Ringo Starr paid a visit to ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday, January 28, to promote his new country album, Look Up. During the interview, the former Beatles drummer also discussed what it’s like on those special occasion when he and Fab Four bandmate Paul McCartney reunite to perform together.
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Most recently, Starr joined McCartney at Paul’s final concert of 2024, on December 19 at The O2 arena in London. Ringo played drums on two classic Beatles songs at the show—“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Helter Skelter.”
“It’s always still great to play with him, you know,” Starr told host Jimmy Kimmel. “It’s great. And you know what’s also great? The audience love it. They just love to … see the two of us together. They still love it.”
Kimmel also asked Starr who decides what songs he’s going to perform with McCartney.
“[Paul] does. It’s his show,” Ringo noted. “And then he says, ‘OK, these two,’ and I say, ‘OK’,’ and we go do it.”
Starr Recalled a Historic Hang with Bob Dylan
Also as part of the interview, Kimmel asked Starr about a famous meeting The Beatles had with Bob Dylan during the band’s first trip to the U.S. in 1964. As the story goes, the folk-rock legend visited the Fab Four at a New York City hotel and was responsible for the band members trying pot for the first time.
Starr confirmed to the talk show host that the story was true.
Kimmel asked Ringo if Dylan actually gave him the marijuana, to which Starr responded, “He didn’t personally hand it to me. He had a friend of his in the room who actually handed it to me.”
As for how he felt about the experience, Ringo admitted that he “loved it.”
He also recalled that room service arrived with some food at an opportune moment.
“[A]fter we’d … sat around in that room smoking dope, and I came out that room into the living room of the hotel, and we’d forgotten we ordered room service,” Starr shared. “And so, this guy came wheeling in a couple of trolleys for the four of us. And it was like, ‘Oh, OK! Yeah, good.’”
Ringo then demonstrated how he began grabbing food from the trays, adding with a laugh, “’Cause it makes you a little hungry.”
Starr Revealed He’s Never Eaten a Particular Popular Food
Starr also revealed during the interview that he’s surprisingly never tried some of the world’s most popular food dishes.
“I’ve never had a pizza or a curry,” Ringo declared. He then “I’m allergic to several items. Pizza, you don’t know what they’re putting in it half the time, or the curry. So, I’m pretty strict with myself, ’cause it makes me ill immediately.”
Kimmel responded to Starr’s food revelations by quipping, “Wow, I used to think you had the greatest life, but now I realize … mine is better.”
Starr Was Presented with a Cool Gift on the Show
At the end of the interview, Kimmel brought up the fact that, in celebration of his Look Up album, Starr will be playing the famous Nashville country music venue the Grand Ole Opry for the first time on February 21.
In honor of Ringo’s upcoming show, Kimmel presented him with an ornate pink cowboy hat inspired by the outfit Starr wore on the cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. As his segment came to a close, Ringo put the hat on and flashed peace signs to the audience.
Look Up is available now.
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