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During a media junket supporting the EP, Starr explained what he hopes will resonate with listeners, shared his favorite memory of the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, spoke of the progress of Peter Jackson\u2019s expanded Disney+ Beatles miniseries \u201cGet Back,\u201d and explained the significance of using Bill Haley\u2019s classic \u201cRock Around the Clock\u201d on the EP.<\/p>\n
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What would you like fans to take away from your new EP?<\/strong><\/p>\n Joy and the expression \u201cChange the World.\u201d We\u2019re changing it for the kids. It doesn\u2019t seem like it. There are those people meeting in New York right now. Half the world is on fire, half of its underwater and people are still wondering (what to do). \u201cWell, we can\u2019t do that,\u201d and I think we have to do a lot. So, I\u2019d like to change the world for the kids. I do wonder about politicians. Do they have kids? Do their kids have kids?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What do you think about the status of your \u201cpeace and love\u201d movement?<\/strong><\/p>\n When I started the \u201cpeace and love\u201d moment for my birthday in 2008, on the streets of Chicago, we had like, 100 people, and now we actually have \u201cpeace and love\u201d moments in 28 countries around the world. So slowly, but surely, we\u2019re like the pebble in the ocean. It\u2019s rippling out. And you can only do what you do. And that\u2019s what I do . . . peace and love.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n You have cooperated with many musicians during your career. But what qualities and inputs do you appreciate most from Steve Lukather? <\/strong><\/p>\n Well, his guitar playing, of course. And I like the way he cries at the sessions, that\u2019s very nice (laughs). He\u2019s a good friend, and we have fun. And of course, he\u2019s an incredible player. That\u2019s what I love about having them on the session and is very fast. There\u2019s no sort of torture going on. We get on with it. So that\u2019s why I love Steve Lukather.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n You include \u201cRock Around the Clock\u201d on this project. How much has rock evolved from the 50s to now? Do you think the Beatles changed rock history?<\/strong><\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t say rock history. I think they changed music history. I mean, one of the biggest things The Beatles did was write the songs, and we\u2019d all record them. Because in those days, you had the writer was like a separate gig. And then the band recorded it. And we had a moment with George Martin, where he would bring great songs. And we all said \u201cNo, no.\u201d Well, I said, \u201cGeorge, we want to do this.\u201d And they said, \u201cWe want to do ours.\u201d And that\u2019s how it happened. You know what I love to this day? The Beatles are still out there. The music still holds up. And we worked real hard. And, of course, we got some great songs.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Why did you choose to cover \u201cRock Around the Clock?\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n Well, I was sitting here you know, I made an EP, I\u2019m in the middle of it, and I love the EP because it\u2019s four tracks, and I do it in this room. You can see the back of it. And the drums are in the bedroom. It\u2019s a small studio. And I don\u2019t know. I was just thinking about tracks for the EP and I went through my head about memories. I had my seventh birthday in the hospital. I had my 14th birthday in the hospital. I was still there when my 15th birthday was coming up. And I didn\u2019t want to spend it in the hospital. So, my mother talked to the doctors. I had TB, and I\u2019d been there over a year, so I was doing pretty good. They decided they\u2019d let me out. And first of all, I went down to London with my stepdad and my mom to see his folks. And now we came back to Liverpool and then my grandad took me to the Isle of Man island of Britain. And it was incredible because I went to see \u201cRock Around the Clock,\u201d the movie. And it was full of like crazy British holidaymakers with \u201cKiss Me Quick\u201d hats and a little out of their minds. And I\u2019m sitting there, you know, I\u2019ve been in the hospital, I don\u2019t know too much about what\u2019s going on lately. And they ripped up the cinema. I mean, they just threw the chairs, they ripped them out. And I was going, \u201cWow, this is great.\u201d So that moment is like writ in my head. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. So I said, \u201cWell, I\u2019m gonna\u2019 do \u201cRock Around the Clock.\u201d Because it\u2019s my EP, I can do whatever I like. I did a sort of an old school version, and then I thought, \u201cNo, put the sticks on.\u201d And then I rocked. And then I called Joe Walsh, and he rocked.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n You were originally going to launch your latest tour in Canada two years ago. What are the tour plans as they stand now?<\/strong><\/p>\n We<\/strong> didn\u2019t know what it was going to be like. In February, everybody was cool. In March, it was getting a bit rough. And we had to stop. We first talked a May and June tour. And I in my naivet\u00e9, I\u2019m on the internet saying \u201cWell, I\u2019m sorry. I know you\u2019re all ready for me to come to these gigs. But don\u2019t worry, hold on to the tickets, because I\u2019m going to do the exact same tour next year.\u201d And, of course, we didn\u2019t. Nothing this year. I\u2019m not going out this year. But I\u2019ve got the tour lined up for next year. They\u2019ve sent me the itinerary already. But you know, it\u2019s impossible to say now if it\u2019s on. I\u2019m saying in my heart it\u2019s on, but let\u2019s see where we are. Getting through the pandemic, it\u2019s not been easy. But what makes it easier for me is that I get a chance to make music here or send the files and hang out with other musicians like last year that would all be tested before we joined up together. This year, we\u2019ve all had our jobs. So, we sort of hang out, not for a long time, like Nathan East comes over. It\u2019s been a very strange year, but when the tour dates come up, I feel myself saying, \u201cOh, God, I want to be on tour,\u201d and it\u2019s not gonna happen. That\u2019s just the truth of the whole deal. It\u2019s still dodgy. I mean Barbara and I were just over in England. We went over there to see our kids and the grandkids and everybody. But you know, walking up King\u2019s Road, we\u2019re the only ones with masks on. That\u2019s how it is. This year, I feel we can, because of the vaccination, actually move a little more than we did last year.