Ringo

A Fab Life

Tom Doyle author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Putman Publishing

Published:23rd Oct '25

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Ringo cover

Ringo Starr’s eventful and remarkable life laid bare in a first-of-its-kind mosaic biography of one of the greatest musicians of all time.

Often overshadowed by his former bandmates, Starr’s remarkable story is no less compelling. ‘Ringo: A Fab Life’ highlights a life so jaw-droppingly eventful that one is left wondering how he also had time to become one of the best musicians on the planet.

Through an episodic, mosaic format critically acclaimed author Tom Doyle takes readers through the ride of a lifetime, from Starr’s brushes with death as a child bought up in poverty, through to dizzying heights of fame and success with The Beatles and beyond. By examining pivotal moments, anecdotes and cautionary tales, we see Starr soar as part of the biggest band in the world - and then try and cope with life outside of it: a film career, misadventures with friends, children’s TV narrator, furniture designer, marriage to a Bond girl, before eventually finding peace and sobriety as one of the elder statesmen of rock.

So much more than another Beatles related biography, we follow Starr’s career far beyond the rose-tinted sixties, through the various addictions and career left turns in the seventies and eighties, before reaching the 1990’s, his legacy and reputation intact.

The life of Richard Starkey is long overdue a proper inspection and this book - with exclusive new interviews conducted by Doyle with, amongst others, Starr himself - provides a never-before-seen level of detail that will delight hardcore fans and curious readers alike.

Ringo: A Fab Life - hilarious, moving, insightful and constantly surprising - is the definitive account of one of the greatest living musicians and the uncontested best drummer in The Beatles.

“Tom Doyle shines a long-overdue spotlight on Ringo Starr, proving that Ringo's story is not just a footnote to The Beatles, but a triumph in its own right” — Chris Shaw, Host, I am the EggPod
“Tom Doyle’s superb new biography… is full of drama, emotion, comedy, tragedy and incident… An essential purchase for music fans, never mind Beatles fans 10/10” — Classic Rock
“(The) definitive biography. An engaging, meticulous view of the life of the Beatles drummer. It fleshes out with sharp analysis the well documented events whilst detailing - with no little sparkle - some of the lesser known aspects of his remarkable career” — The I-Paper
“Tom Doyle's biography shows how Ringo used his light entertainer charm and instinctive talent to become the engine of the Beatles sound. Mojo writer and McCartney biographer Doyle seeks to tease out the lesser known stories from Starr's extraordinary life. A wide ranging biography, a thoroughly researched book” — The Observer
“Extremely good. We loved it. You can never have too much Ringo” — Word in Your Ear
“Doyle’s style is always a pleasure to read: friendly, informal, engaging yet fact-packed and forensic. A must for any discerning Fab shelf 5/5” — Record Collector
“This charming biography casts Starr as the Beatles anchor emotionally as well as rhythmically. Gear portrait of the octopus's gardener. Resolutely fab 4/5” Mojo
“A fantastic book by the wonderful Tom Doyle” — Iain McDermott, Back to Now
“This charming biography casts Starr as the Beatles anchor emotionally as well as rhythmically. Gear portrait of the octopus's gardener. Resolutely fab 4/5” — Mojo
“Perhaps the most dramatic life arc of any of the Beatles, how delightful to see Ringo finally get the fab biography he deserves. A beautiful read.” — Samira Ahmed, BBC Front Row

ISBN: 9781917923132

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

384 pages