Review: Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band/ Empire

IT was Liverpool's biggest ever kiss-and-make up. Ringo Starr told an almost packed Empire Theatre how much he loved Liverpool (three times) and the audience showed the feeling was mutual

The ex-Beatle drummer briskly walked on stage and before he opened his mouth there was a standing ovation, and a forest of Ringo salutes from the auditorium.

He is not one of the best
singers in the world. As
John Lennon might have said,
Ringo probably isn't even the
best singer from the Dingle

The ex-Beatle got the message, it was all peace and love. He was worshipped and the unmentionable (that Jonathan Ross interview in 2008) was history.

People forking out sixty quid a ticket knew they would not be listening to one of the best singers in the world. As John Lennon might have said, Ringo probably isn't even the best singer from the Dingle

But he can entertain. He has earned his stripes in pop music, so much so he doesn't even need to sign autographs any more. Well he wouldn’t anyway.

The jack-in-the-box body movements were there, and that distinctive Ringo-style of drumming, so familiar almost half a century ago when he joined John, Paul and George.

With his All Starr Band, Ringo brought to Liverpool an amazing collection of performers unlikely to pass this way ever again.  The combined ages of the seven-piece band must be over 400 years, but there wasn't even a hint of a replacement hip judging by the energy on stage.

Gary Wright of New Jersey, born 1943, Mr Mister's Richard Page, born 1953, Edgar Winter, born 1946, Wally Palmer (The Romantics), drummer Greg Bissonette, born in 1959 and Rick Derringer (Hang On Sloopy) of the McCoys, born 1947 – all of them from the US.

Each performed set pieces in frenzy of entertaining heavy rock and jazz.

“Great to be back – I love Liverpool” shouted the Clown Prince of Liverpool 8.

“I'm from the Dingle, but if I was being chased it was from Toxteth,” he teased, the audience lapping up every word.

“I used to sing this with another group I used to play with,” laughed Ringo as he lunged into I Wanna Be Your Man.

“This is another I used to do with a group I used to be in,” he laughed even louder – this time he was referring to his pre-Beatle days with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Then came Boys.

Sprinkled among the audience were a fair number of Ringo's relatives and friends.

Introducing one of his own numbers from his album Why Not, Ringo said his Aunt Ev – sat in the front stalls – would understand the words of The Other Side of Liverpool – as she was there at the time to witness life in the Dingle in post-War Liverpool.

It was as though Ringo wanted to tell the audience he has never forgotten the hard times of his boyhood Liverpool. Aunt Ev nodded knowingly as Ringo sang his musical autobiography .

“It's been brilliant, tremendous and a fantastic night,” said Ringo's cousin Lynn Kean who had sat alongside Aunt Ev.

Aunt Ev, in her nineties, was jigging along as the audience were on their feet to sing Yellow Submarine.

At the stage door a crowd of fans and hungry autograph hunters (as if) waited for Ringo to emerge,

“He's gone – he came out surrounded by six men, jumped into a car and off he went,” said one.

At the age of 71 who knows whether he will ever pass this way again. Nevertheless, for those who had paid top dollar to see him it remained a five Starr night.

9/10