh, tell me about skiffle music, because skiffle music was before all of the music style. Piffle music, if you had the instrument you were in the band and I had a snare drum, so I was in the band. But the band the first bound Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group and Lonnie Donaghan and it was like, you know, New Orleans house party blues, you know, the rock is line as a man of good. What do we know about the rock Islam and nothing? But you know, we're in Liverpool, but songs like that, you know, and hey Lily, Lily, Lily, and you know, the laft was you could play anything schiffle in one chord. But anyway, next door neighbor and worked in the same factory was a guy called Eddie Miles who liked to call himself Eddie Clayton. But he was an incredible guitar player. And I had my snare drum. And then I had my friend Roy in the factory and he took up the tea chests, just a tea chest with a you know, a broom pole and a piece of string. So he turned into the bass place. We were the trio and we went around playing skiffle songs, you know, and that's how it started. And you know, one of the things we did in those days, we'd play weddings. We'd play anywhere. We didn't care. And we were playing at this dance and people were dancing to us. But we had no sense of time. So everythink we get fast, I can express and you throw it down he lightly. We'd get excited or whatever and anyway, so I learned my lesson and I'm a great timekeeper. But at the beginning, you don't know, You're just excited. So skiffle music. Skiffle music gave us all a chance to play. Yeah, And the government didn't know what they were doing when they you know, we start the call up. You had to go in the army at eighteen. And they came out and made an announcements after the wars in the fifties, they said, if you were born, I have to November nineteen thirty nine, you don't have to come in the army. Great, because you know, I was like an apprentice, because if you had a job or something could experience, they'd put you like on the back bench, you know what I mean. But if you were just a working guy, they'd take you in the army. So that was like an incredible moment because I just thought, okay, no, what eight months nine months how you doing, Captain, you know. So anyway, that's what happened there. And then we don't think of skiffle as a popular music in the US, but it sounds like in the UK a huge skiffle music was essentially coming. Was it coming from America? The roots of it? Yeah, it was America. It's like the blues, you know, we'd do a blues song the stone to do a blue song and it wasn't really big in America, and then everyone got into the blues because we were passing it back. Yeah. I was blessed or we were blessed. We lived in Liverpool because it was a port, so all the guys, you know, the eighteen to twenty pours would go to America. You know, it was the merchant Navy. They weren't in the Navy, and they'd bring all these records back and then they'd spend all the money and getting drunk, and then they'd sell their records and we were picking those records up. It was incredible, you know, the records we had in those days, so that you know, you have to thank them. We'll be back after a short break with more from Ringo. We're back with more from Rick Rubin's conversation with Ringo Star. Besides Rock around the Clock, what were the songs when you heard them? A like life changing songs from childhood? Well, you know, I'm a sentimental fool. Eddie Calvert, Oh my papa. And I was blessed with my stepdad because he like big bands. He had big band fever in it, like Billy Eckstein and you know, Billy Daniels and I just remember the Billy's he always played. And he was so great with me because I'd be playing whatever I'm playing and he'd said, have you heard this? You know, and he'd moved me off for Steff And the time he said to me, have you heard this? And he never said that ship get it off. You just said, hey, have you heard this? And he gave me Sarah on and said, whoa wo Yeah that was far out now looking back, yes, So she changed my life. She doesn't know it. Amazing, amazing And I bet I bet other kids in the UK weren't hearing that kind of music. They weren't. And Glenn Miller and all the big bands of the day, you know, at the side stories of this is when we were the Beatles and we were opening for Helen Shapiro. She had this band. Do you remember the Ted Heath Big Band. It was a big band in England at the time, the fifties. He was huge. Anyway, They were all like his players. But anyway, we were lads and I'm saying, yeah, Hi, what are you doing? How old are you? And he'd say, like forty forty and you're still playing. We were looking at them like these red old guys, but hey, I'm way past forty. Did you always imagine playing music young and then getting a job. Was that always like how you imagine life going? No. I dreamt from when I was thirteen in this same hospital. This hospital had a lot to do with me because I was laying in bed that we had people come around and teach it to nits and stuff you can do in bed, and