REVIEW: RINGO CAPTIVATE SYDNEY

Ringo has returned to tour Australia after almost 50 years.

 

Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, February 13

Almost half a century has passed since Ringo Starr last toured these shores.

For all the hysteria that greeted the Beatles' arrival here in 1964, only one of the Fab Four (Paul McCartney) ever returned to play in the years that followed.

Having another former Beatle in town, then, feels like a novelty: a rare treat for musicologists and nostalgia types. Particularly since only two of the four are still with us.

Starr – who will turn 73 in July – looks and sounds absurdly fit. Armed with an infectiously dry, self-deprecating wit, he arrived with the considerable support of his so-called All Starr Band, which includes Toto's Steve Lukather, Gregg Rolie, of Santana and Journey fame, and bad boy Todd Rundgren. And for the adoring throng that all but filled the usually cavernous Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday night, Starr could do no wrong.

He kicked matters off briskly. There was a dash of Carl Perkins (via Matchbox), a splash of 1970s solo success (It Don't Come Easy), and a fresher cut, Wings (from last year's Ringo 2012, “which three of you bought”, he quipped).He still seemed most content, though, behind the drum kit, to where he intermittently retreated when his band mates stepped forward.

Cries of “We love you, Ringo” poured forth from the crowed. “I love you, too – peace and love” was the good-natured, flower-powered response. It all felt a bit surreal.

When Starr withdrew, the audience – which ranged in age from 17 to over 70 – stayed with the mish-mash of musical styles.

Toto's MOR radio staples proved the most popular. A few stage rushes even ensued, with Lukather's guitar chops evident during Santana classics Evil Ways and Black Magic Woman.

Yet it was Richard Page, of 1980s pop outfit Mr Mister, who surprised the most. With arresting harmonies intact, he even premiered a convincing, as-yet-untitled fresh cut among his hits.

Inevitably, the sing-along whimsy of Yellow Submarine followed, before a raucous With a Little Help from My Friends (and a brief Give Peace a Chance) brought it all home, and Ringo was gone. Which sent the assembled throng en masse to purchase Ringo merchandise, regardless of the price. Some things, it seems, never change.