Ringo Starr

Ringo: And I came back and it was great, 'cuz George had set up all these flowers all over the studio saying welcome home. So then we got it together again. I always felt it was better on the White (album) for me. We were more like a band, you know.

Ringo: America: It's like Britain, only with buttons.

(discussing his experience with the All Starr Band) Ringo: For me it works as a great formula. It's just really a great way for me to do it. If you look at all the bands I've put together, it's an incredible array of musicians, all these different people. Everyone has hit records, hit songs. The show consists of me upfront and then I go back behind the kit and support the others. It's just good music and I'm having a lot of fun and that's what it all about – great music and fun."

(1993, in response to the release of Ringo Rama) Ringo: There is a lot of me in these songs. As time goes on, my personality is coming out more and more in the music. That's just what happens. On this album my drumming is more dynamic, I'm more to the front, I think I'm singing better, and I believe we're writing better songs. All the touring helps because then you're keeping your chops up. I suppose I had a long time off, and now I've had a long time on."

(in 1990, upon the release of the All Starr Band's first album) Ringo: I've said this over and over again, but I love being in a band.

(in 1989, referring to the formation of the All Starr Band) Ringo: I got a message from a guy named David Fishof asking if I'd be interested in putting a band together. I had been thinking the same thing – and so I went through my phone book, rang up a few friends and asked them if they'd like to have fun in the summer.

(when asked what the Beatles do with all of their money) Ringo: We bury it.

Ringo I like Beethoven, especially the poems.

(spoken shortly after the birth of his son, Zak, in 1965) Ringo: I won't let Zak be a drummer!

(referring to his first solo album, Sentimental Journey) Ringo: I did it for my Mum.

Ringo: When I was thirteen I only wanted to be a drummer.

Ringo: A lot of my postcards have little drawings on them and they're like an itinerary of what the other three were up to. Because of the bits I write on each item, it's also like a semi-autobiography.

Ringo: Let us see them do something good for Britain. Build a hospital. And that Dianamemorial? It's such a lot of crap. She deserved more than that, in my opinion.

Ringo: When they come here, the English make a choice: New York or L.A. L.A suited me better, I just feel comfortable here.

Ringo: I kept thinking that I really should do something with all those postcards, and then I had this idea; they'd make a great book.

Ringo: We both ended up in rehab, and we have addictive personalities, so we try to help people in the same boat.

Ringo: The main thing is, I don't ever want to go back to work.

Ringo: I figure we're good for another four years. I don't want to invest me money in stocks or anything. I just want to havet and draw twenty or thirty quid a week.

Ringo: I'm no good on the technical things but I'm good with all the motions, swinging my head, like. That's because I love to dance but you can't do that on the drums.

Ringo: I started to be an engineer, but I banged me thumb on the first day. I became a drummer because it was the only thing I could do.

Ringo: At the end of the day, I can end up just totally wacky, because I've made mountains out of molehills. With meditation, I can keep them as molehills.

Ringo: For me, meditation is a break from thinking. The benefits to me are quieting my mind and soul down.

Ringo: I'm not a violent man, but I was getting violent. It was just painful, waking up in the morning and finding yourself drinking again.

Ringo: I haven't had a drink or a drug for 15 years. A day is longer now. Nights were longer then. But suddenly, you love the light.

Ringo: Keith had a great heart; he was a really good man, but he would take medication by the bucketload.

Ringo: That was a big thing, meeting Elvis. He was very charming, and had the first television remote control we'd ever seen.

Ringo: I promise you: I'll not be having anymore tattoos. In '76, there was no pain. In '94-lots of pain.

Ringo: I took my daughter to get her tattoo brightened up, and I thought 'well, while I'm here, I'll have one too'.

Ringo: I believe at that concert I was carried off. I was just getting drunk all the time. But that's over now.

Ringo: I've had enough of the royal family. 'Bout time they went on holiday and stayed there.

Ringo: If Paul sent me a card today with one of his little drawings on it, it'd be on eBay by Wednesday.

Ringo: I was listening to The Last Waltz the other day, and I played on that. I know that because there's a photo. I played great, but I don't remember playing.

Ringo: We did have big fights, but we still loved each other. We split up, and it was about time. But there was still lots of contact.