For Ringo Starr, it's still about peace and love — and laughter
CBC
More than 60 years after Ringo Starr first hit the stage with the Beatles, the rock 'n' roll superstar and multimillionaire says performing still hasn't gotten old.
"Music keeps you young," Starr said in a video call with CBC. "I've never had a day that I've said, 'I don't want to do this anymore.'
"Musicians have magic nights," he continued, leaning into the lens with excitement. "The band is together, the audience is together, we're all joined. That's the hook.
"Some nights, it's just great. Other nights, it's incredible. And I love that feeling."
The former Beatle is on the second leg of a North American tour that will see him hit more than two dozen cities in under two months — pretty impressive for an 82-year-old. He has a string of upcoming Canadian dates, starting Monday in Laval, Que., and continuing with shows in every province to the west, including an Oct. 4 Winnipeg stop.
That date has been highly anticipated for decades by Winnipeg fans like author and rock historian John Einarson. He was just 12 years old when the Beatles' plane touched down in Winnipeg to refuel on Aug. 18, 1964 — the band's first time on Canadian soil.
The layover was announced on the city's radio stations just an hour before landing.
"[Beatles manager] Brian Epstein happened to look out the window and saw hundreds and hundreds of kids on the outdoor observation deck," said Einarson. "He convinced the four Beatles to get off the plane."
Einarson, who sometimes leads Beatles tours in the band's hometown of Liverpool, U.K., still laments not having found a ride to the airport that August day.
"It was a big, big deal," said Einarson. "The Beatles were everything in 1964. They were starting their first North American tour, heading to San Francisco, and they stopped in Winnipeg — in the middle of nowhere — and greeted the fans.
"And it was Ringo who said, as they were going back onto the plane, 'Hope to see you again!'"
Six decades later, those 20 minutes on the tarmac might have been less remarkable for Starr.
"I don't remember landing," said the rock star with a chuckle. "We were on tour, baby! You know what it's like."
But the legendary drummer said he's happy to return to the city, showing his affection for the local audience with one of his trademark ribbings.
