Photographs is a celebration, it is a picture noticeboard of reminder’s to Ringo Starr of the amazing journey his career has taken, a journey that has taken in much of the world from the clubs and pubs of Merseyside, the stage at Butlin’s in Skegness, trips to the USA and India and a number of years spent in London and its surrounding area.
Photographs from Genesis Publications is a scrapbook; pictures, notes, letters and ticket stubs collated, telling the story of Ringo’s rise from sickly schoolboy to global superstar. A meaty tome, it wouldn’t physically fit into a Christmas stocking but I would highly recommend it as a gift for those of you with a Beatles lover in the family.
Full of love, joy, memories and pride it is clear to see this is a man who has lived a life to its fullest and appreciates the fact.
The pictures are accompanied by over 15,000 words written by Ringo himself and you can really hear his dulcet tones in the wording, a personal favourite of mine was “That’s a very nice portrait of John Lennon, looking rather spiffy.”
His personal picture collection includes some wonderful shots of his fellow bandmates, explaining his upbringing in Liverpool, the journey to taking up the drums and how he was invited to be a part of The Beatles; a different slant on the story than I have heard before.
I’ve always been a huge fan of John Lennon so was delighted to see some shots of him that I’d never seen before, but was left a little disappointed by the lack of any mention of his untimely death, George’s Harrison’s passing too, while the breakup of The Beatles was very swiftly passed over.
I guess though, in the theme and ethos of the book, Ringo has tried to focus on the happy times, the joys and loves of his life and to dwell too long upon the sad deaths of close friends and of the world’s greatest band may have detracted from that; he’s kept it positive and I can’t possibly criticise that.
Even at around 300 pages this isn’t a long read by any stretch as the vast majority of page real estate is, as you may expect, taken up with photographs, which makes it a great way to spend a couple of hours on a quiet Sunday.
Photographs by Ringo Starr, from Genesis Publications is available for around £30 online.
