Ringo Starr has been forced to call off the remaining gigs of his American tour due to health reasons. The beloved former Beatles drummer, 84, had to forgo his Philadelphia show on Tuesday.
It followed a subsequent cancelation of Wednesday night’s concert in New York. In an announcement on social media, it was shared: “Ringo has come down with a cold and after consulting a doctor he was advised to cancel these two remaining shows and get rest. As always, Ringo and the All Starrs send peace and love to their fans and hope to see them soon.”
Fans with tickets for these two scrapped performances will be receiving refunds. The famed musician embarked on this latest series of shows beginning on September 7, having graced the stage last on September 22 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, along with his All Starr Band, reports the Mirror.
The recent April release of Starr’s Crooked Boy EP saw a collaboration featuring guitarist Nick Valensi from The Strokes, as he sought more lively tunes from songwriter and producer Linda Perry for the record.
Explaining to Variety, Starr said: “Even on ‘February Sky,’ it was all about the dark sky everywhere in February, so that’s an emotion in there. But I told her, ‘There’s gotta be a crack – a break in the sky – and the sun is coming out.’ Because all my songs have that. They can be ‘I’m down, I’m this, I’m that… But things are getting better, things are going up.’ They always have a positive upside.
“‘Rewind Forward’ [the title song of his previous EP, from 2023] was like that. ‘Rewind forward’ meant, sometimes you’re in a mood, and if you just backtrack a little and then find that (previous) space, and then carry on from that moment, it helps sometimes.”
Ringo also requested more rock songs. He added: “I did. (At first) she wrote ‘Crooked Boy,’ and it was all about the story of my life – you know, I was ill, I was better, I found my own way “She sent me a couple of them, and then I called her and I said, ‘Linda, write me a rock song!’ And she says, ‘What’s that?’ I said, ‘I’ll leave it there. Just write me a rock song. ‘ And she did, of course, and it’s called ‘Gonna Need Need Someone’. And it did rock, and she put the band together, and then we did a video with the song playing and we are popping in and out.”
Ringo’s sad tour axe comes after he celebrated his 84th birthday in July with a message of “peace and love”. The former Beatle was joined by friends including rock star Joe Walsh, comedian-turned-actor Fred Armisen and musician Diane Warren as well as a limited number of fans to mark the occasion in Beverly Hills.
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Ringo celebrated his traditional midday ‘peace and love’ birthday ritual, leading fans in chanting the familiar phrase and enjoying a birthday serenade. Discussing the lasting impact of the ritual with PA news agency, Sir Ringo noted: “I think a lot of it is a throwback from the 60s, I was in that band and then a lot of it’s still from the 60s onwards, but people love it.
“People enjoy the peace and love moments, that’s what it’s about and that’s all I do, peace and love,” he added. Since the event’s inception in 2008, it has grown internationally.
Overwhelmed by the response in 2022, Sir Ringo said during the gathering: “I am getting overwhelmed, there are so many of you now, we started with like 50 people in 2008,” while expressing gratitude to attendees. “(I am) truly grateful that you all turned up today otherwise I’d be lonely all I do is say peace and love. That’s all I’m doing and we’re going around the world, now we’re in 35 countries, most of them have gone back to bed.”
Joe Walsh led a celebratory song onstage as the ex-Beatle danced along. Interacting with the audience, Sir Ringo jested, “you can dance if you want too”, before concluding with, “I’ll be in my room eating cake”.
Musicians paid homage to Sir Ringo’s work with tribute acts from Ben Harper, Gabe Witcher, Willie Watson, Greg Leisz, Don Was, Ben Dickey and Gregg Bissonette with Steve Dudas.
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