had knit and they brought in these maracas and tambourines and little drums and like acoustic stuff you can hit and shake. And I hit that drum and I wanted to be a drummer. Wow. And every time she came back, if she didn't give me a drum, I wouldn't play in the band. You know. It was like lightning. Lightning attacked meats and I wanted to be only from that that moment I wanted to be a drummer. And when I came out of hospital, I go around the stores. There's are quite a few music stores in Liverpool, you know, the pretty musical city really and just look at the drums and you know God's gift. I mean, my stepdad's uncle died. We lived in Liverpool. He went down to London outside London, Romford to go to the funeral. Little did he know the guy was a drummer. And he saw that upstairs they had all these drums and he asked the guy's wife, which you sell them to him? Could he buy those drums? And he brought me my first kit that gave me a snare drum that allowed me to join all those early bands. You know, it's like magice. Something you said earlier is interesting to me that you first heard the song that you covered in a movie. It's interesting because we now we think of if you hear a song in a movie, it's because it's already popular in the world, and now it's in a movie. You know, then you get to see it in a movie. But it sounds like for you it was the opposite where the first time you got to hear it was in a movie. Yeah, but you know, Bill was huge in that time, and it was rock and roll. I mean we'd never heard of it. You know. We went from skiffle into rock into soul music really and one of the good you know, tell me Steele, the English singer from the fifties and sixties. He was in the Mansian Navy and he came back and he was set as a singer the Two Eyes coffee Bar in London and they were saying, well, what do you call that music? And he go, I think I'm gonna call it rock and roll and all the British press he's calling it rock and roll like he invented it. It was so fun because there wasn't a lot of rock and roll infest in England at the time. You know, it's uh, you know, all the family parties I went to, it was all music from the forties. Really. Everybody had to sing like show tunes, show tunes and stuff like that. Yeah. So anyway, you know, my moves came from out of the blue and that made me go left or right and in my opinion, made the right decisions. Was it as much the energy of rock and roll that spoke to you first. Was it like, what was it? How would you describe the connection having never heard it before, never heard it before. I heard Bill Haley and he was rocking. But more important, all those teenagers loved rock and roll. They'd been into it whereever it was, and that their attitude was if we hear rock and roll, we rip up the cinema, you know, because they were just so excited. I mean, I remember what was that first movie Elvis did? And it was like a western in a way. They were country boys. He's like this big on the screen and we're going on a cinema to see Elvis in Liverpool and this big All the girls screamed and said, we can't even fucking see him. There he comes. They knew he was coming and they took off. So we were not the first band to be screamed at. Was there a turning point when it went from feeling like you were in a band like everybody, like the other the other lads that were in bands, to where it felt like, Okay, this is really different being in this band. In my own way, it's all about the band and I my all my moves to get in better bands, and as we know where we ended up. But anyway, Rory was great because it was a show band and we had suits and you know, we're dressed off from those days, more like the fifties. You know. His big act of craziness at the end of the set was he'd be singing some rock number and he'd get up. There was always enough right piano behind me. A climb on that and jump over my head to the fall. But so it was like a lot of Rory in the Hurricanes. We had. The Johnny guitar was this incredible rhythm guitarist. I loved him and he stood there and he played. I was related him to Jimmy Andricks. And Rory did his staff and Lou had a great voice. He would do mail Man giving you know, Buddy Holly's numbers and it really worked. But when we ended up in Germany playing the Kaiser Keller and the Beatles were playing down the road in the band Bikino, living behind the toilets. Then Cosh Media, the guy who owned both clubs, decided to put us both on the same cloth. That's where I became an huge fan of the Beatles. Of that front line. I have to say I only love that front line. And where we got our strength from, when I think helped us become who we are, was between two bands we did at the weekend. We did twelve hours between us, and you know, you get to know what you're doing and you get to play and you get to feel each other, you know. And then I went back and played a month with Tony Sheridan and you know, that was off. It was like the music city Hamburg was great. It's very sad now was there a couple of years ago with Klaus and it's all gone. But