Ringo's Rhythm Without Blues

(2 of 2)

On this and previous albums, Ringo defies the rock convention best articulated by Neil Young: "It's better to burn out/ Than to fade away." Ringo's compositions convey an upbeat personal philosophy (sample line: "You've got to love every breath that you breathe/ Look at the sky and believe"). Unsurprisingly, such sentiments bear a distinct resemblance to the tenets of the 12-step programs devised to help alcoholics and drug addicts. He and his wife have been clean-living since they checked into rehab in Arizona in October 1988; cocaine and alcohol were reputed to be their downfall. Ringo says simply: "I was on my knees." Allison maintains that the treatment changed more about his friend than his habits. For a start, that's when Ringo's sun worship started. "We spent so many years in the dark, during what I refer to as 'the medicine years,'" says Allison. "The blinds were drawn and when the sun started coming up everybody was like a bunch of Draculas running for cover. Not any more. We both love the light."

Allison recalls drunkenly telling an equally inebriated Ringo he loved him. Ringo recoiled, admonishing Allison: "Don't get real on me." Rehab unlocked Ringo's emotions, says Allison. "Now it can't get real enough for him. We talk about everything imaginable."

Ringo still does have one visible addiction, though: making peace signs. "He's always got two fingers in the air and is repeating 'love' all the time," says Stewart, "but that's because he's been through so much." Perhaps that's why he's been worrying lately about the public distress of the Grammy-nominated British singer Amy Winehouse, who has canceled a tour amid rumors of drug and alcohol abuse. "God bless Amy. She's a great talent. And she's going through a situation right now," he says. "It's a very public destruction ... The good news is that there's a lot more help around now than there was." He was happy to read reports that another troubled British singer, Pete Doherty, had done a beneficial stint in rehab. "So you can do it. So God bless you, Pete." But does Ringo enjoy Doherty's music? "I've no idea. I've only ever seen him [in photos] coming out of a court."

Nobody would accuse Ringo of being down with the kids. He describes his musical influences as "eclectic," but rejects collaborations that might introduce him to younger audiences. "You can only be what you are," he says. "Many times they'd like me to do these records with all these new bands and I won't do it. Because I'm having a great time, I'm having a great career. I'm not desperate to be No. 1."

Still, a little more recognition wouldn't go amiss. So here it is, starting with his role in the Beatles. There's a joke that Ringo isn't the world's greatest drummer — he wasn't even the greatest drummer in the Beatles. Record producer Chris Thomas, who worked with George Martin on the Beatles' White Album, begs to differ: "They were a great band and to be a great band you have to have a great drummer." "Ringo rooted everything musically," says Geldof. "He does beats when it's necessary. These songs are all over the place and seamless simultaneously. If you listen to them, what he does is great, seriously great."

Ringo's post-Beatles canon rarely attracts such superlatives, although singles like It Don't Come Easy and Photograph made the charts and won plaudits. So did his acting, most notably in the 1973 film That'll Be the Day. He gave it up anyway. "I came to the conclusion that there are a lot of good actors out there," he says. "I'm really just a personality who can learn a few lines."

"The question isn't what Ringo did post-Beatles. The question is what any of the Beatles did post-Beatles," says Geldof. (Geldof's assessment matches the broad consensus: none of them individually matched the Beatles' stratospheric standard.) One thing Ringo won't do is join Geldof in using his celebrity status to campaign for any causes. That, says Ringo firmly, was Lennon's province. Ringo believes in leading by example or, as he says of his vegetarianism, "I am the campaign."

What sustains him, he says, is "just working out, just eating carrots" — that, and his beloved Barbara, and music. "The dream at 13 was to be a drummer and then I got a kit of drums and it was to play with people and then to play with really good people, and that hasn't stopped ... I'm not an electrician, I'm a musician. And I still get great joy out of it," he says. In Ringo's world, the sun shines almost every day, and, if it gets chilly once in a while, some decent thermal underwear should keep him warm. (Please, Barbara: take note.)