Ringo Starr Finally Knighted 21 Years after Paul McCartney, Then Jokes About His Medal
Richard Starkey — known as Ringo Starr — received a knighthood at Buckingham Palace Tuesday morning, 21 years after his former bandmate Paul McCartney received the same honor in 1997.
The iconic 77-year-old drummer was accompanied by his wife Barbara Bach to the ceremony conducted by Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge.
Starr told the U.K. Daily Mail that he was delighted to finally accept the knighthood for his services to music.
He showed off his medal with his trademark peace sign.
Starr revolutionized pop and rock music with his former The Beatles bandmates McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison.
The Beatles received their Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire medals from Queen Elizabeth II in 1965, 53-years before Starr’s knighthood.
McCartney’s oldest daughter, Mary, congratulated the drummer for his knighthood and posted a picture of their FaceTime conversation on Instagram.
Starr was initially recruited to play for Al Caldwell’s Texan’s (later known as Rory Storm and the Hurricanes) but was approached by Lennon in 1962 to join The Beatles as the band prepared to fire their original drummer, Pete Best.
The Beatles’ main songwriters, Lennon and McCartney, reportedly saved one song per album for Starr to sing even though his vocal range was limited.
After the band split in 1970, Starr started his solo career with his debut album “Sentimental Journey.” He has since released 19 albums with the most recent “Give More Love” released in 2017.
He also appeared in numerous films and did storytelling work on the children’s television show “Thomas the Tank Engine.”
Congratulations Sir Richard Starkey on your long awaited for knighthood!
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