Beatles News
Happy birthday, Ringo Starr!
The beloved Beatles drummer and actor turns 86 on July 7, 2026, and has quite a lifetime to look back on. Here, in honor of his latest milestone, take a look at his life and career in photos, from being in one of the biggest bands in history to marrying Barbara Bach and raising his three children.
Born in Liverpool, England, on July 7, 1940, Richard Starkey was the lone child of Richard Starkey and Elsie Gleave, who split when he was young. At 6 years old his appendix ruptured, leading to a year-long hospital stay. Years later, at 13, he was again hospitalized with tuberculosis, but discovered percussion through his therapy, regularly playing a small drum, LIFE reported in a biography of the star.
“When I was 13, I only wanted to be a drummer,” Starr said on his official website.
Source: people.com/Kate Hogan
Across his solo career, former Beatle Paul McCartney has never once publicly performed a few of his legendary band's major hit singles. Between 1964 and 1970, the Beatles reached the Hot 100 an impressive 64 times, and the top of that pop chart 20 times – a milestone that has stood well into the 21st century. McCartney composed the vast majority of the band's hits along with guitarist and vocalist John Lennon. Those songs became permanently entrenched in the classic rock canon, and many also went on to be fixtures in McCartney's concert set lists from the 1970s and beyond. For example, "Let It Be," "Hey Jude," "Lady Madonna," and "Yesterday" are among the musician's most frequently performed tunes.
But not all of those smashes stuck around. While McCartney played and sang lead vocals on many of those songs, he's shied away from busting them out in front of a big crowd. Here are a few Beatles hits that McCartney hasn't played live since the Beatles' broke up in 1970.
She Loves You
To be a Beatles fan in the 1960s meant getting to bask in the Fab Four's stellar run on the Hot 100 when Beatlemania broke out. After reaching the top spot on the U.K. chart in late 1963, "She Loves You" became the Beatles' second chart-topper in the U.S., spending two weeks in the No. 1 spot in March 1964, displacing the band's previous smash, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney together while on a tour of England in 1963, "She Loves You" features both of its composers on lead vocals. The blending of those voices, along with George Harrison's harmonies, is crucial to the sound of the jaunty pop-rock love song, and the finer points of McCartney's signature voice are lost in the final mix. That combination would be very difficult for McCartney to reproduce on a stage by himself or with singers who weren't Beatles. According to Setlist.fm, he's never included it in a post-1970 live show.
Source: grunge.com/Brian Boone
History is filled with moments that seemed ordinary at the time but ultimately changed the world. Arguably no moment in rock history fits that description better than what happened 69 years ago today, on July 6, 1957.
On that summer afternoon, 16-year-old John Lennon met 15-year-old Paul McCartney for the first time at the Woolton Parish Church Garden Fête in Liverpool, England. It was, as History notes, "the start of one of the most fruitful musical partnerships in history." Just seven years later, Lennon and McCartney, joined by George Harrison and Ringo Starr, would become The Beatles, forever changing the course of popular music.
The meeting almost never happened. "It's easy to assume that John and Paul would eventually have met on some other day," History observes. "But as much as they had in common, the two boys lived in different neighborhoods, went to different schools and were nearly two years apart in age." Without that church fête and a mutual friend who introduced them, one of music's greatest creative partnerships might have begun very differently, or perhaps not at all.
Earlier that day, Lennon had performed with his skiffle group, The Quarrymen. Afterward, McCartney picked up a guitar and played Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock," Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-A-Lula" and a medley of Little Richard songs entirely from memory. He also showed Lennon how to properly tune his guitar and jotted down chords and lyrics to some of the songs he'd played.
Source: yahoo.com/Andrea Reiher
John Lennon likely never would have chosen to perform a Beatles song years after the band's breakup without the encouragement of one British musician.
The Fab Four parted ways in 1970 due to a series of creative differences, four years after Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr had already pressed pause on their touring career.
Lennon, in particular, experienced burnout from life on the road and became anxious about taking the stage. According to Far Out Magazine, the touring landscape for artists in the '60s and ‘70s was vastly different than it is today. Record sales were so high that the "Imagine" icon didn't need to prioritize ticket sales, and, frankly, had no desire to.