anyway, things change. Yes, you know, what did you see in that front line? Like when you would go to see them play before you join the band? What was it like? How were they different? They were just the vibe was so tight and great, and then you know, Rory and I, you know, the group would finish and they'd have another two hours to do for an hour or something. I'd always just I was drunk by then. Of course we were teenagers, well not really, it was about twenty. But I would just sit in the front, you know, in front of the club, not on front of the stage, and just yeah and then you know, would empty out because they were onto four of them, all answering, and I would request songs. I don't remember one song I requested, you have to call Paul. And later on when I and I just loved the front line. It was powerful and it was the best front line in Liverpool. That's how it was. And when I joined the band, John was talking to me one day he says, you know, we used to be really scared of you because I'd be that guy. Hey, play me in all three balls in the fact I'm Heckla and drunken Heckler in the back. But yeah, something warmed by heart when I saw them. Yeah, I just thought And when I would play for them when Pete couldn't make it, it just worked great to play with. It just was good for me, you know. And in the end, look where you end up. Yeah, amazing best move they ever made, yes, arguably, yes, Yeah, I mean why didn't they pick me? I mean, what's that? There was other drummers, you know, Johnny Hudch I like to talk about Johnny Huch. There were two drummers in Liverpool and Johnny Hodge was the other one. Yeah, but just the energy was right and you can hear it when you hear the recordings to this day. You can hear the excitement in the performances. Yeah, they're alive. You know, No one will believe how incredible it was that we were in a studio making a record and then you saw it as your ascetate first and always give me facitates a little tapes and it was like you made a record and we knew every time it was going to be played on the BBC because they had a playlist, so and we were always in the same car, and you know, it's like love me do whatever's going to be on at eleven fourteen, you know, they'd have it that precise and we'd pull over like eleven twelve, get ready, Well it's on the radio. I mean then, you know, nowadays, I don't think the kids understand that the step up is easier now, But then these were major steps and we were making them. That was what was great, amazing it all turned out. Well, was it strange when the band decided to stop doing shows and still record, No, that was the best move we ever made. We went on stage and the audience made a lot of noise, and in the end we were playing such big venues, I couldn't hear them. You know. We were always house pa. Now it'd be great, but we was a house pa. So I'd have to like look at Paul's foot, he was always tapping, and John at that so oh yeah. And then if they went I'd never heard it. If they went, oh that's where we are, you know, oh yeah, it's that song, and I couldn't do any fills. I just just keeping it together, you know, because they were there was silence. I have to just keep the groove going. And you know, I felt I was turning into a really not as good a drummer as I could be. I was just doing it for the live and just happened. John felt the same. And then we told to Paul and George and we thought, well, let's take a break and go in the studio and we can just be in the studio. And yeah, turned out fine, you know what I mean. And we lived in the studio and we you know, the livest we got was on the roof what's in the documentary coming out? Yeah, And even then I was laughing with Paul the other day where there's conversations going on, I'm not in the shot him, and he said, well, who wants to play live? And you hear me going, I do and let The joke with the Beatles was including the Habby Road, Let's do it in the Egypt, Let's do it in the Roman amphitheater of the cover, Let's walk across the road. I think that was Paul said, let's just walk across Happy Road. Great, and you know with the roof show, we've gone through that. Let's do it in Alaska. Let's do it, you know, Mount Everest, Let's do it. You know, we don't like this. And Michael lindsay Over was pushing for this Roman dome drone thing in somewhere yeah, you know, God knows where. But anyway, well I think it was probably let's do it on the roof O. Okay, we're playing live. You know. It all happened after the big discussion, a big, big, big, big wow. Let's just do this, you know. I mean I mentioned how we know because that is so iconic and it's just four boys walking across a zebra crossing for Christie. Yes, people are still doing it today. They're flying in from all around the world. Stand and stop the traffic. You know, the joy is we made some great music and I'm part of it and I love that and it's still happening today. It's amazing. Did you have you seen the Peter Jackson yet of the of the let It piece? I've seen six hours editude. Wow, and it's from the start and it's