Why Paul McCartney still loves getting on stage with Ringo Starr

23 January 2025, 10:09

Ringo and Paul have kept their relationship alive since The Beatles split up.

After the tragic deaths of John Lennon and then George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have kept the flame of The Beatles alive as solo performers.

And while there was plenty of bad blood between various factions in the band in the years after the split, Sirs Paul and Ringo have seemingly always been on good terms and happy to collaborate with one another.

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That working relationship has continued to this day, and not only did the pair recently finish off "final" Beatles song 'Now and Then', but Ringo has also appeared on stage with Paul during his critically acclaimed live shows.

Quizzed on what it's like playing with Ringo these days, Paul told Mojo: "Yeah, it’s just amazing, actually.

"It's just, yep, it's like wearing a very comfortable pair of shoes, if that's the right metaphor."

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Asked about on Ringo's post-Beatles career, Paul said: "Like all of us, he wanted to continue in music. And besides country music, he's a big fan of old standards, so that's why he did Sentimental Journey as his first album."

Of Ringo's "natural genius", he added: "You know, he didn’t have a sort of heavy education, like a lot of people. So anything he knows is self-taught, most of it, he's very clever that way.

"He picks things up and is very witty. And, above all else, he's an amazing drummer who just knows how to do it. Simple as that."

Since The Beatles split, Ringo and Paul worked together on Starr's Ringo album in 1973, as well as his Ringo's Rotogravure, Stop and Smell the Roses, Vertical Man, Y Not, Give More Love and What's My Name albums in the years that followed.

In turn, Ringo appeared on Paul's Tug of War, Pipes of Peace, Give My Regards to Broad Street and Flaming Pie.

They both appeared on George Harrison's 1981 John Lennon tribute 'All Those Years Ago', and of course collaborated on 'Free as a Bird' and 'Real Love' in the 1990s and the more recent 'Now and Then'.