Ringo Starr Releases ‘Photograph’ Collection and is Subject of Short Doc

Stepping aside from his tour obligations for a day, Ringo Starr dropped by the Strand Book Store in New York City on October 26th to discuss his new book Photograph with his friend Steven Van Zandt. Technically the book was released a year or more back but that was a limited edition run from Genesis Publications. Last month saw the release of Photograph in an open edition (a more interactive ebook version has been available for some time too) for regular folks to purchase. About 200 regular folks purchased a copy to see Starr in the rare book room on a Monday afternoon.

Picking up a copy and flipping through it is like flipping through a family album, at least if you are a fan of the Beatles and Ringo Starr. Starr has assembled some fantastic photos from his personal collection. That’s right, Starr, like his band mates in the Beatles was an avid photographer, capturing casual and intimate moments with the now legendary band and his friends. One shot is of some happy fans in the Philippines which must have been taken before the Beatles had to flee the country from fans turned ravenous.

Another shot, one of my favorites, was a fisheye photo of Paul McCartney and John Lennon taken near some wall in India. In the short bit of Starr’s talk that I captured, Starr discusses this image with Van Zandt. Check out the clip below.

The 75-year-old legend is wrapping up a tour with his All-Starr band this weekend with shows at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia and at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. Also this week, Rolling Stone Films released a short documentary on Starr by Mark Seliger called Ringo Starr: Photographer. That is available to stream now.