Ringo Starr Left Elton John Show Because He Was Playing New Songs

Ringo Starr said he once left an Elton John stadium show because he was playing new songs.

The former Beatle referred to the moment as one reason why he’d stopped trying to introduce fresh tracks to his own concerts.

Starr has just released his 21st LP, Look Up, and launches a North American tour in June with his All-Starr Band. Before that, he’ll play two shows without the band on Jan. 14 and 15 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

READ MORE: Top 10 Ringo Starr Songs Written by the Other Beatles

“The band sounds great,” Starr told the Sunday Times in a new interview. “We have a fun time and we just do it. In the late ‘90s I would put in, like, two or three from the new album, and you could feel the room empty. It happens to everybody.”

Turning to the undated John concert at Wembley Stadium, which he attended with John’s mother, the drummer recalled: “He came on and said, ‘I’m only going to do the new album.’ Me and his mother left after three tracks because we didn’t know them.”

Ringo Starr Never Liked His Singing Voice

In the same interview Starr admitted he wasn’t a fan of his own voice, and always wished he could sing like Jerry Lee Lewis.

“I can hold a tune, as long as it’s in my key,” he said. “And it just worked out with the Beatles because John and Paul were great writers. That’s what made us.”

He continued: “I’d get one song. And a couple of them were really good, you know, ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ and ‘Yellow Submarine.’ They’re still huge and I still do them on tour. They wrote me a lot of really nice songs.”