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Ringo Starr Defies Ageing At 76th Birthday; Still On The Road With His All-Starr Band

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 04:43 PST, Jul 18, 2016

Ringo Starr and Sir Paul McCartney have delighted Beatles fans by appearing together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Vegas show, The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil, according to Parade. The famous former Beatles were joined by Yoko Ono Lennon, the wife of the late Beatle, John Lennon, as they celebrated with the cast and crew of the stage show.

Ringo Starr, the drummer of the legendary rock band The Beatles, has stunned people by defying the aging process. News Australia reports that the 76-year-old Beatles legend somehow looks much younger than his son, Jason Starkey, who is two decades younger than him.

The father and son duo was spotted shopping together in Chelsea, London when the comparison was made. And the drummer is not even the youngest Beatle as his former bandmate, Paul McCartney, is two years his junior. In fact, Ringo Starr was looking younger than ever as he approached his 76th birthday on July 7.

Ringo Starr’s stylish outfit along with his wayfarer sunglasses and his delicate silver peace necklace complemented his youthful attitude as he accompanied his son during the shopping spree. The Daily Mail reported that the rock and roll legend emanated the vibrant spirit of his pendant by flashing a peace sign to the onlookers.

Despite being a Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr has seen the inevitable ups and downs in his professional life since the breakup of The Beatles. On April 21, 1978, in the midst of the disco era, and after working alongside great supporting musicians, Ringo Starr released his Bad Boy album with the hope that his career would soar once again. At the time, the Beatles drummer was doing everything he could to promote his work as his earlier albums like Ringo’s Rotogravure and Ringo the 4th had under-performed. Timed to be released along with the album was a one-hour television show on NBC called Ringo. According to A.V. Club, stars like George Harrison, Carrie Fisher, and other famous artists appeared on the show along with Ringo.

A story based on Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper was acted out on the show, but despite the fanfare and promotions, the album failed to make it into the Billboard Top 100. It seemed that Ringo Starr’s career had hit the bottom, but his roughest years were still ahead. It seemed that the only good thing that happened during those days was his low-key marriage to Barbara Bach, the former Bond girl, who was (and remains) deeply in love with Ringo Starr.

Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach were married on April 27, 1981, at the Marylebone Register Office in London. According to Ultimate Classic Rock, the couple braved many challenges and failures that plagued Ringo’s career.

The pair resorted to escapades like long plane journeys, renting huge villas and stocking up the bars when Ringo’s films and music albums flopped. There was a point when the Beatles legend cut down on Cognac and started drinking wine instead as he found his career in shambles. In fact, Ringo Starr reportedly depended on multiple bottles of pills a day to cope with his crippling depression.

And even though Ringo Starr tried his best to cope with his illness, sought the help of numerous professionals, and tried different medications, his frustration grew to such an extent that one day he attacked his wife and destroyed their house. Finally, in 1988, Ringo Starr agreed to enter a rehabilitation clinic in Tuscon, Arizona, which helped the former Beatles star to put his marriage, his career, and his life back together.

Thankfully, this bold move was the beginning of better times for the famous musician, and in 1989, just six months after getting clean and sober, he launched the still-running All-Starr Band lineup. Ringo Starr has since released nine new albums, his latest being 2015’s Postcards From Paradise which features notable contributions from All-Starr Band members Steve Lukather and Todd Rundgren.

Ringo Starr shows no signs of slowing down, and he has already announced the concert dates for his tour in 2016. However, Ringo recently canceled his concert in North Carolina on June 18 by way of a protest against the controversial laws which discriminate against the LGBTQIA community. But for other states, the evergreen Ringo will continue to tour and charm the screaming audiences just like he did back in his heyday of the 1960s.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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