Ringo Starr has said that The Beatles were "lucky" to recruit him - because he was more famous than the band before he joined them.
The sticksman, who replaced original drummer Pete Best two years after the Fab Four got together to form a band in 1960, claimed he was already a star in his former band Rory And The Hurricanes before he joined Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison.
"Within Liverpool I was a lot more well known than them," he told the Daily Mail's Live Magazine. Rory And The Hurricanes were big shots in the city. We had suits. That was our claim to fame. They were lucky to get me. It wasn’t just that I was a big shot, I was a cool drummer."
Starr also chatted about McCartney, who appeared on his last album 'Y Not'. "We are good friends," he said. "We don't live in each other's pockets but if we’re in the same country we get together. He's singing and playing on my latest album and I played on several of his. We're just pals. We're the only two who've experienced all this who are still here."
Starr also spoke for the first time about offending fans in Liverpool, after he told Jonathan Ross he didn't miss anything about the city three years ago. His comments drew 1,500 complaints and a Beatles memorial in the city was vandalised.
"I did the Jonathan Ross Show and he said, 'Is there anything you miss about Liverpool?' I said, 'No'," he said. "I was being flippant. It was funny. I thought the whole of Liverpool would laugh."
Sticksman also reveals recording plans with Paul McCartney
**Tomorrow is your birthday. Happy Birthday Mr. Starr. God bless.
source:nme.com