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What is your vision for changing the world? What do you want listeners to take away from this EP? <\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019d like them to be kind, considerate, understanding loving, and in peace. We live in America, but half of the world is starving, and half of the world doesn\u2019t have water. I mean, everybody knows I support water aid because I believe if you don\u2019t have anything, you should have water if you\u2019re on this planet. And because it\u2019s necessary. But they\u2019re drinking crap water that\u2019s polluted. A couple of years from now, it\u2019ll be hard to breathe because of the pollution in the air. Just be kind to your neighbor, to your friends, to the person next door. You know, let\u2019s try and understand what they\u2019re going through. Not only us. I\u2019m not political, but you know, we sent those Haitian people back from Texas. What are they gonna do? They left there because there\u2019s no food. There\u2019s nothing for them. You know, thousands have died and then the storm. This is why governments have to take charge, not only of their own country but all these other countries that are really suffering. You know? Oh, you\u2019ve got me on my high horse now (laughs).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Do you have any special remembrances about (Rolling Stones drummer) Charlie Watts? <\/strong><\/p>\n Yeah, Charlie was a great guy a lot of fun. And he had a harder band than I do to keep together. I\u2019d meet Charlie, we\u2019d hang out. He\u2019s been up here. It\u2019s not like we lived together. We lived close in London, and we\u2019d bump into each other on King\u2019s Road or wherever. We\u2019d find ourselves at a dinner or a gig. But I had a party in the \u201870s. And I had a drum kit up in the attic. Charlie came, and so did John Bonham. So we\u2019ve got three drummers just hanging out and Bonham got on the kit. But it\u2019s not like on stage and nailed down, so it was not steady. So, as he was playing, the bass drum was hopping away from, and you had Charlie Watts and Ringo holding the bass drum for him as he played. That would have been a great little video, a TikTok or a photo that would have gone worldwide. But in the 70s, I had parties, you\u2019ll never find any photos because I wouldn\u2019t let you take photos in my house. But I always think that would have been a great shot to have. We will miss Charlie. He was a beautiful human being, and he\u2019s like the quiet man.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Were there any surprises as the new Beatles documentary \u201cGet Back\u201d is being put together? <\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a little longer now. It all came about, because Apple, our company, Apple, found 56 hours of unused footage from the Michael Lindsay Hogg documentary. And we were blessed that Peter Jackson took it on. I was always moaning about the original, that there was no real joy in it. It was all based on this down little incident. Anyway, Peter would come into LA and he\u2019d bring stuff to show me on his iPad. \u201cWe found this\u201d and we\u2019re laughing, fooling around. And being musicians, I mean, you have to think that to \u201cGet Back.\u201d From January 5th<\/sup> to the end of January, within a month, we made a record. And we\u2019d done that roof gig on the roof, which was so great. And we played live again. There\u2019s a great piece in the thing for me, where Paul says, \u201cWho wants to play live?\u201d And you can hear me in the background going, \u201cI do.\u201d (laughs) And we did. And you know, always we, The Beatles, we were going to Turkey, somewhere, or we\u2019re going off Everest, or you know, we\u2019ll be in a desert, or Hawaii, we\u2019ll go to the volcano. Or with \u201cSgt. Pepper\u2019s,\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s just walk across the road.\u201d With this one, (we were just like) \u201cLet\u2019s do it on the roof.\u201d And that\u2019s what we did. And it was great. The police played a huge part, not that they did anything, but they were moaning at us. And they look really silly in the film now. But we\u2019ve got all this extra footage. So you know, surprise, surprise, we\u2019re still hanging out, Peter\u2019s doing it, he\u2019s locked up in New Zealand because of the pandemic. Now the documentary is six hours long. And it\u2019s going to come out in America over three nights through Thanksgiving. But it\u2019s got the start, the middle and the finish. The start is very slow. And then we get into it, and then we\u2019re at it, and then we\u2019re out. So, I mean, I love it. But I\u2019m in it, of course. So six hours is never long enough (laughs). I think everyone will enjoy it, because you see this band work really hard, and went through emotional ups and downs to get to where we got every time. But that\u2019s just how it was, four guys in a room, you know, you\u2019re gonna have a few ups and downs. So that\u2019s all I can say about that, that Peter Jackson is our hero. He\u2019s done a great job. And it will be out a little long. The actual roofing gig is I think 43 minutes long. It\u2019s pretty cool. When it was like eight a half minutes. The end result is that I loved it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cChange the World\u201d by Ringo Starr, will release Friday on CD, cassette, and through digital outlets from UMe. The 10\u201d vinyl version will release November 19. Peter Jackson\u2019s \u201cGet Back\u201d documentary will air on Disney+ in November.<\/p>\n Listen to the first single, \u201cLet\u2019s Change the World,\u201d below:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/720\/2021\/09\/RingoEP-300x300.jpg\")