Interview: Ringo Starr talks Paul McCartney, new country album, latest tour

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Ringo Starr is not slowing down.

The 85-year-old drum legend, who is adored by hundreds of millions of music lovers for his work in The Beatles, just released the brand new album “Long Long Road.”

It’s his second T-Bone Burnett country music album in as many years, following “Look Up” in early 2025.

Starr, who has more than 20 solo studio albums to his credit, also can found on his fellow Fab Four buddy Paul McCartney’s “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” record, which just hit stores last week.

The two Beatles greats team up for their first-ever vocal duet on “Home to Us,” which was released as the second single (following the equally nostalgic “Days We Left Behind”) off McCartney’s album.

Starr is also still heavily involved with His All-Starr Band — the current lineup of which features Steve Lukather (the brilliant guitarist and better-than-decent singer from Toto), Colin Hay (the fun frontman of Men at Work), Warren Ham (another Toto talent who shines on saxophone and vocals), Hamish Stuart (bassit/guitarist/vocalist from Average White Band), Gregg Bissonette (who has drummed for everyone from David Lee Roth to Pat Boone) and Buck Johnson (keyboardist who has worked with Aerosmith and Hollywood Vampires).

I recently had to chance to chat with the Beatles icon, who was just finishing up rehearsals for the concert tour by Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. That trek includes several stops in the Golden State — June 5 at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, June 6 at Vina Robles Ampitheatre in Paso Robles, June 11 at San Jose Civic and June 14 at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

Here’s our interview.

Q: Hey, Ringo, buddy. So cool to finally get the chance to speak with you. How are you doing?

A: I’m doing good, thank you. What’s happening, man?

Q: Just been looking forward to my chat with you. How are rehearsals going?

A: Rehearsals went great. We only do two days, a couple of hours a day, to get back into it.

Q: I was peering over your discography and, if my math is correct, you’ve now released 22 full-length solo albums. That’s an impressive tally for a guy who was really embarking on a second career, having already carved out his legend in stone with the Beatles. What’s kept you so motivated to record solo albums over the years?

Source: hanfordsentinel.com/Jim Harrington The Mercury News