George Harrison Said Ringo Starr Needed to Play on His 1987 Album ‘Cloud Nine’ Because He Was Getting Bored Doing Nothing
George Harrison knew his former bandmate Ringo Starr would want to play on his 1987 album Cloud Nine before he even told the drummer about it. Actually, George didn’t leave room for discussion: Ringo would play on it no matter what.
George Harrison said Ringo Starr needed to play on his 1987 album, ‘Cloud Nine’
After releasing 1982’s Gone Troppo, George stopped releasing music for a few years. The music industry had gotten too serious for him, and he craved to work with someone who understood him. So, George backed off. He recorded demos and worked with his film production company, HandMade Films.
Then, in 1986, George met ELO frontman Jeff Lynne and instantly knew he wanted to work with the producer on a new album. During a 1986 interview on Australian TV, George said that he’d decided to make a new album for next year only a week before.
George already knew he wanted Ringo to play on the album. The guitarist said it was set in stone that the drummer would appear, even though Ringo had no idea about it yet. Geoge added that Ringo needed to play on Cloud Nine because he had nothing else to do.
“I haven’t told Ringo yet but he’s going to play on it and I think he needs to do that,” George explained. “He needs to play anyway, because he gets a bit bored just not doing anything. So, I haven’t told him yet because I only decided last week to do it.”
Who knows how Ringo felt when he learned he had no choice but to appear on Cloud Nine. Whatever happened, Ringo gladly signed on.
George always knew what he’d get when he asked Ringo to appear on an album
After working together in The Beatles and on their respective solo work, George and Ringo knew each other as musicians. They knew what they would get when they asked each other to appear on their albums.
During a 1987 interview, George explained that he knew what he would get when he asked Ringo to appear on Cloud Nine.
“You couldn’t make an ex-Beatle record without having Ringo, could you?” George said. “It’s like a built-in thing. If I play a song to Ringo, I don’t need to say to him, ‘You know, I want it to go like this.’ I just play it, and he joins in. Maybe you could tell him, ‘Stop there’ or ‘Can you do a little fill there?’
“But other than that, he’s got a great feel. I sort of don’t practice much on the guitar. I just pick it up and play it when I need to and he’s the same. He never practices, he’s a very naughty boy. But he just gets his sticks and he just does it, and it sounds just like Ringo.”
Jim Keltner and Ringo made ‘Cloud Nine’ sound authentic
Along with Ringo, George asked drummer Jim Keltner to play on Cloud Nine. In 1987, George told Anthony DeCurtis (per George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters) that both drummers made Cloud Nine sound as authentic as possible. George wanted the album to sound like old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll with real drums, not drum machines.
He explained, “I always had in mind that when I did this record, I would like to have these proper drummers, and more or less do it like I did it in the late ’60s, early ’70s, which is to say [Jim] Keltner and Ringo. Those two are perfect.”
George returned to music with Cloud Nine, but he also helped Ringo return to it too.
