When Ringo Starr (86) talks about Paul McCartney (84), he quickly becomes enthusiastic. In conversation with "People" he spoke about the new duet with his former Beatles bandmate and didn't hold back on compliments. "I loved it because we were together in that band, and it's just the best band ever", said Starr.
McCartney's bass playing is "incredible", the musician continued. "And he's a songwriter. I mean, I could go on forever. He's just a wonderful guy."
Premiere at the Microphone
The reason for this enthusiasm is "Home To Us", a song from McCartney's latest album. For the two surviving Beatles, the track is a premiere: For the first time in their decades-long shared history, they share lead vocals. Previously, they had only helped out in the background. "I've sung some choruses on his tracks. He's played on my tracks. He came by with the bass", Starr explained. And joked: "It's not like we don't know each other".
From 1960 to 1970, they formed The Beatles together with George Harrison (1943-2001) and John Lennon (1940-1980) and became the most successful band in music history.
Song About Their Shared Past
"Home To Us" came about rather casually. As NDR-Kultur journalist and Beatles podcaster Ocke Bandixen told the station, the track came together during a jam session for Starr's own album. McCartney showed up at the recording and suggested turning the material into a complete song and singing it in turns for the first time. Content-wise, the song travels back to the childhood of both musicians in post-war Liverpool.
The track is the second single release from "The Boys Of Dungeon Lane", Paul McCartney's 20th solo album to date, which was released on May 29. Ringo Starr, meanwhile, released his own country album "Long Long Road" in April.
