Ringo was a 'big shot' before Beatles

Beatles lucky to snare sticksman

Rich Chamberlain, Wed 25 May 2011, 10:35 am BST

Ringo

© Jacques Haillot/Sygma/Corbis

Ringo Starr has said that he was a big shot before joining up with The Beatles and the Fab Four were lucky to find him.

Starr told the Daily Mail's Live magazine that in the early '60s he and his band, Rory and the Hurricanes, were better known in Liverpool than The Beatles.

He added: "Rory And The Hurricanes were big shots in the city. We had suits. That was our claim to fame. They were lucky to get me. It wasn't just that I was a big shot, I was a cool drummer."

Big shot or not, Starr is back in the UK with his All Starr band next month. Joining Ringo behind the tubs will be Gregg Bissonette.