Yet, despite all of this, Lennon performed a Beatles track, his last, at Madison Square Garden in 1974. But why, exactly, did the star decide to end his live hiatus, and who convinced him to sing a beloved Beatles tune years after the Fab Four’s farewell?
THE ICON WHO MADE IT HAPPEN
Lennon did not sing a Beatles song during his final live performance. Fans practically begged him to play a Fab Four track amid his three-song set at “A Salute to Sir Lew - The Master Showman,” a 1975 TV special honoring producer Sir Lew Grade, but he refused. In fact, the former Beatle was only present as a requirement of a legal settlement involving the ownership of the group’s catalog.
Source: mentalfloss.com/Logan DeLoye
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding guests got to bear witness to something truly unheard of.
The pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end enlisted Paul McCartney as one of the night's performers at their grand reception inside Madison Square Garden on July 3, and managed to get him to perform a Beatles classic that he hasn't touched in decades.
The iconic singer and songwriter performed the band's No. 1 hit "I Want to Hold Your Hand," a source confirmed to USA TODAY.
The song helped launch Beatlemania in America and McCartney last played the song for an audience with The Beatles at Paramount Theatre in New York on Sept. 20, 1964, according to Setlist.fm.
The relationship between Swift and the "eternally exceptional" Beatle, as she recently called him while lauding his new album, "The Boys of Dungeon Lane," goes back more than a decade.
The legendary McCartney shared the stage with Swift at the 40th anniversary celebration for "Saturday Night Live" in 2015. Five years later, they teamed for Rolling Stone's Musicians on Musicians issue, interviewing each other about life and music.
After Swift donned her creative "Stevie Knicks" shirt while attending the NBA Finals last month at MSG, there was little doubt that the enchanting Fleetwood Mac maven would attend the nuptials. Stevie Nicks also performed at the wedding, a source told USA TODAY. It's unclear what Nicks performed.
Nicks and Swift's history stretches back to the 2010 Grammy Awards, where they performed the pop star's hit "You Belong With Me" and the Fleetwood Mac classic "Rhiannon." In 2024, Nicks penned a very Stevie-like poem for the liner notes of Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department" album, and last year, Swift elaborated on their relationship during an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
Source: usatoday.com/Melissa Ruggieri, Taijuan Moorman
It’s been a busy year for former Beatles, with solo albums from Paul McCartney (The Boys of Dungeon Lane) and Ringo Starr (Long Long Road), the debut of their first official duet “Home to Us,” Macca playing the final episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and a West Coast tour for Ringo’s long-running All-Star Band—who are hitting the road again this fall, following a string of West Coast dates. Check out the just-announced slate of stops below. (The current iteration of the All-Starr band features Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart, Gregg Bissonette, and Buck Johnson.) The tour includes Ringo’s first show at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens since the Beatles performed there in 1964.
In addition to the tour news, the soon-to-be 86-year-old also shared his annual birthday request to spread “Peace and Love by posting, saying, or even just thinking Peace and Love at noon, wherever you are.”
Ringo Starr 2026 Fall Tour Dates:
09-24 Easton, PA - State Theatre
09-25 Bethel, NY - Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
09-27 Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
09-28 Washington, DC - The Anthem
09-30 Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway
10-01 Queens, NY - Forest Hills Stadium
10-03 Portland, ME - Cross Insurance Arena
10-04 Wallingford, CT - Toyota Oakdale Theatre
10-06 Lancaster, PA - American Music Theatre
10-07 Albany, NY - Palace Theatre
Source: Pitchfork/Alex Suskind
Before there was Taylor Swift, there were the Beatles. Four kids from Liverpool, England, became the biggest stars in the world and, in less than a decade, changed the course of music, fashion, and celebrity history forever. The actions of the Fab Four — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — continue to reverberate through pop culture to this day. Without them, it's hard to imagine any current musicians or bands would exist.
And while he wasn't the focus during the band's time at the top, George Harrison has gained more and more respect for his artistry over the years. His guitar work with the Beatles, as well as the few songs he wrote and sang with the band, have become fan favorites, and his solo work has been reevaluated, with his 1970 album "All Things Must Pass" being considered by many to be the best solo work of any of the former Beatles. Harrison's evolution as an artist can be followed via his music, and it can also be examined by looking at his facial hair. The "Here Comes the Sun" singer changed up his look along with his musical stylings, helping fans get an idea of where his mind was headed and what his overall mood was.
