Ringo Starr claims Paul McCartney is why The Beatles were prolific: “Workaholic”
As the years continue wear on, more truths about the inner workings of The Beatles still to come to light. From personal anecdotes to the documentary series Get Back, the Liverpool group’s ten years of existence was so consequential that the demand for new information is always high.
One of the most famous aspects of The Beatles’ career is the personal relationships between the band members, as the group ended acrimoniously in 1970 after years of slowly falling apart. While the group’s split can be attributed to many reasons, personal, musical and otherwise, due to having four different people’s perspectives on it, as well as those close to them, it can often seem like the truth is obscured by conjecture, not to mention that the passing of time naturally alters the clarity of memories.
In a new interview, drummer Ringo Starr claimed that the Fab Four wouldn’t have produced as many albums – which perhaps suggests that they wouldn’t have hit such innovative heights – without the relentless work ethic of Paul McCartney. This adds a different angle to the story of The Beatles, as it has long been thought that all band members were deeply committed to their craft and prolific because of it.
Speaking to AXS TV, Starr shed light on the internal complexities of The Beatles, asserting that it wasn’t always rosy and that McCartney was primarily responsible for them producing such a wealth of culturally significant material. This undoes the idea that the group got along like best friends in the early days, and his comments also bring into question the notion that frontman John Lennon was essential to the entire operation.
“No no, we didn’t get along. We were four guys, we had rouse. It never got in the way of the music no matter how bad the row was. Once the count in, we all gave our best. And that was a little later too which I think it was a natural thing, you know,” Starr recalled.
He continued: “Suddenly, we’ve got lives and iv’e got children and you know, the effort that we put in cause we worked really hard was starting to pale a little and we always thank Paul to this day.
Drawing a distinction between McCartney and the rest of the band, Starr concluded: “Because of Paul, who was the workaholic of our band, we made a lot more records than John and I would’ve made. We liked to sit around a little more and then Paul would call ‘Alright lads’, and we’d go in.”
In a three-star review of Peter Jackson’s restoration of the 1970 documentary Let It Be, Far Out wrote: “In the shadow of the 2021 documentary, which used the same footage but with miles more insight and a far deeper look into their same era, the 1970 film has been usurped by its own heir, rendering this restoration rather moot and obfuscated, like an airbrushed highlights package when you’ve already seen the guts and glory of the full game.”