Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr

Always Gets By With A Little Help From His Friends

Concert review by Debbie Brautman  |  Photos by Chris Schmitt

Luckily, he has talented friends. On June 20, famed Beatle drummer Ringo Starr brought his latest All Starr Band to support him at the fabulous Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla. While his current band is not the Beatles, the musicians are a bunch of successful and varied artists in their own rights. His current band features Steve Lukather from Toto, Colin Hay from Men At Work, and Hamish Stuart from The Average White Band. Rounding out this superb band is Buck Johnson, from Whiskey Falls, Aerosmith and Hollywood Vampires; Gregg Bissonette, from David Lee Roth’s band; and Warren Ham, from Kansas and Toto. The surprise of the night was how exceptional Warren Ham was on saxes, flute, harmonica, percussion and his stellar vocals. He was most impressive. In 1989, Ringo launched his first All Starr Band tour, featuring a rotating line-up performing both his solo and Beatles’ hits, alongside songs from the band members’ own catalogs.

Meanwhile, the brightest Starr…Ringo, who turns 85 years old on July 7^th, has clearly had a drink from the fountain of youth. At 8:14 pm, he came jogging out, slim and trim, sharply dressed in black pants and a white jean jacket with a star above his pocket. Stars were everywhere. His jet-black hair and beard had not one speck of gray, making him look even younger. Tinted glasses finished his rock star attire, and he looked like the Ringo that everyone has come to know and love. He also sounded just like Ringo. He began with the Carl Perkins’ song, “Honey Don’t” which set the tone for this fast-paced show. Flashing his trademark peace sign, Ringo joked, “I promise all of you, every one of you will know at least one song.” They broke into Ringo’s solo hit “It Don’t Come Easy,” which was instantly recognized. Stars and peace signs flashed on the screen behind. The crowd screamed with delight, and yells of “I love you, Ringo” filled the air. After that crowd pleaser, Ringo introduced Steve Lukather who has been in his All Starr Band for 13 years. Lukather explained what a good friend he is with Ringo and said, “he’d have to kill me to get rid of me.” Ringo skipped back to his drum set, and Lukather, with his full head of white puffy hair, played guitar and sang vocals on his band Toto’s big hit “Rosanna.” The crowd jumped to their feet with a mass of phones held high in the air. Warren Ham really shined with his back up vocals and lovely sax. Lukather had a nice guitar solo and the entire band sang along. Gregg Bissonette is a strong drummer and sometimes overpowered Ringo’s trademark drumming.

Lukather then passed the torch to Hamish Stuart from the Scottish funk-jazz band The Average White Band. He played guitar and vocals on his band’s jazzy jam 70’s hit song, “Pick Up The Pieces,” with help from this All Starr band and a short drum solo from Ringo. Next, Hamish introduced the Grammy winning multi-platinum superstar, Colin Hay, who performed Men at Work’s distinctive hit “Down Under.” Once again, Warren Ham stood out on flute and percussion. He is such a talent.

As for Ringo’s introduction, he was introduced, “as someone who needs no introduction from the band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and that other band you’re all thinking of (the Beatles.)” Ringo played drums in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and sang vocals on the Shirelles’s hit song “Boys,” before joining the Beatles in 1962. He has incorporated that song in his tours since then, and even The Beatles released it in 1963. It is a very special song for him, and he sang while playing the drums. Then he came down again and said he saw peace and love in the audience. He was genuinely happy to be performing for his enthusiastic fans. Since Ringo is a living legend, he can still fill all three levels of the Hard Rock Live with his sold out show. Because there are only two Beatles still alive, it’s a big deal, when a Beatle comes to town. The buzz of excitement was in the air and didn’t dissipate throughout the entire enjoyable and fun show. Is this his last tour? One never knows and who doesn’t like Ringo? His positive message of peace and love has always been part of him, and now in this divided world it is needed more than ever. He introduced the song, “I’m The Greatest” as a song John Lennon wrote for himself but couldn’t emotionally do it so he gave it to Ringo. Ringo pulls it off beautifully with lots of playful fun and bravado. He acknowledged the casino by asking, “Any of you win on the tables today?” He teases the crowd with a few other Beatles’ song snippets before settling on the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine.” The crowd sang along with nostalgic bliss.  Ringo then exits the stage for a cup of tea and lets his All Starrs have their moments, all joining in on an extended version of The Average White Band’s “Cut The Cake.” If anything, there could have been a little more Starr and a little less All-Starrs. Ringo came back with a black shirt covered in stars to thrill with The Beatles’ song “Octopus’s Garden.” His t-shirt underneath had multi-colored letters spelling out PEACE. Ringo remarked, “I think you’re having a good time with good music played by these great musicians,” and he introduced each of his tight musical unit.

In January of 2025, Ringo released a country album named Look Up. He played the title track, which is a song of hope and love for humanity written by Daniel Tashian and T Bone Burnett. It’s an uplifting song with the lyrics, “Look up, over the clouds…The future never comes and the past is the past… There is a light that shines in the darkest days…Good things are gonna come your way…Look Up, Look Up!” He thanked the audience and said he got a request for the “No No Song.” It’s a novelty song from the 70’s that perfectly suits Ringo. The concert sped along, keeping the audience entertained and engaged. More hits came from his All Starrs with Toto’s “Africa,” and “Hold The Line;” and Men at Work’s “Overkill” and “Who Can It Be Now.” The weakest song of the night was Hamish Stuart singing The Isley Brothers’ “Work To Do,” which was at times almost painful.

The ageless Ringo asked, “Are there any ladies in the audience? This is just for you,” and the ladies loudly squealed, as if it were The Beatles playing Shea Stadium in 1965. He sang, The Beatles song “I Wanna Be Your Man.” He continued with, “I’m having a great time and everyone’s cooking with love. I look around and you’re all dressed up in your best t-shirts (lots of Ringo and Beatles shirts). What I’d love is a big camera to take a photograph of all of you.” That led to his solo hit “Photograph,” and Ringo is jumping around like a teenager. It’s a wonder that he doesn’t look a day over 60.

“’Act Naturally’ is a country number I did a long time ago,” he stated as he happily bopped around the stage. Once again, he joked, “Next song I’m gonna do but I’m not gonna tell you.” The next song was the evening’s highlight. It was The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends.” Ringo and all of his All Starrs were showing the love and caring for their audience. Ringo was in full jumping mode at this point, filled with exuberance. He loves his band and his fans, and he finished the concert by saying, “I had a great night. Remember I love you! Peace and Love!” They play a bit of John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” before saying “thank you and goodnight.” For almost two hours he transported everyone to a happy place aboard the peace train and no one wanted to get off.