When The Beatles decided to quit touring in 1966, Ringo Starr became accustomed to life exclusively as a studio musician. Even after the Fab Four parted ways and ventured down solo endeavours, Starr still refused to tour his own music until he formed the All-Starr Band in 1989.
While he continued to record material following the end of The Beatles, announcing himself as a solo artist in 1970 with Sentimental Journey, Starr didn’t even consider taking his work on the road. John Lennon also didn’t tour as a solo artist after the band reached the end of their tenure, although he did make sporadic live appearances.
George Harrison, meanwhile, toured across North America with Ravi Shankar in 1974 and later did the occasional one-off show, but he never committed himself to being a touring artist. In fact, Paul McCartney was the only Beatles member who consistently toured before Ringo finally took to the road in 1989.
Most artists tour to make money, but that was never an issue for The Beatles, who could all individually afford never to play a show or record another note of music. However, Ringo needed to return to performing concerts to fill a void in his life that he’d previously occupied through alcohol and substances before going sober after visiting a rehabilitation clinic in 1988.
Suddenly, once he removed hedonism from his life, Starr had ample time on his hands, and the idea of touring finally started to feel more appealing. He didn’t need the money that touring would bring, but the drummer required a healthy distraction, and after a two-decade absence, Starr was finally ready to play live.
Speaking to Rock Cellar in 2017, Starr explained why it took him so long to play live as a solo artist. He said: “I sort of slowed down a lot, and then I didn’t want to go on tour; I was just hanging out, and then it just seemed to be the right time. Everybody knows my story. I ended up in rehab in ’88, and I put the first All-Stars together in ’89 because that’s the difference.”
Similarly, reflecting on his first solo headline show, Starr admitted: “Before that, I was terrified. I’d said yes, but well, now you’ve got to carry on, and so I just took out my phonebook. Children, in those days, we used to have phonebooks. I started calling people like Dr John, like Joe Walsh, like Nils (Lofgren), and then I thought I needed Levon (Helm).”
Starr felt he needed protecting while on stage because it had been 22 years since he’d performed an entire show. He explained: “I was so insecure that I had three drummers, me being one of them, Levon on this side and Jim Keltner on this side. We had Rick (Danko) and Billy Preston; it was far out. We had a great band, and I had a great time, so as you can tell, I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Thankfully, the show was a success and over three decades later, Starr continues to tour internationally with his All-Starr Band, which proved to be a lifeline when he needed it most in 1989. While it was daunting for the drummer to face his fears, the decision turned out to be one of the best he’s ever made.
