Why Lemmy called Ringo Starr a “bad boy”
The Beatles were a lot of things. They were some of the greatest musicians the world had ever seen and some of the most creative songwriters to put pen to paper. They were musical icons, people who weren’t afraid to knock down barriers and expand upon what could be done with songs, singles and albums. However, very few people would call them “bad boys”.
Sure, there was an element of cheekiness to them, which gave them a rebellious edge at times. The American press was never too happy with their long haircuts, and the wry, sarcastic answers they gave to interview questions meant that a lot of people rolled their eyes at the Brits. However, bad boy was reserved for people much worse than The Beatles.
That being said, one of the toughest bassists and vocalists in rock would beg to differ. Lemmy fronted Motörhead for years and became famous because of his hard-hitting music, energy as a vocalist and affinity for all things that were perceived as “tough”. With a bottle of Jack Daniels on stage, a leather cowboy hat on his head and a skull and crossbones on his t-shirt, it was hard to deny the bassist’s dominance as a tough guy.
Lemmy was also a big Beatles fan, as were many musicians in the world of rock at the time. When Lemmy was making music, a shift was starting to occur, as guitars were becoming more distorted, and people continued to look for flamboyancy and rebellion within the artists they listened to. Subsequently, many music fans began calling The Beatles “safe”, something that always rubbed the Motörhead bassist the wrong way.
Not only did Lemmy complement their music, but he also said that, as people, there was no escaping the fact that the Fab Four were undeniably tough. “The Beatles were the hard guys, you know, they’re from Liverpool, man,” he said. “Give me a break.”
Turning his attention to Ringo Starr, the often underrated member of the band who was seen by many as the silly, goofy member, Lemmy said, “If you want bad boys, talk to Ringo Starr; he comes from The Dingle in Liverpool, which at the time was like a no-go area, you know what I mean? It’s not a case of safe; they were wearing suits; they weren’t safe.”
He has a point. Regardless of their upbringing and where the band used to live, The Beatles were far from a safe band. They were constantly pushing boundaries and trying out new ideas on their albums. This meant leaning into various concepts, being open to playing around with different melodies and song structures, and writing lyrics that straddled the line between relatable and absurd. They were one of the most genre-defying bands of their time, and without them, the more obvious bad boys, such as Lemmy, might have never picked up an instrument.