a band in a room, you know what I mean. And for me, the first two hours it's very cold because we had twickened them in a film students too big. But you know we're there, so we we got some of our troubles out. So but this I've seen the six Hours that were was the documentary, but because of lockdown, Peter Jackson is locked in New Zealand and he has cleaned up a few bits, so put a bit of this in. So I haven't seen the absolute vinyl understood. But I heard Paul at a showing of an Hour forty or two hours forty It is holiday home with his holiday friends, and he said it looks great, so good. When you saw the six Hours, did it put you back in the room or did you did you remember it differently than you saw? Tell me about the experience of the six Hours was great because I saw what I'd been moaning about for the last thirty years or forty years that there's no joy. In the first one, there's not I didn't find one moment of joy. And when Peter took the job, God bless him, and he'd keep coming into La with his eye. I'd say, look what I found. And we're laughing, we're fooling around, we're being the lads. You know, we were musicians, we were the lads. We had our up, three had our downs, just how it is, and Michael sort of took the down to be the most important thing in life. You know, God bless him. But that's what he did. And this one shows you there's joy, and there's discussions and you know, some arguments. But that's what it was always like. When you talk about discussions. I always remember years ago, early days of the Beatles, and John came in with a song with a record. He said, oh, I want you to play like this, and we played it and it had two drummers on it. I said, but it's got two Drummies said, okay, okay, just do what you do, you know, And that's how it was. You know, you did whatever the idea was, you did what you could do. Because I couldn't. I wasn't an octopus. Then I couldn't I didn't have four on talking about Johnny Hodge one of the craziest things he ever did and blew us all the way. It used to be a club in Liverpool Saturday night, all night and we'd all all the bands who've been playing would end up there. But Johnny was playing with two sticks in each hand. You've never known so many confused people in your life, he said, what, Yeah, yeah, because he was like that. Lad. All right, What was it like when he moved from the UK to the US. You moved to California at one point in time. Yeah, well, when we landed in New York, there was no bigger moment in my life than that. Where actually in America, all the music we love is from America, and America is big. And you know, talking about coincidences, we got off a plane from Sweden at Heathrow. What's his face? The guy ran it, Ed Sullivan got off a plane from New York. Didn't know anything about it. We didn't know him either, but and he sort of booked us. But on the way to that show, Brian had gone to Capitalty that he wanted more promotion, and we landed with the number one. I mean, you can't work that out. We landed with the number one thanks to Murray the Kay and all those DJs amazing far out because we were worried, you know, we were like, you must have heard the story that George had his sister lived in America. He went on holiday, so he'd be going around the record stores. Have you got the beauty? Never heard of them? You know we're on I think we're on the Swan label. Then yes, And he came back to Oh, they don't know us over there, because we were used to it now Spain, Denmark, Holland wherever we played it was crowded. So he was said, oh, they don't know us, and we were like a bit worried. But anyway, we're going to America, you know. And that's what we did. And the other thing that saved our lives there we found out from the press because you know, after and sold, we all got on a train and went to Washington. We were talking to the press and they said, you know, we've all come to shit on you to shoot you down from England. Who needs it, you know, And he said, and you started shouting at us. Oh so we love you because we were answering back. We're from Liverpool, from New York and oh I what do you think about? We were given them what they were giving us, and they couldn't believe that because everyone was so paid deference to them. Oh yes, it's very nice. Thank you. We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back with more from Ringo. Here's the rest of Rick Rubin's conversation with The Ringo Star. How would you describe the relationships within the band? Well, big relationship of course, with all rights, John and Paul and I mean things that went on when I joined the band. We only ever had two rooms in hotels. We're all in the same car. We had two rooms. We're always getting to know each other anyway. Paul was the only one to sleep with me because the other job. We don't know if he falls or whatever, you know. Anyway, so together. There's a famous story historically where when John and Yoko kind of split up for a minute and John came to California. Were you living in California at that time? I was in California at