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TL;DR:

  • The Beatles’ John Lennon discussed his opinion of Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
  • John felt George and Ringo were irrelevant to the Beatles phenomenon.
  • He said Ringo was a star in Liverpool before he joined the Fab Four.
The Beatles' Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison in black-and-white
The Beatles’ Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison | John Pratt/Keystone/Getty Images)

John Lennon felt George Harrison and Ringo Starr were irrelevant to the Beatles phenomenon. On the same token, he discussed whether George and Ringo would be a necessary part of a Beatles reunion. Subsequently, he revealed what he thought about reunions in general.

John Lennon said Ringo Starr was a star without The Beatles

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features a 1980 interview. In it, John discussed George and Ringo. 

“Let’s say, I think it’s possible for John and Paul to have created the same thing with two other guys,” John said. “It may not have been possible for George and Ringo to have created it without John and Paul. OK?”

Subsequently, John praised George and Ringo — but mostly Ringo. “But that doesn’t take away from the individual talents that they have,” he said. “Ringo was a star in his own right in Liverpool before we even met. Ringo was a professional drummer who sang and performed and was in one of the top groups in Britain, but especially in Liverpool. So Ringo’s talent would have come out one way or the other. 

“I don’t know what he would have ended up as — whatever that spark is in Ringo, we all know it but we can’t put our finger on it,” John added. “Whether it’s acting, drumming, or singing, I don’t know. There’s something in him that is projectable and he would have surfaced as an individual.”

Elsewhere in the interview, John praised George’s song “Within You Without You” from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, saying it was one of George’s best songs and it showcased the quiet Beatle’s “innate talent.”

Why John Lennon wouldn’t try to recreate The Beatles with Paul McCartney

The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon includes another interview from 1980. In it, John was asked if he yearned for The Beatles’ glory days. He said he didn’t and that he couldn’t recreate the magic of the Fab Four, even if he, Paul, George, and Ringo rejoined as a group.

Subsequently, John said it wouldn’t matter if George and Ringo rejoined The Beatles because he and Paul were responsible for the music. In addition, John said it would be “boring” if he and Paul tried to make music together again. 

Related

Did John Lennon Think Ringo Starr Was Talented?

The former Beatle discussed what he thought about reunions

The “Imagine” singer admitted there were plenty of Beatles songs he wanted to remake because they didn’t live up to his vision. Despite this, he didn’t want to reform his old band because he had no interest in reunions. In his opinion, rejoining The Beatles would be like going back to school.

John felt The Beatles didn’t need George or Ringo — not in the 1960s, and not for a hypothetical reunion.

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