We could all have done with a yellow submarine at Hampton Court. As the most famous drummer in the world readied his All Starr Band for the opening night of his first British tour since 1998, torrential rain lashed the grounds of Hampton Court Palace.
Instead of strolling and picnicking on the lawns, the 3,000-strong crowd huddled beneath whatever shelter they could find as they waited for the band to come on stage.
Ringo Starr is one of those entertainers who has become well versed in the art of shrugging off criticism. His status as a national treasure remains a given, even if he now spends most of his time abroad and makes albums that have the critics foaming with disdain and don’t even register in the Top 50.
He has been touring with different line-ups of the All Starr Band for more than 20 years — twice as long as The Beatles lasted — and has figured out how to get the best from his unassuming nature and comparatively modest talent as a singer and frontman.
More than that, he somehow managed to make it stop raining just in time for the show, which was staged in the open air amid the splendour of the illuminated turrets and barleysugar chimneys of Base Court. Running on stage, he set off at a gentle canter with It Don’t Come Easy and Honey Don’t.
Looking slim and fit, he applied his familiar pitch-imperfect voice to the melodies with the strangely imperturbable charm that has carried him through a career of such astonishing distinction.
By the time he got to Choose Love, the title track of his 2005 album, Ringo had taken his seat behind a drum kit, placed alongside and raised somewhat higher than that of Gregg Bissonette, who played drums throughout the show both with and without Ringo’s parallel timekeeping contributions. From there, the baton was passed around the All Starr Band, each of whom had a bunch of their own hits to contribute to the show.
Rick Derringer, the guitarist, was first to go with Hang On Sloopy — an old hit for his group the McCoys. By the time the albino multi-instrumentalist Edgar Winter had handed over to Wally Palmar of the Romantics fame, and then Gary Wright had introduced Richard Page of Mr. Mister, the levels of love and respect flowing around the stage had reached epic proportions.
Winter put in a searing performance of his old jazz-rock hit Frankenstein, with an extended drum and percussion break at the end during which Ringo was notable for his absence. Some newer songs, such as The Other Side of Liverpool and Peace Dream sent the hokum readings into the red. But in the end it was more about Ringo singing old favourites — including I Wanna Be Your Man, Yellow Submarine and Boys — with a simple, homespun touch that chimed quite effortlessly with the exalted musicianship of those around him.
Having spent a lifetime getting by with quite a lot of help from his friends, he clearly isn’t about to stop now. Tour dates: Tonight, Liverpool Empire; Monday, Birmingham Symphony Hall; Wednesday, Manchester Opera House; Thursday, Clyde Auditorium; Friday, BIC Bournemouth.
No comments:
Post a Comment