that time. Yeah, did you guys get to hang out we got to hang out a loss and he was doing Mary Nilson's Pussycat album. And the good and the bad thing about that was that's where Harry lost his voice. Because we were all living in a house in Malibu, twelve of us, and there was a lot of mood altering situations. You know. There were one night I go into the studio. There's Keith Moon, Jim Calton, and I wear the drummers. But we got around Keith and told me he should go home. But he was living at the house, you know what I mean. We were all just hanging out, taking whatever and doing music and we you know, talk about Rock around the clock. If you had his version, and Jesse had Davis the guitar player, you know, we'd all taken like a hitter speed at the counting and so it's very fast if you listen. But Jesse had actually played the solo, and we're all, wow, Jesse, yes, Davis the solo. So a lot of old stories from the olden days. I remember going up to the upstairs room at the Rainbow, the Rainbow Bar and grill on Sunset, and there's some sort of a plaque there that I think that Keith's name your name. A few of the people who spend a lot of time up there commemorated. Yeah, you ended up. You know, it's like, where do you end up. You've been here, you've done this, it's the second night, you know, you've been up fifty hours or whatever, and you just sort of your body would just sort of take you up those stairs and we all, you know, because everyone up there was pretty far gone, we'd all hang out together and it was just a great vibe and we could go up there and be crazy. You know. One of the other crazy things that happened was I had a house in la and every time let Zephlen come bonom his mission in life was to get in a car, come to my house, pick me up, and throw me in the pool. And then I remember vividly one night, I'm dressed up, I'm going out as whatever, and no, John, No, John, John, I'm look, I'm dressed in the pool. Use we hung out quite a bit, John and I. It was so good. Then then we'd sort of moved to on the Rocks. That was the next place where we hung out. Do you remember the first time you saw John Bonham play? No, But I remember the first time I I invited the boys to a party in England. We were having a party and it's actually a great day to mention this story and let Zeppelin come. But you know, Jimmy can't come. Jimmy doesn't come to parties anyway, Jimmy came and John came and I had a kid of drums upstairs in the attic was like the playroom, and John Bonham was playing them and Jollie and I got dressed your soul, Jollie. Jollie and I were holding the base room because it was hopping and this leg was getting too short, so we were holding and there's no photo of Jolly. Watch Ringos are holding the drum the base. It was far out amazing, So they us moments in the life. I mean, the rest of the day was pretty regular. Yeah, there was a there was a story that I remembered John told on a TV interview where he said, when the band broke up, they all knew they were going to be okay, but they were worried about you because you were one of the main songwriters and they were afraid, like, what's Ringo gonna do? And then when your work came out, your solo stuff, post Beatles was the most successful of any post beatle right from the beginning. I know it blew the mind, but they were all on my early records. But yeah, I sat in the garden, what am I gonna do? You know, I'm not a front guy, and I thought, well, you know, as we spoke before all family parties and we had a lot of them Saturday nights. They like to get happy and marry my mom and her sisters and uncles, and they'd all sing these songs, you know, show tunes and standards. Yes, and I thought, well, I'm going to do them. You know. That was my idea. Called George Martinson, you know, to get me out of the house. I was like, okay, I'm going to sing those songs that I've listened to all my life. And so that's how we started. Then the other record was an accident with Pete Drake. So George is doing all things must pass these flowing Pete and you know we're talking about how it happens. I sent my car to get Pete at the airport and when he came back to Dome a horse. I see you like country music because I had a lot of in those cassettes. And as were the sessions went on, he said, you know, you should come to Nashville and make a record. And I can't go to Nashville. What three or four months to make a record? Said what Nashville Skyline took two days? And I said, oh okay. So anyway, I ended up in Nashville and two days later we'd finished bookoos the Blues, you know, and then Richard Ferry I was like, you know, these are all side stories. Harry Neilson and I were doing the Grammys in Nashville because we were great pals, and Richard came and I thought, oh, Richard, because he produced Harry Man, why don't we stay after the Grammys and do a record? And he was the one, why don't we go to La? Yeah? And uh and we came to LA and who knew? John arrived, George arrived, you know, the band were on it. I mean it was like an all Stars record, really, yes, And