Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr's ex-Beatle career has been very much as an ex-Beatle and as he said in The Beatles' Anthology:

"...It's impossible to turn the page and say 'I'm no longer a Beatle'...To this day and for everyone, that's what I am..."

Though that's most definitely the case, his ex-Beatle career hasn't been without its highlights, with success in a number of areas. Ringo has:

• acted in various movies (lead, supporting actor & cameos)
• directed a concert movie, Born To Boogie
• narrated Thomas The Tank Engine

...as well as worked on many smaller projects. However, it's as a Beatle that he'll always be remembered and he has, for twenty years, on and off, toured with his own nostalgia revue, the All Starr Band. 

"...Ringo lets loose with his superstar friends in this eagerly awaited video of worldwide concert highlights from four different All Starr Bands. All the fun and variety of the shows are captured here as legendary rockers share the spotlight and join in with Ringo on his favorite solo and Beatles hits. Introduced by Paul McCartney, this collection is a must for any true fan of rock 'n' roll!..." Amazon blurb

Albums

Sentimental Journey 

Shocking the Rock Music world in early 1970 with this album of old standards, Ringo was years ahead of his time, releasing it just before Let It Be. 

Beacoups Of Blues

Recorded in 2 days with some of America's top country session players, Beaucoups Of Blues is a genuine country album which befuddled rock audiences when it was released in 1971.

Ringo 

In 1973, the rock world was buzzing about possibility of a Beatles reunion and Ringo's next album was being looked at as the first step for that eventuality. When the first single, Photograph, was released, it sure sounded Beatlish...and the album provided Ringo with three monster singles.

Goodnight Vienna

After The Beatles reconciliation no-show in 1974, Ringo's follow-up album was inevitably going to suffer...and it did.   

Ringo Starr's Greatest Hits

A fine collection of one off singles:

• It Don't Come Easy + music video
• Back Off Boogaloo + music video 

...and album tracks make a really strong early 70s pop package.

The model and photographer, Nancy Lee Andrews was Ringo's companion from 1974-1980 and her recently published book of photos recalls that time...

 Nancy Lee Andrews: A Dose Of Rock & Roll

Nancy Lee Andrews was introduced to Ringo by none other than John Lennon in mid 1974.  They met again when Ringo was recording Goodnight Vienna and a romance that lasted six years blossomed. Their romance fell apart when Ringo met Barbara Bach on the set of Caveman. A Dose Of Rock'n'Roll is Nancy's pictorial history of their time together mixing with the world's most famous rock stars.

"...It has been said that rock 'n' roll was a boys-only club in the 1960s and 1970s. Among the few women who gained entry was a high-spirited, half-Sicilian and half-Cherokee beauty named Nancy Lee Andrews. As a top Ford model, Andrews was the perfect complement to one of the world's biggest rock stars, former Beatle Ringo Starr. Her romantic relationship with the famous drummer granted her an All Access Pass to a world beyond the velvet rope. These photographs, taken over a decade starting in 1970, are a personal journey through Andrews' life at the peak of pop culture history. It's also an intimate view of the stars with whom she shared those amazing years. Seen through the lens of Nancy Lee Andrews, this fascinating visual portrayal captures some of the greatest rock and other icons of our lifetime..." Amazon blurb

Movies:

In the late 1960s it appeared that Ringo would be carving himself a second career outside of The Beatles as an actor. His thespian efforts were mostly well-received, climaxing in 1980's Caveman, which is pretty good I've reviewed several of Ringo's films on this site:

Ringo's first effort was Candy (1968), a small part, in which he played a lustful Mexican gardener.

His next role was in The Magic Christian (1970) in which he played opposite Peter Sellers as the accomplice of a billionaire who believes that everyone has their price.  

Ringo's next movie was the little-known Blindman, a spaghetti western, released in 1970. Ringo plays a vicious kidnapper who is being hunted by a blind gunslinger. I haven't seen it but I've discovered that it's presently available with English subtitles.

Blind Man

In 1972, Ringo starred in the acclaimed That'll Be The Day with a very young David Essex who went on to pop stardom and a long-running acting career. 

That'll Be The Day DVD

"...The place is Britain. The time: 1958. Said to be based on the early life of John Lennon, this honest and gritty drama is widely considered to be the best depiction of the 1950's British rock scene. Jim McLain (David Essex) leaves home and takes a series of low level jobs at a seaside amusement park. His new friend, played by Ringo Starr, introduces him to a world of tawdry sex and petty crime..." Amazon reviewer Robin Simmons

"...Ringo Starr has a featured role as a carnival worker who befriends him and shows him the ropes. He is outstanding, and made me wish he had more movie roles like this one..." Amazon reviewer R. Kahn

"...Essex's character is such a scumbag. That's what makes it real. I felt I was almost watching a documentary..." Amazon reviewer Robert Barnett

Ringo had cameos in Ken Russell's outrageous and very over-the-top, Lisztomania (the follow-up to Tommy) & Mae West's Sextette, where he played one of the ageing sexpot's former husbands. 

Ringo's next major acting role was starring in the movie Caveman, a slapstick classic and really quite funny.

In 1972, Ringo went behind the lens and directed the pop concert + fantasy sequences movie, Born To Boogie, based around the band, T.Rex, then the biggest act in the U.K. It has only recently made it to DVD and I look forward to seeing it in the near future. 

T. Rex: Born To Boogie

"...This DVD is absolutly fantastic! Everything about it is top notch. The concert footage is superb and their performance awesome. I am a big T-Rex fan, but I have to say that I had no idea how hot this band was LIVE..." Amazon reviewer Christopher M. Jones

"...This DVD finally brings together not only the restored BORN TO BOOGIE but also a multitude of extras, including two LIVE concerts in which Bolan and his associates are at their peak...The restoration of the image from 16mm is absolutely first rate; most of the footage was rescued, along with the original stereo recordings, from 100s of rusting film cans in Ringo's garage. Tony Visconti, who worked with Bolan during his key era, did the remastering of the soundtrack, and it's absolutely remarkable; no distortion, and great presence. There are also:

• interview extras
• a long piece on the restoration of the film
• outtakes with Elton John and Ringo during a jam session and much, much more...

...T Rex...during its heyday, was responsible for 25% of all record sales in the UK (yes, that's right)...Buy, enjoy, and play loud. The movie itself is something of a mess, with a number of useless fantasy sequences that don't come off but the two concerts more than make up for it; this is rock and roll history, and a copy of this should be an essential in every collection..." Amazon reviewer Jonathan Drake

TV:

Artwork:

You can purchase prints of Ringo's original artwork at:

www.frontrowgallery.com

Bizarre memorabilia!

For more info, see:

• wikipedia Ringo Starr
• transcribed Ringo radio interview, 1976. It's mostly a mini-autobiography and some time spent discussing a possible Beatles reunion
• very short Ringo sound grabs from the radio, talking about Beatle songs 
• a reasonably thorough look at Ringo's Ring O' Records record label, which was in action 1975-1978