Beatles fans shocked as they're only just realizing how Ringo Starr got his name
Ringo Starr achieved international fame as the drummer of The Beatles - but not many fans may know how his nickname, which he still uses professionally today, was born
Fans of The Beatles are only just realizing how Ringo Starr got his name - and it's an interesting story.
The musician, whose birth name is Richard Starkey, achieved international fame as the iconic band's drummer. Now 85 and touring with his All-Starr Band, which has scheduled shows in various US cities including Las Vegas and Chicago, he is still widely referred to as Ringo Starr.
But not many fans may know that his nickname was actually linked to his passion for wearing jewelry. This meant that instead of being called Ritchie, he started being referred to as Rings, which quickly transformed into the more Western-sounding name, Ringo.
And his surname, Starkey, became shortened to Starr as it fit better with Ringo. Another reason for this was that his solo shows could then be billed as Starr Time. A fan wrote on Reddit, "I was just watching the Lindsay Ellis thing on the Beatles' breakup and there's a scene where (I think) George greets Ringo as "Rich" and I was like, who the f--k is Rich? And only then remembered that I actually knew that Ringo Starr wasn't the dude's birth name, but it was super unfamiliar knowledge."
Source: themirror.com/Chiara Fiorillo
