Ringo Starr wants more help for younger bands

Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr says no one is willing to help younger bands make it in the music industry.

And he says while he does his best to promote up-and-coming artists on the road, more needs to be done to help nurture new talent.

He tells Bloomberg Businessweek: “I go crazy, because if you want to open for a well-known band you have to pay – management makes you pay. Who is giving back?

“I did a Ringo tour once and had a local band at every gig open for us just to give them exposure. Nobody is helping anybody.

“For an artist starting off, there’s no clubs for them to play in. The venues have gone down. It’s very hard now. It’s easier to become a celebrity on a TV show as a band for four months than work solidly.

“People think it just happened – we just woke up one morning and were Beatles. That’s not true. We worked very hard with the venues and put in the time.”

And asked if the Beatles would play together again if they were still a functioning unit, Starr says: “We would. We would have gotten over our difficulties and gotten on the road again. We do it and get paid, but don’t do it to get paid. It’s all about the gig.”

Late last year, Starr’s drum kit that he played on Beatles hits including Can’t Buy Me Love and I Want to Hold Your Hand has sold at auction for £1.4million.

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Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.