Ringo’s Beatles reunion regret

Ringo Starr believes the Beatles would have reunited if only all four of them had discussed it together – instead of only talking in pairs.

The Fab Four officially split in acrimony in 1970, but speculation over a return persisted after John Lennon and Paul McCartney settled their differences several years later.

The chance of a return ended with Lennon’s murder in 1980, while George Harrison died in 2001.

Starr tells Rolling Stone: “We did it in twos – we talked about it. The stumbling block was sitting around and saying, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’

“I think if we’d just relaxed behind it long enough, we still had the songs and we could still play. We could have put it together.”

The Beatles ended their touring career in 1966 after becoming unsatisfied with the state of the era’s performance equipment. But the drummer says: “With what you have now, we could have got it together. We could have done A Day In The Life. Of course, it’s ended now.”

McCartney and Starr will reunite at this year’s Rock And Hall Of Fame ceremony on April 18, when the singer inducts the drummer. Starr last year told of his anger after members of the IS terrorist group were named after the Beatles in media coverage.

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.