The Beatles member spoke with PEOPLE at his birthday event in Beverly Hills about collaborating with Paul McCartney
Credit: JC Olivera/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Ringo Starr received an honorary degree from the University of Liverpool at his 86th birthday celebration in Los Angeles
- Starr reflected on following his dreams and shared a message of encouragement
- He discussed his recent collaboration with Paul McCartney in an interview with PEOPLE
It’s Dr. Ringo Starr, to you!
Moments before his 86th birthday celebration on Tuesday, July 7 in Beverly Hills, The Beatles member received an honorary degree from the University of Liverpool.
“I want to thank the University of Liverpool for this honorary degree and for coming all the way to L.A. to bestow it — I’m really honored,” Starr said, according to BBC.
The drummer also encouraged attendees to “follow your dreams” like he did.
“I’ve been thinking back on my life a lot lately and when I chose to become a drummer full time my family discouraged me,” he said, according to the outlet. “And they could have been right but they weren’t — it all worked out.”
He continued, “So to all the graduates back in Liverpool, I send peace and love and want to say don’t be afraid to follow your dreams, or take that right turn and see where it goes.”
At the event — dubbed Ringo Starr’s Peace and Love Birthday Event at Beverly Gardens Park — the University of Liverpool chancellor Wendy Beetlestone said it was a “great privilege to recognize Ringo, whose influential musical work, particularly in The Beatles, has helped shape the identity and global reputation of Liverpool,” BBC reported.
Speaking with PEOPLE at the event, Starr reflected on his recent collaboration with fellow Beatle Paul McCartney on “Home to Us.”
“It’s the first time we’ve ever done it like a couple. We’re both singing it. I’ve sang a few choruses on his tracks. He’s played on my tracks. He’s come over with the bass,” Starr says, jokingly adding, “It’s not like we don’t know each other.”
He continued of the song, which was featured on McCartney’s latest studio album The Boys of Dungeon Lane, “I loved it because we were in this band together and it’s just the best band ever. And Paul, his bass playing is incredible and he’s a songwriter. I mean, I can go on forever. He’s just a wonderful lad.”
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty
In April, Starr released a country album titled Long Long Road and reflected on its creation, saying it felt like a homecoming in an interview with PEOPLE.
“I’ve always loved country. I did a country album 50 years ago, [Beaucoups of Blues]. That was great because it just came about [by chance]. George [Harrison] was making a record and I was playing on it, after [the Beatles] had broken up,” he recalled. “He had called this guy Pete Drake from Nashville to come over and play on it. And for whatever reason, we sent my car to Heathrow airport to pick him up. And he comes in and says to me, ‘Hey, I see you like country music’ — because I had a lot of country cassettes in the car.”
He continued, “‘You gotta come to Nashville and make a record.’ I said, ‘I don’t think so, I can’t spend months in Nashville.’ He said, ‘[Bob Dylan’s] Nashville Skyline took two days!’ So I went to Nashville and did a record in two days. We got up in the morning, talked to the songwriters and we found songs, and in the afternoon we recorded them. That was a really good experience.”
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