“Lifted” is the strange name of a book we will want to read. It’s by Ringo Starr, and according to sources, it’s the closest thing to a memoir the Beatles legendary drummer has had so far.
Indeed, Ringo always said he’d never publish an autobiography. He has produced several books of photographs. my favorite being his “Postcards” book.
For “Lifted,” the book will be available not through a publisher but through Julien’s Auction House. There’s a consumer edition for $59.99 and a signed special edition for 500 bucks.
“Lifted” is coming in February 2022.
All the proceeds are going to the Lotus Foundation.
Paul McCartney has his “The Lyrics” book out now. Long ago George Harrison published his non-memoir, “I Me Mine.” And now it’s Ringo’s turn. All we need next is Yoko Ono’s book!
PS Ringo is one of the great treats of the “Get Back” doc on Disney Plus, and his drumming remains a highlight of all the Beatles’ re-releases like “Let it Be.” Listen to “Ticket to Ride” or “A Day in the Life” and then back to me. Astounding.
From the press materials:
“I am not writing this book as a Beatle historian,” Starr explains with a laugh. “I’m writing this book as a Beatle — and there’s only a couple of us who can do that.” Asked about the origins of this new project, Starr explains, “I didn’t keep all these photos. These fantastic images came back to me in recent years from here, there and everywhere — online and off — and have somehow helped me get back to seeing my life with The Fab Four through fresh eyes. A lot of the photos in this book I spotted on my phone and on my computer and “lifted” them because they brought back so many fabulous memories. In recent years, I’d gather these Beatles photos that I sometimes barely remembered. After a while, I thought, how great it would be to “lift” these fantastic photos and some of my other favorites for charity and tell my true tales that they inspire about what the four of us — John, Paul, George and Ringo — went through back in the day. And the best thing is that it’s all for a good cause because the money is going to our Lotus Foundation.
According to Starr, “When people ask me about the Beatles, I often tell them, `You better ask Paul,’ because somehow he seems to remember everything. But along with great projects like Get Back, seeing so many of these amazing Beatles images has really brought back those days to me and all the love and friendship that we four shared back then. So this a book full of Beatle images that many people haven’t seen and stories that I’m sharing with a little help from my longtime writer friend David Wild. We’ve all been through a pretty tough time for a lot of people who’ve been locked down, and this book has really lifted my spirits and took me back to where I once belonged in a whole new way. And in the end, that’s why this new book is called Lifted. The Beatles changed my life forever. So it’s about getting back and giving back.”
