The best band Ringo Starr has ever seen live: “Pretty inspiring”

Posted On January 11, 2025January 11, 2025

For over 20 years, Ringo Starr didn’t perform live and fell out of love with that side of the music industry. It was a part of the job that The Beatles outgrew due to the sheer size of their operation and the lack of infrastructure to accommodate the demand for tickets. Therefore, upon going solo, Starr didn’t initially have any burning desire to hit the road.

It took until 1989, once he got sober, for Starr to tour for the first time since 1966 when he formed the All-Starr Band. Since then, he has played live shows worldwide every year and loves entertaining thousands of adoring fans in theatres. Whether on the stage or as a member of the audience, live music is a source of joy for Starr, who has vowed to continue performing for as long as possible.

As a performer, Starr cut his teeth in Hamburg with The Beatles when they’d often perform half a dozen shows per day. It was an exercise that gave the Fab Four the blueprint to create a world-class rock ‘n’ roll show and dazzle audiences upon returning home. During the 1960s, he was also there to witness the arrival of star-studded names like Jimi Hendrix and allow himself to be enchanted as an audience member.

For Starr, the master of the live arena is his old friend and collaborator, Eric Clapton. Due to his friendship with George Harrison, Clapton was invited into the exclusive Beatles camp and assisted the group on ‘When My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Additionally, when Harrison briefly quit the band after a blazing row, John Lennon suggested recruiting Clapton as his replacement. While Harrison eventually returned with his tail between his legs, Starr and his bandmates would have welcomed the arrival of Clapton, who the drummer views in the highest regard as a musician.

During an interview with the late broadcaster Larry King, Clapton opened up about the “inspiring” experience of working alongside The Beatles on ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps‘. He said: “It was an anonymous venture… I think George was struggling with the two big boys in the group, and he needed some backup on one of his songs.” Asked by King if it was “a kick?”, Clapton responded: “Are you kidding? Yeah. I mean, to watch those guys work in those days was pretty inspiring.”

Over the years, Starr has seen Clapton perform live on numerous occasions and witnessed his graduation from clubs to the grandest arenas. However, Clapton’s favourite stage is London’s famous Royal Albert Hall, where he has performed more than any other artist and reunited with Cream in 2005.

Due to the demand to see the trio reunite, they could have sold out arenas around the world. Instead, they chose to play four shows at the Royal Albert Hall rather than chase a paycheck. Fittingly, it was also where they performed their farewell concerts in 1968.

Despite now living in America, Starr wasn’t prepared to miss out on the opportunity to see their reunion in London, which proved to be the best concert he’d ever attended. Starr told NME: “I’ve seen Eric several times, here [in LA] and elsewhere. I once saw him play with Carlos Santana, who was so ‘on’ that Eric just bowed to Carlos’s on-ness. [Clapton’s ’60s band] Cream got back together a few years ago (Royal Albert Hall, 2005), and that was indeed a great, great show.”

The set of shows was a triumph and should have been the fairytale ending to the Cream story. However, according to Clapton, the trio took the band stateside for three concerts at Madison Square Garden, which were spoiled by a lack of rehearsals and a fall-out. Nevertheless, Cream successfully rewound the years during the London residency to put on four spectacular shows. Starr has witnessed countless concerts over the decades, but nothing has topped Cream at the Royal Albert Hall.

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