Sir Ringo Starr has shared one of The Beatles’ more unusual tour traditions, revealing the band had a simple rule during long van journeys: if you farted, you had to admit it.
The 86-year-old drummer recalled the story while speaking at his annual Peace and Love event on his birthday. Looking back on the band’s early years, Ringo said spending hours crammed together in a van occasionally led to awkward moments and, after too many denials, The Beatles decided honesty was the best policy.
Ringo Starr shares The Beatles’ travel advice
Offering some tongue-in-cheek advice to young musicians starting out, Ringo said:
“If you’re in the van and you fart – own up to it.
We just occasionally with four guys in a three-hour car journey, one of us would make a noise. And at the beginning, it was like ‘well, it wasn’t me’.
And we realised, well, just to get it out of the way, say I did it. And it worked a treat and it took the pressure off.”
He added:
“It wasn’t a thing. We didn’t like go oh, ‘I’m going next’.”
Ringo Starr still cannot give up touring
The former Beatle also admitted that despite repeatedly saying he would stop touring, he has been unable to stay away from the stage.
Ringo continues to perform with his All Starr Band and revealed that his family no longer takes his retirement plans seriously.
“I have been calling it the last tour since 2021 – and my kids are fed up with me now. I say ‘That’s it – I am not going out anymore’; and they are like ‘oh dad you said that last year’.
And I out again. I am out this year. It is what I do. It is how it is. I have got a great band and it just works. We used to rehearse for two days, now we rehearse for two hours and we are ready to rock.”
Ringo still puzzles over his appeal to younger fans
Despite remaining a hugely popular live act well into his eighties, Ringo admitted he has no explanation for why he continues to connect with younger audiences.
“I don’t know (why I appeal to them), but I have got 10 grandkids. I don’t know what it is. It is one of those things.”