that I've kept momentum going on the road. I have all these different plays. You have to have hits, you have to want to have a good time, and uh, you know thirty rg years we've had the old Stars now. So anyway, that's how we got to the Ringo album, which was great, Yeah, amazing. Yeah. If you look at the players, it's like who's who? Yeah, and I bet it was super fun make. But it was really fun to make them as well. It was we had a lot of fun. And the No No song was fun because we were doing everything no no was it? Was it true at the time or no no, no, no no, That's what I said. Anything we were doing was no no. Did you play on All Things Must Pass? I'm not aware of that. Yeah, you sound sounded like George. He called me up saying, Ringo, did you play in All Things Must Fastna? I don't know, I don't remember. And anyway, then when he puts the record out and the little booklet and he said Ringo didn't even remember. He didn't mention he didn't remember. I hadn't played. So that was a great track, great album. It's a really good album. And so what other what other post Beatles stuff did you play on with the other lads? Well, they played on mine. I played a course. The Plastic Gona band was just incredible, just John and Klaus and I, Yeah, and John going through final stream. So it wasn't even in between takes. Sometimes in the take he would get it out. You know, it's great. It's great to be part of that one. I love that record. And because it's three of us, you know what I mean, the dynamics just really great. And uh I played on Leon Russell's first album, solo album, Stephen Stills, and I played on bb King London. You know, after my s of six weeks after the break off, I got on my feet and started moving and playing and doing you know, and that's all it takes. But I did have like a moment of sadness. What am I going to do? And look what I'm doing now. I'm talking to you, the great Nick Rubin. I can remember you coming to the studio to play on a Tom Petty song. Yeah at East West Oh the studio. Yeah. Yeah. You played a smaller drum kit than most of the other drummers who had played, and you seem to be working less hard than everybody else, and the sound of tone coming off the drums filled the room much more than anybody else, and it was it looked like a magic trick. Yeah. Well that's how I played. I mean, I you know, people said, well how do well, just what I do you know. It's the other thing about Tom was I said I'll play on four tracks because I don't want to live with him forever, because he was a beautiful human being he was. I called him once. I was making a record and I called him and he said, I'll do it. I said, I haven't even asked you. Yes, she said, look, I'll do it. And he came and sang this song that somebody else had sang with me, but the management thought it would ruin the whole career. So Tom just came out and I was in some of their videos. So we were hanging, you know. But when I said, okay, I'll play him four by three, Oh Daddy, enough as you were there, I said, and he said, trickier than your thoughts, I won't think as there were some like weirdness. Yeah. Absolutely, And I remember at that point in time, we really would orchestrate how the drums would go, and you were used to a different style of playing where you would just kind of groove through it and then play pills. And it was fascinating to me the way you worked, and it really worked out great for the stuff you played on with Tom. Yeah good. They sent me a gold disc you know you got a gold disc for that record. Great, he sent me one. I was looking around, but I've just moved around some of my stuff and I've taken that one down. Anyway, Rick, you got one more minute? Okay, I'm good. It's a pleasure speaking to you and seeing you again, okay, and I look forward to doing it again soon. I'm gonna FaceTime Paul and tell me you're gonna push over, please do. He called me today because he knew it, said, oh, you know you want to know about drums and music. Okay, he's in love. He's in love. Talk to you later, man. Thanks to Ringo Star for talking about the good old days with you Rink do your Ringos new ep Change the World and all of her favorite Ringos songs. Check out Broken Record podcast dot com. You should have subscribed to our YouTube channel at YouTube dot com slash Broken Record Podcast. We can find all our news if you could follow us on Twitter at broken rap. Broken Record is produced with help from Lea Rose, Jason Gambrell, Martin Gonzalez, Eric Sandler, and Jennifer Sanchez, with the engineer and help from Nick Chafee. Our executive producer is Milo Bell. Broken record is production of Pushkin Industries. If you love this show and others from Pushkin Industries, consider becoming a Pushnick. Pushnick is a podcast subscription that offers bonus content an uninterrupted, ad free listening for four ninety nine. Look for Pushnick exclusively on Apple podcast subscriptions. And if you like this show, please remember to share, rate, and review us on your podcasting. Our theme music spect Kenny Beats. I'm justin Richmond.