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Todd Rundgren<\/a> said Ringo Starr<\/a> was the only member of the Beatles<\/a> who\u2019d survived the band relatively unscathed.<\/p>\n He argued that, to different extents, John Lennon<\/a>, Paul McCartney<\/a> and George Harrison<\/a> had never quite escaped their joint legacy.<\/p>\n In a new interview with Vulture<\/a>, Rundgren also explained why he\u2019d enjoyed his time in Starr\u2019s All-Starr Band<\/a> so much.<\/p>\n \u201cRingo was maybe the only one who survived the Beatles,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the other guys had some sort of issues they had to deal with. Paul McCartney, even today, is so afraid that people forget who he is that he\u2019ll show up at a mall opening.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong>\u00a0How John Lennon Ended His Fight With Todd Rundgren<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cRingo finally got over being a Beatle and became Ringo\u2026 [But] there was a time early on during the All-Starr tours where he was afraid that, if he stopped anywhere in public, he\u2019d be mobbed to death. So he would ignore everybody. By the time he got around to the last couple of tours that I did with him, he was out there\u2026 with the fans and comfortable with himself.\u201d<\/p>\n But Rundgren noted it hadn\u2019t necessarily been easy for Starr to escape the shadow of his previous band. \u201cAfter the Beatles were done, he recorded some stuff but didn\u2019t go out on tour. He was too stage shy. Cut to 10 years later, and Ringo decides that as part of his rehabilitation he\u2019s going to start playing again. He got into real big trouble because when he stopped playing, he didn\u2019t know what to do with himself.<\/p>\n \u201cHe started hanging around with Harry Nilsson<\/a> and getting into all sorts of mischief, and he realized that he was probably going to die unless he got into rehab. Part of the rehab was to start the All-Starr Band.\u201d<\/p>\n The guitarist added: \u201cHe has his own regimen, and he\u2019s so freaking healthy. It\u2019s unbelievable how well he takes care of himself. He\u2019s great to work with\u2026 it\u2019s a great gig if you can get it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rundgren outlined his \u201cinteresting history\u201d with Starr, which includes several stints with the All-Starr Band between 1992 and 2017, following a one-off collaboration for a Jerry Lewis telethon in the \u201870s. \u201c[I]t was a fun thing. It was fun to travel the way that Ringo travels,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI got asked again in 2012. By then, Steve Lukather<\/a> and Greg Rolie<\/a> were playing, and it was a whole different kind of band. Everybody got along so well that at the end of the tour, Ringo, instead of doing what he usually does \u2013 \u2018We should break up the band and get a whole bunch of new guys\u2019 \u2013 kept the same band together for four and a half years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was great because you fly by private jet everywhere you go, and stay in the same hotels as Ringo. You live like a king.\u201d<\/p>\n Explaining why he\u2019d bowed out, Rundgren said: \u201cThe only problem for me was after nearly five years, it\u2019s exactly the same show every night with the same jokes and everything. At a certain point, I just couldn\u2019t handle it anymore. I need to feel like I\u2019m moving and evolving to a certain degree.\u201d<\/p>\n For more than half a century, the superstar producer has made some of the weirdest records to hit the charts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTodd Rundgren\u2019s History with Ringo Starr<\/h3>\n
Todd Rundgren Albums Ranked <\/h2>\n