David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImageLast month, Ringo Starr released a star-studded single called “Here’s to the Nights” that reunited him, albeit remotely, with his former Beatles band mate Paul McCartney. And in a new interview with The Irish News, Starr says he and McCartney remain good friends more than 40 years after the band’s breakup.
“We’re still pals,” Ringo notes. “We don’t hang out with each other a lot. But if we’re in the same country, and if we’re in the same town, we always have a dinner, and we say hi or he comes over here or I go over to his house.”
Starr also says he enjoys getting the chance to perform live with McCartney occasionally.
“I love that, getting up with him,” says the 80-year-old drummer. “We did it at the O2 [arena] in England [in 2018]. And then he called me [in 2019] and he said, ‘I’m doing Dodger Stadium, if you want to do a few numbers.’ ‘Sure.’ So he picked three numbers, and I got up and went down there.”
Adds Ringo, “[I]t’s magic for the audience as well as us. I love playing with him. The audience is like, ‘Oh, there’s two of them! Wow.’ It lifts everything, in a joyous way.”
As previously reported, “Here’s to the Nights” features guest appearances by McCartney, Joe Walsh, Dave Grohl, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, Toto and All Starr Band guitarist Steve Lukather and many others. The song, which was written by Diane Warren, will appear on a five-track EP from Starr titled Zoom In, due out March 19.
Meanwhile, Ringo and his All Starr Band are scheduled to return to touring in June, although he tells The Irish News that plans may change depending on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Matt Friedlander
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