Ringo Starr has revealed details of his upcoming album ‘Long Long Road’ and released the lead single ‘It’s Been Too Long’. You can listen to the track below.
The record will mark the Beatles icon’s 22nd solo studio album and continues the country influenced direction heard on his previous release, last year’s ‘Look Up’.
Just like that earlier project, ‘Long Long Road’ has been produced by T Bone Burnett. The album also features contributions from St. Vincent, Sheryl Crow and Billy Strings. It is scheduled for release on April 24 through UMe and fans can pre order it here.
The first preview from the album arrives with the song ‘It’s Been Too Long’. The track was written by Burnett alongside Daniel Tashian and includes harmony vocals from Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz. Starr takes the lead on the reflective song, which blends warm Americana style guitars with rich, laid back production.
Watch the visualiser here:
Starr said: “I’m blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records. After we did the last record, which I love listening to, this one just sort of happened. I like to say sometimes I make the right moves, like you can go left or right at any point, and one of the right moves was hooking up with T Bone for ‘Look Up’, and now for this one, which I’m calling ‘Long Long Road’, because I’ve been on a long long road.”
Burnett also shared his thoughts about working with Starr. “I’ve loved Ringo’s playing and his singing for my whole life. And then one night we were at a poetry reading together and he said, why don’t you write a song for me? So I wrote him a Gene Autry type song because I always heard Ringo as a Texas artist, the way he played felt just like Texas music to me. Ringo Starr is a recording artist of the highest caliber, and I wanted to surround him with these young masters, bringing in some of this extraordinary young energy that’s happening around Nashville for both of these records.”
Ringo Starr – ‘Long Long Road’ tracklist:
- ‘Returning Without Tears’
- ‘Baby Don’t Go’
- ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’
- ‘It’s Been Too Long’
- ‘Why’
- ‘You And I (Wave Of Love)’
- ‘My Baby Don’t Want Nothing’
- ‘Choose Love’
- ‘She’s Gone’
- ‘Long Long Road’
Ringo is also preparing to hit the road in the United States this summer, with 12 shows scheduled across May and June. The run begins in Temecula, California on May 28 and wraps up at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on June 14. See all of the dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
The legendary drummer will soon be portrayed by Barry Keoghan in the upcoming series of Beatles biographical films. Mia McKenna Bruce, known for How To Have Sex, will play his wife Maureen Starkey. Paul Mescal has been cast as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson will play John Lennon and Joseph Quinn takes on the role of George Harrison. See the first images of the actors in character here.
Director Sam Mendes, known for films such as 1917, Skyfall and American Beauty, is helming the four individual movies. Each film will focus on a different member of the band. The Beatles – A Four Film Cinematic Event is currently planned for release in April 2028.
Last May, Keoghan spoke about meeting Starr while preparing for the role. “When I was talking to him, I couldn’t look at him. I was nervous, like right now. But he’s like, ‘You can look at me. My job is to observe and kinda take in mannerisms and study him. I want to humanise him and bring feelings to it and not just sort of imitate.’”
Ringo’s son Zak Starkey, who previously played with The Who and has also toured with Oasis, shared his own thoughts with NME last year about the casting. “Get a big rubber nose,” he joked. “I don’t know what else to say. He doesn’t look anything like my dad, does he? You can fix anything, can’t you? You can certainly give someone a big rubber nose. The thing about my dad is his personality. He sold The Beatles to America, he’s the one with the charisma. Pulling that off will be hard. He’s just himself.”
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