Ringo Starr has admitted his earliest stabs at songwriting didn’t exactly impress the rest of The Beatles – and the band would burst out laughing whenever he brought an idea to the table.
The 85-year-old music legend, who released his new Americana‑leaning solo album Long Long Road yesterday (April 24), looked back on those early days and said his bandmates didn’t hold back.
He told the BBC: “They’d all be just laughing hysterically because all I’d done is rewritten another song.
“So it took me a while to get through that moment into writing my songs, you know, and in the end they started turning out really good.”
During his Beatles stint, Ringo penned two tracks for the legendary Liverpool group entirely on his own – Don’t Pass Me By and Octopus’s Garden – and he also shared writing credits on several others including What Goes On, Flying, Dig It and Maggie Mae.
These days it’s a different story, with Sir Paul McCartney teaming up with Ringo for a new duet, Home to US, on Paul’s upcoming album The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, out next month.
Ringo is also gearing up to take Long Long Road on tour across western American in May and June – and despite stepping up as frontman, he insists he’s still behind the kit.
He explained that there are two drum kits set up on stage so Gregg Bissonette can hop on when Ringo heads to the mic.
The former Beatle also fielded a few more unexpected questions – including whether he was the first member of the Fab Four to try cannabis.
He readily admitted with a laugh: “Yes.
“I took the first puff.”
And the long‑running rumour about him never eating pizza or curry?
He confirmed: “I never have.”
Ringo recently said his stamina comes down to one superfood – broccoli.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, he said: “Well, you’ve got to eat more broccoli.
“All the good things about me, I blame broccoli for. So now I say, peace and love and broccoli.”
Long Long Road is out now on all major platforms.
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