“I didn’t do it”: The musician who turned down Ringo Starr
For any casual rock and roll musician, getting a chance to perform with a Beatle is like getting entrance into Valhalla. Anyone can try to make something that equals the Fab Four in some respects, but once you’re standing side by side with one of them, it would be enough to reduce any potential fan into a blubbering mess half the time. While Ringo Starr was more than happy to surround himself with phenomenal musicians throughout his career, one giant of the early 1980s hesitated when it came time to work with the drumming legend.
Then again, Starr was never looking to chase after fame in the same way that John Lennon or Paul McCartney were. Even though he certainly had his fair share of classics throughout his career, it was impossible to ignore the fact that he was coaxing by on his drumming skills half the time, admitting that he was never the greatest singer and having a pure sense of charm that carried him through some of his greatest records.
Around the time of putting together the All-Starr Band, though, it was clear that something had started to change. Ringo the 4th was far from the same grandeur as something like Band on the Run or Mind Games, and since he was never the greatest songwriter in the band, Starr knew that he could find ways to celebrate all different types of music whenever he toured around the world.
And looking at the people he has pulled into the picture, he certainly has a high standard for the ‘Starr’ part of that band name. Outside of friends like Joe Walsh joining, seeing Steve Lukather of Toto become a regular on the touring circuit as well as Todd Rundgren is still a welcome change of pace from hearing ‘Octopus’s Garden’ or ‘Boys’ every set. But when Starr was putting things together, Billy Squier seemed like the perfect choice.
Outside of being red hot after songs like ‘Everybody Wants You’ and ‘The Stroke’, getting the call to work with Starr would have been a dream come true. However, Squier didn’t feel like the time was right for him to hang his solo career on the shelf to be a sideman for the world’s most tasteful drummer.
When talking about Starr’s offer, Squier admitted that his family was much more of a priority when Starr called him in the 2000s, saying, “Ringo actually asked me to go out with him around 2000, and I didn’t. I felt that it was incredibly flattering just to be asked to do it. But I had two little godchildren in my life, and I really wanted to spend the summer with them. So I thanked him and didn’t do it.”
Despite not having too many hits since he royally screwed himself on ‘Rock Me Tonite’, Squier wasn’t going to lose sleep over having to pay rent or anything. The hip-hop community has loved his music ever since the art of sampling began, and even if he turned down the gig of a lifetime, it didn’t matter as long as the royalty checks kept rolling in whenever a sample from ‘The Stroke’ was played.
And Squier even got to have his cake and eat it too, eventually getting the call back from Starr’s people and touring with him throughout the 2000s. Most people who turned down a gig like that would have probably never shown their face in the industry again, but for Squier, it was the one opportunity that came back around.
