Ringo Starr was supposed to be on Live With Regis and Kelly yesterday morning, performing his new song "Liverpool 8," a charming look back at the early days of the Beatles (and even a smidge of the early days of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes), although of course everything Ringo does is charming. But he walked off the set instead without performing, apparently because although he was willing to cut the four-minute-15-second song down to three and a half minutes, Regis producer Michael "Gelman" Gelman insisted it be less than three minutes.
They let one of the legends of not just music but of 20th century popular culture walk because of a dispute over 30 seconds! (Granted, it's now the 21st century, but still.) Jeez, did they ever ask Regis to cut 30 seconds out of one of his interminable soliloquies on Notre Dame football? And why didn't Dave Stewart, Ringo's musical director, simply give Gelman one of the patented staredowns he used to employ on American League hitters?
I understand Paul McCartney wanted to come on to sing "Hey Jude," but Gelman asked him to do "Her Majesty" instead.
3 comments:
I'm probably all alone on this, but "Liverpool 8" is simply a dreadful song. Smug, self-congratulatory, and full of Beatles cliches. (I mean -- paraphrasing here a little, "I went to Hamburg with George and Paul and my friend John / Liverpool, I left you, but I never let you down." Holy Christ.)
No one could ever love the Beatles more than I, and I know this is the newest thing written by a survivor, but, um.... Blech.
It was touching when Ringo was asked on the Ferguson show whether he gets back to Liverpool now and again, and Starr muttered that, no, he doesn't -- but he did see some family members recently.
(I promised myself I wouldn't cry!)
Dude, he's Ringo. You're not going to get another "Imagine" out of him, or even another "Arrow Thru Me." You have to adjust expectations accordingly.
I agree completely. (Though, you know, we never got a first "Imagine" out of him.) We might not get another "Act Naturally" out of him.
Calling me "Dude" serves nothing. I'm anonymous. You don't even know who I am! I might be anybody except your friend from graduate school.
(Damn it.)
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