Ringo Starr has a new limited-edition, hardcover book coming out called Beats & Threads that’s available for pre-order now exclusively at JuliensAuctions.com. The 312-page volume focuses on the various drum kits the legendary Beatles drummer has played during his long music career, as well as the unique and iconic outfits and other garments he’s worn over the years.
Videos by American Songwriter
A video promoting the new book has been posted on Starr’s and Julien’s Auctions’ social media pages, featuring Starr looking at a display of some of his famous wardrobe items, including the green suit he wore for the “Hey Jude” promo film, and the pink military outfit he donned for the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album photo shoot.
[RELATED: 5 Times Ringo Starr Stepped into the Spotlight as The Beatles’ Lead Singer]
At the end of the clip, Starr puts on the pink Sgt. Pepper’s getup and comments about himself, “He looks just the same.”
A second video posted on the Julien’s Auctions Instagram shows Starr playing the drum kit he used during The Beatles’ historic 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
“It’s a very small kit,” Starr points out. “And I purposely wanted a small kit so that I would look like part of the band.”
Three versions of Beats & Threads are available, a standard edition priced at $80, and two signed, limited-edition versions that cost $500 and $750, respectively. The $500 version features a slipcase that houses the book, while $750 edition comes packaged in a clamshell box and includes a video produced specially for the publication.
Among the various other outfits profiled in Beats & Threads are the custom-made lavender silk tunic Starr wore for The Beatles’ famous globally televised performance of “All You Need Is Love,” and the red raincoat (which actually belonged to his first wife, Maureen) he wore for the band’s famous rooftop set during the recording of Let It Be.
The photos of Starr’s clothing and drum kits are accompanied by his own written recollections of the items and his memories of those time periods, as well as commentary and background information penned by various authors and experts.
Proceeds raised by the sale of Beats & Threads will benefit The Lotus Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Starr that supports and promotes charitable projects focusing on a variety of social welfare causes.
Beats & Threads is the latest in a series of Starr-themed coffee-table books that have been sold exclusively by Julien’s Auctions. The others are Lifted: Fab Images and Memories of My Life with The Beatles from Across the Universe, a photo book that was released in 2022, and Ringo Rocks: 30 Years of the All Starrs, which was published in 2020.
Earlier in the week, Starr posted a video on his socials in which he wished fans a Happy Thanksgiving and, of course, “peace and love.” He also took the opportunity to promote the new expanded reissues of The Beatles’ 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 compilations, also known, respectively, as “The Red Album” and “The Blue Album.”
“I know what I’ll be listening to today,” Starr quipped in the video, while standing behind vinyl copies of the albums. The updated version of the 1967-1970 includes the newly released Beatles tune “Now and Then.”
Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images The Recording Academy
