The legendary drummer has teamed up with country producer and songwriter T Bone Burnett for first LP in six years - and he is even heading to Nashville next week.

Ringo Starr has opened up about picking songs for his new country album, Look Up, saying he "only listened" to the tracks and "didn’t know who had written them". The album, which is set for release on 10th January 2025, is a collection of 11 songs – many of them co-written T Bone Burnett, while other contributors include Billy Swan and Bruce Sugar.

As you are reading this, Sir Richard Starkey of Liverpool has just released his second album of country music in more than 50 years. I can hear you thinking, “second"? What was the first? Ringo was a Beatle,

As far back as the Beatles ' earliest years, the group drew influences far wider than the rock 'n' roll pioneers that directly paved their way. From blues to R&B to even jazz, listen closely to the records released during the Beatlemania years and a wealth of inspiration reveals itself.

When the Beatles fell apart in 1970, Ringo took refuge in his boyhood country dreams, for the underrated solo album Beaucoups of Blues. He flew out to Nashville to bang out a three-day quickie with pedal-steel master Pete Drake and a crew of Music Row session cats.

Ringo Starr seems to have been slowing down for decades. Yet, when he does push the boat out, he invariably sets sail for unchartered waters. Look Up finds him produced by hipster T.Bone Burnett, who wrote or co-wrote nine of these 11 songs.

"I liked the records he made. It has an edge," Starr says of the reclusive grandson of Hank Williams, who mixes country with heavy metal