Any musician will tell you that life on tour ain't easy — but only a few know what it's like to work for a bona fide Beatle. These are Ringo Starr's rules of the road.
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00:00Any musician will tell you that life on tour ain't easy, but only a few know what it's
00:04like to work for a bonafide Beatle.
00:07These are Ringo Starr's rules of the road.
00:09Hey, peace and love, everybody, peace and love.
00:13Ringo appears to be a big fan of peace and love, but does he practice what he preaches?
00:17Well, yes, and he also demands it of his band and crew.
00:21Ringo's go-to drum tech, Jeff Chonis, told People magazine that one of Ringo's rules
00:26is entirely straightforward.
00:27He told the publication,
00:29"...he doesn't allow drama.
00:31He sets the tone, and it's, be respectful."
00:34Chonis says that this is about more than just creating a pleasant work environment.
00:38He told Polestar that Ringo's no-drama attitude helped him to put the band together in the
00:42first place.
00:43Chonis explained,
00:44"...these amazing talents come in and they leave their egos outside because Ringo sets
00:49the tone.
00:50We don't allow drama.
00:51Everybody respects each other, whether it's a crew guy or a band member."
00:55For his part, Ringo told People that his philosophy doesn't work out all the time,
00:59as conflicts of some kind are inevitable on the road.
01:02He said,
01:03"...we have to remember we are not saints.
01:06Sometimes there's the attitude, the reactive, but we're doing the best we can."
01:10Ringo Starr and his All-Star band have played all over the world.
01:14It's easy to see, then, how it might be tempting for them to schedule in a few days of R&R
01:18while they're on tour.
01:19And while that might fly with some artists, Ringo isn't one of them.
01:23His longtime tour producer Dave Hart told Polestar,
01:26"...he would rather be playing than sitting in a hotel, and he's told me that on numerous
01:30occasions.
01:31For the spring tour, we added shows because we had two days off and he said, hey, you
01:36might as well add them."
01:38Hart says that Ringo is also pretty strict when it comes to simplifying travel.
01:42That means booking logical routes and making sure that everyone's comfortable along the
01:46way.
01:47And Ringo himself has admitted that he insists as many shows as possible get booked.
01:51At a Q&A session in 2023, he said,
01:54"...our tour manager gave us too many days off, so I complained.
01:58If I'm on tour, I want to play.
02:00We could play every night, but Edgar Winter needs a day off."
02:04It won't come as much of a surprise to learn that most famous musicians get the very best
02:08hotel rooms, meals, and transportation while they're touring.
02:11But that doesn't seem to be the case with Ringo Starr's All-Star band.
02:14When tour manager Donnie Whiteman sat down for a conversation with Louder With Ace, he
02:19shared a surprising revelation.
02:21With Ringo, everyone gets a piece of the pie.
02:24When asked if there was a divide between band members based on fame, or a lack thereof,
02:29Whiteman clarified that everyone stays in the same hotels on Ringo's tour.
02:33He also insisted that, whenever anything is booked, it's booked for everyone.
02:37And that includes Ringo himself, who is renowned for hanging out with the band and crew alike
02:42and making sure that everyone's feeling happy, included and at home.
02:46But Whiteman added that while Ringo is always in the thick of it with his band and crew,
02:50one underlying rule always remains.
02:53"...and he gives it to the guys and they give it back, but there is that respect."
03:00Ringo seems to value not only the talents of his band and crew members, but their input
03:04as well.
03:05When Donnie Whiteman sat down to give Louder With Ace a behind-the-scenes look at life
03:09on the road with Ringo, he revealed that, after each show, the band is expected to sit
03:14down, talk about what went right or wrong, and take responsibility for both.
03:19Whiteman said that the norm is to take off from the venue ASAP in order to avoid the
03:23post-concert chaos.
03:25Once they get back to their accommodation or transportation, everyone reconvenes.
03:29"...the guys will critique, you know, they'll critique their own performances."
03:37Although everyone on stage is at the top of their game, mistakes do happen.
03:41And while Ringo expects everyone to give their all, he also seems to be understanding, especially
03:46if someone takes responsibility for their mistake.
03:49But if they're not willing to give it all they've got, then they likely won't be coming
03:52back for the next tour.
03:54This one's more a guideline than an official rule, but it's one that some crew members
03:58apparently try very hard to follow.
04:00Hit the gym
04:01When USA Today asked Ringo Starr how he managed to keep going at his pace at such a ripe old
04:06age, he credited a healthy, vegetarian diet, constantly keeping busy, and his longstanding
04:12gym routine.
04:13Ringo revealed that he had a trainer who he worked with three times a week, and explained
04:17that on the road, he would go to the gym every day.
04:20While it's not a requirement that his band and crew join him, Donnie Whiteman has explained
04:25that it's sort of an unofficial thing that happened every morning, at precisely 10.30
04:29a.m.
04:30"...so they all want to make their appearance, none of them are gym rats, but like he is,
04:35but they want to make a good impression."
04:39Whiteman explained that one member of the band, who had been wearing cowboy boots at
04:42the time, once realized that this just wasn't going to work for the gym.
04:46He was later seen buying more appropriate footwear.
04:49"'Cause he wanted to fit in, he wanted to be, you know, one of the guys."
04:54While Ringo clearly expects his band and crew to give 110 percent on tour, and there are
04:59a number of rules they have to follow when they're on the road, there's at least one
05:02that isn't quite so strict.
05:05Have fun
05:06As Ringo himself once told Variety,
05:08"...we're not here to be tortured.
05:10Let's have fun."
05:11Speaking to Louder With Ace, Donnie Whiteman said that it's incredibly important to Ringo
05:15that everyone walks away with some fond memories of life on tour.
05:19"...he wants to make sure everybody's happy, you know, everybody's having a good time,
05:25nobody's got issues or problems."