While it isn't exactly surprising that George Harrison didn't have a face covered in hair when he was 15, it is a good place to start. Before John Lennon entered the picture, Harrison and Paul McCartney were already friends.
Source: yahoo.com/Derek Faraci
Sir Paul McCartney reportedly serenaded newlyweds Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce with the 1963 Beatles hit “I Want to Hold Your Hand” at their Madison Square Garden reception Friday evening.
A source for People confirmed the performance by the legendary singer on Saturday, saying, “After the ceremony, Taylor’s mom Andrea invited everyone into the reception room where the stage was set up.”
The Grammy winner’s longtime pal, Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks, was also said to have performed at the star-studded extravaganza, which stretched into the early morning hours Saturday.
McCartney and Swift have been friends for years, and once appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone together.
The “Blank Space” hitmaker and NFL star, both 36, summoned a list of 1,000 guests — both A-list celebrities and close family members alike — to celebrate their union at an extravagant celebration at the New York City arena Friday. A more intimate rehearsal dinner at the same venue Thursday evening was held for 100 members of the couple’s inner circle — including fellow songstress Selena Gomez, sports reporter Erin Andrews, Kelce’s pal Ross Travis and Swift’s longtime publicist, Tree Paine.
Following Friday’s massive bash, signs outside Madison Square Garden read “JUST&T MARRIED” to announce the news that the power couple had finally made things official.
Source: pagesix.com/Audrey Rock
In 1965, The Beatles released “Ticket To Ride”. Written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, “Ticket To Ride” appears on Help!, their fifth studio album.
Although they likely didn’t know it at the time, McCartney and Lennon forever changed music with “Ticket To Ride”. The song is just over three minutes, making it The Beatles’ longest song at the time. From there, The Beatles began releasing longer songs, as did other acts. Their “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” comes in at just under eight minutes, although it wasn’t a hit single. That song appears on The Beatles’ final record, Abbey Road, out in 1969. The Beatles’ longest single came in 1968, with “Hey Jude”, which is just over seven minutes.
The Beatles may be known for their longer songs, but they aren’t the only artist to break the three-minute barrier. Although other artists had longer songs on their records, Bob Dylan is one of the first to have a hit on the radio with a longer song. In 1965, Dylan had his first Top 5 single, with “Like A Rolling Stone”. The song is just over six minutes long.
The Story Behind “Ticket To Ride” by The Beatles
“Ticket To Ride” is actually a sad song about a relationship ending. The song begins with “I think I’m gonna be sad / I think it’s today, yeah / The girl that’s driving me mad / Is going away / She’s got a ticket to ride / She’s got a ticket to ride / She’s got a ticket to ride / But she don’t care.”
The format of “Ticket To Ride” is also different from anything The Beatles had done before, using an outro in the song. According to McCartney, it’s what makes “Ticket To Ride” stand out.
Source: americansongwriter.com/Gayle Thompson
In July 1971, John Lennon was putting the finishing touches on a masterpiece that, according to Grunge, would become the most-covered song of the decade and an enduring anthem that would transcend borders, time, and generations.
OnJuly 4, Lennon traveled to the Record Plant in New York City to record the iconic string arrangements for "Imagine." Later that summer, he was famously filmed at his English estate, Tittenhurst Park, singing different versions of the song on his magnificent white piano.
Co-written with his wife, Yoko Ono, and drafted on a sheet of Hilton Hotel stationery, the track made its official debut later that year in October. Music fans immediately embraced the song for its soft, hypnotic melody and hopeful vision for a world without borders, religions, or material possessions.
Seen as an idealistic, universal anthem of peace, the track was a natural evolution of Lennon's earlier peace activism. Despite slight controversy caused by the opening line, "Imagine there's no heaven," the song became a cultural symbol of unity and one of Lennon's defining works. It also became the most successful single of his solo career.
Source: yahoo.com/DeAnna Janes
Beatles Beanie: Abbey Road (Sonic Silver) 