Ringo Starr cancels tour dates after contracting COVID-19

4 October, 2022

Ringo Starr in February 2022

Ringo Starr has cancelled several shows he had planned in Canada for this week, with the Beatle putting his tour on hold to recuperate after contracting COVID-19.

After shows in New Buffalo, Michigan and Prior Lake, Minnesota were cancelled over the weekend “due to illness”, an official statement from Starr’s team confirmed the musician had tested positive for COVID. As a result, five shows that were scheduled for this week – in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Abbotsford and Penticton – have been axed.

“Ringo hopes to resume as soon as possible and is recovering at home,” the statement said. “As always, he and the All Starrs send peace and love to their fans and hope to see them back out on the road soon.”

Starr’s tour is set to restart on October 11 in Seattle, Washington, before continuing along to Portland, San Jose, Paso Robles, Los Angeles and Mexico City. See those dates here.

It’s not the first time Starr’s tour dates have been affected by COVID-19 this year. Back in June, Starr postponed a slew of North American dates with his All-Starr Band after two of its members – keyboardist Edgar Winter and guitarist Steve Lukather – tested positive.

“We are so sorry to let the fans down,” Starr wrote in a message to fans at the time. “It’s been wonderful to be back out on the road and we have been having such a great time playing for you all. But as we all know, [COVID-19] is still here and despite being careful these things happen.”

Starr put out his latest solo album, ‘What’s My Name’, in 2019. He shared two EPs in 2021: ‘Zoom In’ and ‘Change The World’. NME described ‘Zoom In’ as “the sort of upbeat, unrelenting jollity we expect from Ringo” in a three-star review upon its arrival.

Last month, Starr released a new EP titled ‘EP3’, playing drums and singing on every track. It was recorded at the musician’s home studio, Roccabella West, and made with longtime collaborators Lukather, Linda Perry, Dave Koz, José Antonio Rodriguez and Bruce Sugar.

Speaking about the project, Starr said: “I am in my studio writing and recording every chance I get. “It’s what I have always done and will continue to do, and releasing EPs more frequently allows me to continue to be creative and give each song a little more love.”

Starr, along with late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith and more, are set to feature in an upcoming documentary titled Let There Be Drums!

Set to be released in cinemas on October 28, the film was directed by Justin Kreutzmann – son of Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann – and according to Deadline, “examines the essential role drumming plays in great bands and how music passes from generation to generation.” It is set to feature one of Hawkins’ final interviews before he died in March of this year.

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